Reviews

Quo Vadis by W.S. Kuniczak, Henryk Sienkiewicz

cdvicarage's review against another edition

Awkward 'historical' language in this translation.

lea_jcbs's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

boop_2's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

halynah's review against another edition

5.0

A must-read classical gem, written in powerful prose, with plenty of excellently portrayed characters and a brilliant depiction of the epoch.

kathleenguthriewoods's review against another edition

4.0

I had to renew this from the library twice to finish this, as the writing feels very dated and a bit preachy, and this book usually put me to sleep after a few pages (hence, it took me a while to get through all 477). However, the peek into daily life under Nero's rule was fascinating, and I was online frequently to learn more about the real people, places, and events. If you want to learn more about Roman and Christian history, you'll appreciate this.

npliego's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

cute_emo_bookboy's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

mind_in_the_mirror's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

5.0

showell's review against another edition

4.0

Note: glancing at the reviews below, the translation you read really seems to matter here. The Version I read was by Jeremiah Curtin.

I thought it was fascinating. Very much enjoyed the tensions between the decadence of Nero, the aestheticism of Petronius, and the early schisms in the interpretations of Christian faith as represented by the Apostle Peter, the bishop Crispus, and Paul of Tarsus.

The love story was tangential for me. I was far more interested in the machinations at court and the rising conflict between the Christian philosophy and the societal structure of the Roman Empire.

Oh, and Petronius' last letter to vinicius is masterful. As was the description of the great fire of Rome.

Finally, I should probably add that I read a lot of books written in the 1800s on a fairly regular basis, so slower pacing plotwise doesn't faze me. The second half of the book (post Rome burning) is much more engrossing plotwise than the first.

krobart's review against another edition

1.0

I was frankly uninterested in either Vinicius or Ligia, who are cardboard characters, and I couldn’t care less about whether they got together. I know that Quo Vadis was extremely popular in its time (it was published in 1896) and contributed toward Sienkiewicz winning the Nobel Prize for Literature. I also know that Sienkiewicz was capable of creating more interesting characters and writing more exciting scenes. Perhaps the times have just changed too much since this book was written for it to appeal to a wide audience now.

See my complete review here:

http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/quo-vadis/