Review of Pompeii by Robert Harris

Pompeii by Robert Harris

79 AD, the towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii simply ceased to exist. Mt. Vesuvius unleashed the wrath of the ancient gods, and over a period of 4 days, the blanket of ash preserved the ancient world exactly as it was 2,000 years ago.

In Pompeii, Robert Harris recreates that Roman world with seemingly flawless effort. The description of that ancient way of life is beautifully crafted, leaving the reader with a true sense of the time. While the story highlights the dark and corrupt side of the Empire it is contrasted by the honest and moral virtue of the novel?s main character, Marcus Attilius. A citizen born in a long line of the working masses, Attilius is an aquarius, or an engineer responsible for Rome?s vaunted aqueducts....