Rating: 
Summary: The rewards of ignorance
Review: Inagine, if you will, a protagonist with all the pesonal warmth of a Hillary and the erudition of a George Dubya Bush... Well, what you get is the preposterous 'heroine' of this novel: totally unsympathetic, snobbish, sexist, racist, opinionated, incredibly ignorant (I mean, not studying history at school, I could understand, but how likely is it that the protagonist has never even seen a movie or read a trashy novel about ancient Rome? - if she had, she could never, ever for amoment thought that it could be a society with more equality for women - for God sake, she is supposed to be a brilliant lawyer... has she never heard of 'patria potestas?). If she had been the villain of the piece, I could have liked the novel, for other characters are nicely drawn, and the backgroung feels very realistic (the 'deus ex machina' use of the household gods notwithstanding).
Rating: 
Summary: Puh-Leeze
Review: For an educated, smart, tough woman, the heroine of this novel is completely unsympathetic and, frankly, an boring! It's hard to believe anyone is as ignorant of history as Tarr&Turtledove have made her. Hard to believe anyone would journey back in time to the Roman empire only to spend all her time whining and griping about the sexist attitudes of the men there. Hard to even imagine a character so shallow! There is no sense of wonder to her. No curiosity. Just a kind of smug, arrogant pomposity. The heroine of this novel reminded me of a valley girl or a mall rat trapped in a grown-up's body.Now I know she learns her lesson in the end, etc. But I can't quite figure out why I wasted my time watching a character I could care nothing about learn anything. Lab rats learn lessons, too -- but I don't want to stare at one for hours. Most disappointing about this book, though, is that I read it just after finishing Turtledoves fine, brilliant, fascinating JUSTINIAN. The guy can write. He knows his history. Check that book out.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Details, and a Nice Redemption Plot
Review: As an avid reader of historical fiction, who possesses a compelling interest in the Ancient Romans, I found the book a quick and satisfying read. The authors use details to make the story much more than the classic "fish out of water" plot. For example, the descriptions of the implements and interior of Umma's tavern are similar to the ruins of one I saw in Pompeii. The authors describe Roman religion, the roles of men and women, and the society's higher tolerance for aggressive behavior to communicate an authentic flavor of just how foreign life under the Caesars would be. I was a bit surprised at the protagonist's unpleasantness. She appeared incredibly ignorant and close-minded, but this is an opinion from someone who loves to learn and travel. My interest in continuing to read about her increased when I began to imagine how they were transforming her. She began a spoiled, take-everything-for-granted, gratify-yourself-immediately type of person. By the end, the protagonist had learned some humility about her opinions and a bit about accepting the behavior of others. More so, she had learned to appreciate just how fortunate she was to live in our times; a place with amazing medical advances, general literacy, and a desire to treat everyone equally (even if it tries more than it succeeds). Other reviewers have commented on the protagonist's man-hating worldview and her use of the rhetoric of political correctness. This language tapers off throughout the book. I believe the authors wrote her this way for two reasons. First, it makes it easier for us to note her transformation from close-minded prig into a more accepting individual. Second, it shows how the protagonist uses her education to rationalize her feelings, rather than to understand the world. As the experiences transform her, she begins to try and understand people around her rather than draw upon cliche phrases, which she had used without true understanding in the beginning. On the whole, I recommend this book primarily to anyone with an interest in everyday life in the ancient world. It would also be interesting to anyone who imagined what it might be like to be cast into the distant past.
Rating:
Summary: Whiny modern woman in ancient Rome
Review: I did not finish this book, even though the premise was interesting, because I could not get past the main character's constant whining. Anyone who has ready anything is aware of the fact that society's view of the human female has changed drastically over the past few centuries. It seemed the author was trying very hard to drive the point of inequality down our throats with every observation and incident in this book. Wouldn't the average, intelligent 21st century woman be aware of the differences in modern life and life two thousand years ago? I also couldn't believe her total lack of desire to return to her children. I put the book down about half way through and just returned it to the library, glad that I hadn't bought it. I read a review that likened this book to those written by Diana Gabaldon and that couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, they both involve time travel by women, but there the similarity ends!Gabaldon's books are funny, fresh, and a bit tongue in cheek with a hero and heroine to die for! Read those instead of this boring book.
Rating: 
Summary: good read
Review: Takes you through birth, death, the four seasons and the four horseman in the Second Century Roman Empire. Great historical review of everyday life. Easy reading (great for the summer), fun dialog
Rating:
Summary: I haven't finished it yet, but I am sufficiently angry....
Review: ...at Nicole Gunther-Perrin. What an obnoxious person? Short-tempered, bitter, self-righteous, perpetually offended, assumptive, stubborn, and (just a tad bit) sexist. Ugh. Hopefuly, this journey will change her significantly and teach her some good old-fashioned tolerance. I agree with the previous review, she needs to THINK. Duh, if the water is bad, boil it. Duh, it's Roman times, you know, no more than a couple of centuries after christ was (approximately) born. And as for Christian persecution, did she think that as soon as Christianity busted onto the scene, all the Romans said "Hey, this is better.", dropped all their wonderful, Greek beliefs and ran to Jesus? Apparently she does. I do hate to say this, being an American myself, but any people who've known Americans in foreign countries (excluding the spoken-of), will agree with me on this: She is acting liek an American abroad. I'm serious. She is. Anyone who cringed or said "no way" to my last remark has not lived abroad for several years, and witnessed newcomers. Refusal to adapt is the first symptom. Then comes denial. After that, there is the overwhelming need to change everything. What was she doing to Julia? OF COURSE SHE RANA PART-TIME BROTHEL. It's a Roman tavern. Geez. One more thing about our heroine, then I'll get to the good stuff. Which, by the way, far outweighs the sad frustration I get form reading about this pompous false-moralled person. She's got guts. THAT IS GOOD. Without that, no one survives in Roman times. The writing is great. We have to remember that the annoyance and anger we may feel toward Nicole/Umma is all due to EXCELLENT writing on both authors' parts. I'm a big fan of Turtledove's, and know quite a bit about Rome. So as soon as I spotted this book, and saw the cover, I grabbed it. Without even reading the blurb. I haven't regretted it a bit. The descriptions of Ancient Rome are so accurate and wonderfully balanced between detail and vagueness, that you can't help but start gagging at the stench, or scratching your head...seriously. The details are spectacular. Right down to the painted statues. If she thought those were bad, she should see the ones in sculpting academies in Rome itself. The one thing that bothers me about this book is the main character. But I'm only three quarters of the way through. The book compelled me so much, I had to write the review NOW. It's a great read. GET IT IF YOU LOVE SCI-FI FANTASY. Knowing a lot about Rome will help you get angry at Nicole, and knowing nothing will take you through with Nicole, shock after shock after shock. Personally, I love the anger and frustration at Nicole. That way I know I'm getting int the story. It suck you in. You're there, whether you lie it or not. And as SM Stirling said about it, "This is a page-turner that makes you think, long after the last page is turned."
Rating:
Summary: Overall A Good Read
Review: Although the book started very slowly, with too much detail about the miseries of today's single mother--honest, we got it pretty quickly, and much should have been cut to get the reader into the story faster--overall it was interesting to those who enjoy historical fiction. Yes, for a while it read pretty much like, "here's an item from my historical research--isn't it great?--and now I'll give you my 21st Century woman's reaction to it." Then a third or so of the way in it began to develop more of a plot. The conclusion made sense, though the heroine's reason for wanting to return to the days of the Roman empire didn't--how could an educated woman of today think there was feminine equality in the ancient world? Unless she had never read a line of history. Maybe the book was aimed to such an audience, but most who read historicals and time travel are fairly well versed in history to start, and just want to read more about it. Still a well-written and fairly absorbing book.
Rating:
Summary: An historically real novel!
Review: Household Gods is a superb example of mainstream historical fiction, avoiding overt sentimentality, rather than anything to do with the author's backgrounds in science fiction (okay, a touch of time travel, and encounters with "alien" Romans). Turtledove probably provided the historical sweep and minute detail from his professional studies of the Byzantine empire, but I'd credit Tarr with the genuine dialogue, woman's interest, and convincing development of character. This is the best realization of the actual feel (let alone smell) of life in classical, pre-Christian times (or right down to the Industrial Revolution!) that I know. Nicole is a kvetchy liberal woman utterly lacking in historical perspective, who thinks her busy professional life in L.A. would be better in a less male-oppressive and hateful world, such as ...keeping a tavern in a provincial town in the Roman Empire. Ah, yes, a time of peace, equality, sisterhood, and justice. Right. That's the one-trick situation concocted by Tarr and Turtledove: set-pieces of culture shock of feminist values crushed by ancient "alien" customs. The story is tightly focused, to impressive effect, on Nicole in her experiences with inexorably worsening aspects of daily Roman life in her neighborhood. While her thoughts and attitudes remain modern, indeed strait-jacketed, her behavior is beaten into growing acceptance rather than any "heroic" struggle for active change (as would be expected if this had been SF). Although the plot is slow-moving, often feels aimless, and lacks "action," that is exactly what the authors must intend as a reasonable facsimile of genuine ancient life, and I found myself becoming engrossed and moved. Nicole and the story work inexorably deeper into the fabric of ordinary Roman lives, its terrors and small joys (most apparent only to modern Nicole), and the multifarious uses of wine! The authors write interesting characters engaged in convincing dialogue in fully realized scenes. I'd like to revisit Nicole-Umma's life, but maybe she's already experienced all the trials possible, including sexism, superstition, brutality, patriarchy, pestilence, war...and no chocolate or coffee, no heat or sanitation, no tomatoes or tampons. The "point" of this story is, I think, not the story, which in a linear sense doesn't much "go" anywhere, and leaves ancient Umma in limbo, but is rather the gripping illustration, even explanation, of the immense and quite logical resistance to change of an entire ancient "system" (barely integrated, in fact); less how different it was than how far we have come. Although, come to think of it, the setting of this story in the Balkans reminds us some societies are still stuck with relations an awful lot like those of two millenia ago. I suspect that the authors' intricate, great, and thought-provoking success accounts for the length seen in many of these reviews.
Rating:
Summary: Gritty and compelling
Review: Nicole is an attorney in modern-day LA who suffers a meltdown on a Day from Hell, wishes herself in a simpler time... and wakes up in the body of Umma, a 2nd-century innkeeper in the Roman colony of Carnuntum, near present-day Vienna. But of course, a woman's life on the Roman frontier makes her Day from Hell seem pretty darn decadent... _Household Gods_ is a meticulously researched, gritty, compelling book. Talk about pulling no punches-- the 2nd-century comes alive with stenches, lice, prejudice, plague, war, and some vividly imagined characters. I shudder to think about how much research went into the painstaking depiction of everyday life in the second century AD. Definitely not a fluffy read, but one of the best books I've read so far this year. Like some of the other reviewers, I would have liked a bit more closure on Umma's fate, and perhaps have Nicole not *quite* as ignorant of the past as she was (though I know plenty of people who don't know much about history and don't care). But whenever I was forced to put the book down, I found myself eager to pick it up again and find out what happened next, which is something that I can't say for most of the books I read.
Rating:
Summary: Time travelling to exotic destinations
Review: I have to disagree with my fellow reviewers....I enjoyed the novel immensely. I felt the reason why Nichole was so whiney was because she was in part her own antagonist. She had to be an extreme feminist whiner so she could go with the story, develop herself. Granted, I got tired of her too. But thats what made the story work. Absolutely engrossing, fascinating details. Yes, the accuracy was on some accounts poor (didn't know there were female actresses back then) but I felt that I had a taste of what it might be like to live back then. Mr Turtledove and Ms Tarr give horrendous detail, so much so it feels as if you have time travelled back yourself. In fact, with my conservative nature, I am sure I could adapt myself more readily to the situation than Nicole could. But that is the intended view of the authors, isn't it? If you would like to know what its like to experience birth, death, pestilence, war, faminine, slavery and not to mention a day at the circus, I thoroughly recommend this book. I wish there were more like it. And I wish there had been less time spent in the 20th century; I already know what its like to live here, thank you. And also, regarding how we are left hanging as to the fate of Umma after Nichole comes back to this world, well, use your imagination!
|
