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Summary: I couldn't put it down
Review: I had never read either Turtledove or Tarr; however, I had heard extremely good reviews of Turtledove's other books from my sci-fi book-loving friends. I usually read classic novels. I was hired to illustrate the cover. I liked the "It's a Wonderful Life" premise of the book, although I was worried about the classic fairytale idea of "entering the dream to get to another world" aspect of it. After a few pages, I didn't care. I was drawn in and I wanted to find out how things would turn out, while absorbing the educational/historical aspects. I liked Nicole. I thought that she was realistic.
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Summary: Household Gods personifies the agonies of the single mom!
Review: It is my opinion that the majority of the other reviews on this book don't really give it justice. From the first page, the book draws the reader in. To a woman who has experienced it all, marriage, divorce, single parenting, as well as grief, this book exemplifies all of these feelings. While many of us can honestly say that we are not in the income bracket of the main character, we can none the less identify with the struggles of fixing a broken microwave, and losing a sitter. It is not about Nicole's frustrations with her mexican sitter who wants to take care of her mother, it is about the frustrations of a single woman/single mother, who has more than her share of parenting than she expected. How many of us share the frustration of losing a day care provider? All who have experienced it! The imagery described in the book was incredible, as usual, with Judith Tarr's novels. I certainly could identify with the main character, and while perhaps she wasn't as likeable to some as perhaps desired, she was very real. The reader gets absorbed in the book, and can actually feel as one with the main character. The struggles that she goes through, the desires that she feels, and the prayers that she wants answered become a driving need for the reader as well. A truely awesome book!!
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Summary: Stranger in a Strange Land--Roman Style; Excellent Book
Review: A wonderful tale of a modern American liberated woman awakening to the most unpleasant reality of life in the Roman Empire, circa 2nd century AD. (A turnabout of Richard Ben Sapir's The Far Arena.) Turtledove and Tarr follow Nicole's education in cultural relativity, as she discovers the poor standing of the masses (in particular, women) in a world lacking the technological and scientific advances of 20th century America--medicine, self-defense, human rights come to mind for a start. Yet she also is confronted with the fact that, even without these advantages, people in ancient times could be, and were, often happier than the people of our "advanced" culture, with all of our amenities. They often just didn't enjoy it for as long... It may be instructive to note that the one (so far) awful review of this book comes from someone unwilling to claim that opinion by revealing his/her name.
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Summary: Slow start, but an interesting and enjoyable story
Review: This is basically a coming-of-age novel, even though its main character is already of adult years. But despite her age, she's basically a spoiled child: self-centered, judgmental, irresponsible, and largely ignorant of the world. This has one major flaw: she's so damned unlikeable that I found it hared to really get into the book for the first couple of hundred pages. Perhaps the authors were a bit heavy handed in their portrayal, though I've certainly known women lawyers like this character. At any rate, as she begins to learn from her experiences, and as new characters are introduced, the story gets steadily better. I enjoyed it, and was sorry when it was over.
Rating: 
Summary: A good book with some faults
Review: As far as history is concerned the book is worth all 508 pages of it. It is a good and acurate reconstruction of 150 a.d. in the Roman Empire. The main character, on the other hand, is your typical bourgeois liberal, who must push her own limited ideas on all those around her; all for the provincialistic view that she holds that what she knows must be the best. It is really irritating to see her character develop in this novel; as you come to realize how little originality in thought she holds. All her liberal ideas she repeats fanatically and dares to impose them oa all those around her. She is more like a photocopy of many of many other bourgeois types, than an individual with too much intelligence. André Janssens
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Summary: A new way to look at history: this time by one who lives it.
Review: I think this is one great book. Despite any distaste one may have for the protagonist, what sets this book apart from so many others is that it is a look at everyday life in another time from the perspective of one who has lived in the 20th century with modern sensibilities. How many of us have said we would want to live in the colonial times or during the time of the Knights of the Round Table or something similar? Almost all of us have but rarely do we think about just how hard it would be for us to do so having been raised with electricity, mass communications, vaccinations, and indoor plumbing. This book makes one realize just how hard it was to live in the past. The protagonist lives as a prosperous Roman citizen with a standard of living far above the mass of second century Imperial Roman inhabitants yet would be just above poverty level in today's America with none of the conveniences we take for granted. Read this book to see how "good" the good old days really weren't. Don't misunderstand me, this is not a depressing book. It will revive your faith in the strength of the human spirit.
Rating: 
Summary: Save your money
Review: Those who have read Tarr's other books know that, regardless of the setting, she tends to write the SAME book over and over again: the same noble characters, the same haunting beauty, the same touch of magic. Household Gods introduces us to a new type of character, a small-minded woman, consumed by petty cares. Nicole Gunther-Perrin is an unflattering caricature of the "modern woman" whose knee-jerk liberalism and feminism do little to mask her inherent racism and classism. (Nicole wears "designer sweats" from Neiman Marcus and cannot fathom why her Mexican babysitter would rather take care of her own sick mother than watch Nicole's kids). I kept hoping that her trip to ancient Rome would cure her of some of these defects, but Nicole is such an unappealing character that I found it almost impossible to care. Does Nicole learn a lesson by the end of the book? Who knows? Household Gods is an unreadable waste of time.
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Summary: Fantastic time travel with a social message
Review: Divorcee Nicole Gunther Perrin raises her two children by herself while working as an attorney. Recently, her firm passed her over and promoted a male lawyer to a job she feels she earned. She was already angry with most males after her ex-spouse left her for a younger piece of flesh and never sends his child support payments on time. The loss of her baby-sitter leaves a weary Nicole wistfully wishing upon the statues of the Roman Gods Vesper and Vespera that they transport her to Carnuntum. No one has worshipped these two Gods for over a millennium. They decide to reward the first person to call on them in all that time by granting her wish. When Nicole awakens, she finds herself living as a tavern keeper in the Roman frontier town of Carnuntum. She quickly learns that 170 AD has its share of vices as much as 1999 America does. Women remain second class citizens and slavery abounds. Hygiene is non-existent. In spite of all this, Nicole notices that most people seem happy with their lot in life and she hopes to do likewise. HOUSEHOLD GODS centers on the belief that no place or time is perfect, but society and its individuals must strive to correcting its woes. Nicole learns that lesson rather quickly through her time travel adventure. Still, she remains a strong survivor whether she dwells in the present era or in a dinky backwater Roman town almost two millenniums ago. The audience will love this tale, especially the in depth look at daily living in the Roman Empire outer perimeter. Judith Tarr and Harry Turtledove combine their immense skills on a fascinating, thought-provoking and unforgettable novel that is sure to provide them with much acclaim. Harriet Klausner
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Summary: Nothing more 'grounding' than a romp in Rome - Ancient Rome!
Review: I'm LOVING this book! True, it is not 'heavy reading' and at times the editing is on the rough side (with misspelled words here and there!) The main character, Umma/Nicole, is in some ways a charicature of a young upwardly mobile professional, and recently single, mother of two. She is frazzled and self-righteous. It is easy to see that her misery in the opening section of the novel is of her own making. She is, in a word, insufferable (and as a result, she thinks she is suffering!) This book is refreshing to me! It points out "pointedly" the fallacies of so many of our politically 'correct' and oh-so-gaggingly 'modern' attidues and ideas.. and does so without being so sensitive as to not point fingers! Turtledove and Tarr take on gender roles, ethnocentrism, the question of whether all our modern conveniences have helped us or harmed us as a so-called social species... and reminds us to remember that the good old days were not necessarily all the good! Fortunately, Nicole is far more resourceful than our initial glimpses of her would indicate. She manages to find her place in ancient Rome even though she is in another woman's body. I bought the book for the title, and for entertainment. Since I'm feeling extremely well-entertained by the story, I feel i truly got my money's worth on this one!
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Summary: Great!
Review: Whether you like alternative history or not, this is a good read. I had trouble starting since the main character's modern day life irritated me. Okay, I get it! She's a single mom, she has trouble with work/life/dead-beat husband/kids - get on with it! But once she woke up in Roman-time Austria I found myself riveted!
Other reviewers didn't like the main character's personality, but I thought that the authors exaggerated her 90's mentality to create contrast with the Roman mentality of the time, and also to create very humorous situations! Her insistence on drinking water instead of watered down wine against the advice of her slave causes her to wake up the following morning with a bad case of the runs. (And she thought that the lack of added chemicals would make for fresher, cleaner, more natural water.)
This book offers a fun way of learning about life in Roman times. The authors cover everything from how births were performed to dentists. Not to mention the lice and the smell!
I didn't like the inconsistancy of the main character. She can be both idiotic and incredibly smart, assertive and a push-over. Some might not like the fact that everything that ever happened in the Roman empire happens in precisely her town in the half year that she lives there, but what can I say?
Take it with a grain of salt, it's a shame not to read this book.
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