Quo vadis Paperback – September 4, 2011

Quo Vadis is a truly great novel. Profoundly Christian, and Catholic (although the Catholicism is more assumed than explicit and Protestants would enjoy it as much as Catholics). Inspiring and humbling, it encourages us today to be willing to endure persecution for Christ. It is also a cautionary tale about unchecked ego and power in a dissolute and morally bankrupt society that ultimately believes in nothing. Every Christian should read this to ground his/her faith in the roots of the apostolic era. But it's also a story of grace, of the work of the Holy Spirit that sometimes works quietly to change human hearts as well as dramatically on occasion through miracles that change the course of history. The characterizations are insightful, and relevant to personalities and moral choices today.The problem with the Kindle version is that it was badly scanned in OCR that produced many typos. Also, this is an older translation with a lot of "thees" and "thous" and period references that don't translate well. There are better translations out there. Still, even the Kindle version is well worth reading.

It's no surprise this book won a Nobel Prize for literature. It is a love story between a young Christian woman, a king's daughter held hostage to Rome, and a patrician Roman tribune when Christianity was in its infancy. At the outset there is a tentative and reciprocal love that he destroys by having her forcibly removed from her home with full intent of installing her as his mistress in his house. Her fellow Christians thwart this abduction and the remainder of the story is the tribune's coming to terms with the real meaning of love through his acceptance of Christ.Couched in the soft language of the author's time (late 1800s) it is nonetheless an extremely graphic portrayal of the culture of brutality that underlay Rome's military success. The descriptions of the amphitheaters where murder and torture of living humans provided a source of amusement for the masses was particularly distressing. While we might stand in awe of the glory that was Rome, we also know there existed a depraved license for debauchery that ran from emperor through to the meanest inhabitant of the Subura. The martyrdom of the Christians is infamous throughout all of history and Sienkiewicz recreates the horror in full detail. The title, Quo Vadis, is taken from a biblical quote, "Quo vadis, Domine?" Where are you going, Lord?

Quo Vadis - the epic story by Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz should be required reading for anyone interested in history, the history of Rome, Nero, the history of Christianity, and the history of man's incomparable capacity for cruelty to man. While not an historical text, the author weaves a magnificient tale by a combinaiton of history and artistic license. A beautiful love story wrapped in the fires of Rome, the birth of Christianity, the perversity of the colosseum "games" and surrounded by a morality play equal to any other. Sienkiewicz's well researched knowledge of the daily life of Roman citizens, high-born or low, is endless. The details of a wealthy Roman who is part of Nero's inner court and at the same time, Nero's most articulate critic reveals, the vanity and perversity of those who would see Rome burn on the whim of rebuiling a more "pleasing city", and then blame the catastrophe on the nascent Christian community. Sienkiewicz's command of his story is particularly evident in the word-pictures he paints, whether it is Rome burning or the sun filtering through the boughs of a tree.

I was familiar with the 1951 movie that is based on the book. This book is a well written and gives details about life in Rome during the time of Nero but does lean heavily on Catholic dogma for the book's moral lessons. If you are not familiar with the Romantic style of writing, you may find some of the wordiness a little tedious, but I do recommend that you just sit back and enjoy this story.If you are looking for an exact retelling that you may have seen in the movie, you might be disappointed, but if you are reading this book strictly on its own merits, then you will enjoy the simple story of love, lust, insanity and murder in Rome. This book is an excellent addition to my Kindle library and I recommend that you give this book a try.

I believed that the author received the Nobel prize for this work and I can sure see why. The book focuses on Christianity, Nero around the time this bi-polar nut case tried to burn down Rome, which is historically accurate. It shows in depth the psychological suffering of the early christians and the book just sucks you in. It also reminds me of Hitler and other narcissistic leaders and the level of suffering they create around them. This truly a great book, a great translation and free!!

First published in Polish by journalist Henryk Siensiewicz, I read "Quo Vadis" for the first time 50 years ago and was stunned by the author's attention to detail. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905 and this magnificent book was instrumental. Hollywood, of course, wanted something simple to film and their result was a focus on only two characters, the Roman soldier and the Christian girl he loves. There are many others fascinating characters that do not exploit religion. If you want to learn about Roman culture, superstitions, and the mores of the times, you will be informed and swept into that world. Emotional, nuanced, educational, this is a work that reads in 2013 as it did in 1895. You won't want to put it down.

Comparing the authors writing style with today's writers you will, at times, have to plod ahead. However, I believe this gives an accurate picture of Rome's decadent ruling class and the suffering Christians went through.

1). No table of contents.2). Every ten pages or so there will be pictures of North American Indians, their camps, hunting, etc... These would be better suited to Lewis and Clark not Italy and Nero.3). Someone really got their wires crossed making this eBook.