Review: Pompeii

Pin It Pompeii by Robert Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I want to say that I originally saw this book on some must-read list a while back which is what inspired me to add it to my shelf. Maybe not. The story of Pompeii is one that, while interesting, has been beaten to death in popular media over the years. I was skeptical that the story could be spun in a way that would make it feel fresh and new so I didn't exactly go into this with extremely high expectations.

Refreshingly, Robert Harris managed to overcome my doubts with a story that really had more to do with plumbing that with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. This was a smart move, although unlike me, some readers may find it disappointing that the story didn't completely focus on the tragedy of Pompeii. As one other reviewer brilliantly pointed out, this is the story of a "latter-day Super Mario." It focuses on the challenges of Marcus Attilius Primus who is a local water engineer as he struggles with the politics of finding out what has stopped the flow of water.

This is an extremely well-written book and if you are looking for great historical fiction, this is certainly a solid choice. There were times when I lost interest a bit, simply because the action can be slow at times but overall it was a great take on the history of Pompeii without repeating the story that we've all heard in our history classes.

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