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FindingJackie Vice Captain
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 Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 10:47 am
The month is almost finished and it's time for another group discussion. (In fact, this thread is a little late. Sorry about that.)
Did you guys enjoy Julian? What did you think of the way the story was told as a series of letters and journals? Did you like the characters? The representation of the world? The themes? I'm sticking to vague questions for now, but go ahead and ask your own, chat and share your thoughts.
I'll be telling you about my opinion later, as I now need to leave for work. sweatdrop
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 8:10 pm
I read Julian by Gore Vidal
Over all I enjoyed certain parts and then certain other parts I didn't care for as much
Pros
- I enjoy the mention of philosophy
- It reminds me of other historical based fiction I've read past tense
- the characters have long conversations, lots of dialogue
- the writing is clear and precise in my prospective; almost rhythmic in nature
Cons
- Characters are either very likeable purposefully unlikeable
- I'm not fond of certain characters like the emperor
- It took me a while to get fully into it, first three pages
- the style and genre wasn't always my cup tea although I still appreciated a new read
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FindingJackie Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2016 5:49 am
Hmmm... what to say about this book. I did enjoy it for the most part, although it sometimes managed to bore me. I'm not entirely sure why. I think it may be because of the repetitive nature of some comments and arguments about religion and philosophy. They were interesting at first, but at some point they seemed like they were hammered in a little too much, and each repetition didn't necessarily bring anything new. It made me think of those texts written around the same time in Québec when a large part of the community was actively trying to degrade religion as they were reducing its influence on their daily lives... Sometimes it was a little heavy-handed.
Also, was it just me or did the novel seem to have a very modern outlook on the student community? While it did reference some historical things, the philosophy students sounded like beatniks. In fact, depending on the students, the "good" philosopher's sounded like the ideal of the Beat generation and the bad ones corresponded to the stereotype. I lack knowledge of roman history to know exactly where the author twisted the description of that period, but this mix of roman history and modern elements seemed at once a little strange and very interesting. It's a good way to speak of certain subjects indirectly. Was there something similar concerning religion, politics or war? I didn't notice anything specific, but I suspect there was. A very quick research on Gore Vidal (on wikipedia) reveals he wrote essays about how the militaristic attitude of the US towards other countries contributed to its decadence...
I also really liked the alternation of points of view in the novel. The comments inserted in the main text, while they clearly favoured Julian and Libanius overall and made Priscus look bad, also made it obvious that we were dealing with multiple unreliable narrators, which in turn made me question everything and kept me actively involved in the reading.
Julian definitely has its qualities, but it's not a very leisurely read in my opinion. I had to pick up some light fantasy novel to read when I just needed to relax after a long day at work.
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 10:31 am
I rather enjoyed this read, though was a little disappointed that the roman Gods weren't described or spoken about so much. I liked Julians character, and even enjoyed the way Priscus and Libanius nudged their 'truth' into it. It was a very long slog of a read, as i only finished it yesterday, bit the writing style was very engaging, as was the whit within it.
I liked the way he portrayed the Emperor, and the rise and fall of Gallus was interesting.
The fact that, despite his best intentions, Christianity wins out in the end was also interesting, but I to wanted to hear more than the same old arguments. The jibe about christianity plagiarising the Pagan Gods and festivals would have been amazing to expand upon as there are numerous similarities between the two. I had a favourite part, though, one that stuck out to me.
When he splashes Oribasius in the Baths and thinks for a moment how easy it would be for him to fall to the level of so many Tyrants was interesting to read, but it was never mentioned again.
Also, the ending reveal of who actually killed him and why was delightfully anti-climactic.
"I killed him for my God."
"...And?"
[Paraphrasing as thats just how it seemed to me.]
All in all, a very good read, though not one to read when your brain is switched off.
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FindingJackie Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 1:31 pm
Eva Carline I rather enjoyed this read, though was a little disappointed that the roman Gods weren't described or spoken about so much. I liked Julians character, and even enjoyed the way Priscus and Libanius nudged their 'truth' into it. It was a very long slog of a read, as i only finished it yesterday, bit the writing style was very engaging, as was the whit within it. I liked the way he portrayed the Emperor, and the rise and fall of Gallus was interesting. The fact that, despite his best intentions, Christianity wins out in the end was also interesting, but I to wanted to hear more than the same old arguments. The jibe about christianity plagiarising the Pagan Gods and festivals would have been amazing to expand upon as there are numerous similarities between the two. I had a favourite part, though, one that stuck out to me. When he splashes Oribasius in the Baths and thinks for a moment how easy it would be for him to fall to the level of so many Tyrants was interesting to read, but it was never mentioned again. Also, the ending reveal of who actually killed him and why was delightfully anti-climactic. "I killed him for my God." "...And?" [Paraphrasing as thats just how it seemed to me.] All in all, a very good read, though not one to read when your brain is switched off. Ahah, it's true it's not an easy read. There were days when I was just too tired to pick it up, so I grabbed old fantasy novels instead. Will you be reading Memoirs of a Geisha despite the back-log? So far I'm really enjoying it and it's a lighter read. I did like that scene at the baths, and other moments when he suddenly seemed to realize he wasn't so different from other leaders he disliked. It made a nice counterbalance to all those moments he convinced himself that he was completing the work of Alexander the Great. I'm glad he didn't describe the roman gods and rites too much, though. Sure, I was curious about them too, but I think it would have dragged attention away from the focus of the story, which was the politics behind it all.
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 6:43 pm
I am going to be reading Memoirs, as I managed to find it at a local second had book store. Now that the weather is steadily getting shitter down here, my time to read is becoming longer as there is less to do outside. Also, are any other going to read memoirs? It often seems only three of us are actually commenting.
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FindingJackie Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 7:59 pm
Eva Carline I am going to be reading Memoirs, as I managed to find it at a local second had book store. Now that the weather is steadily getting shitter down here, my time to read is becoming longer as there is less to do outside. Also, are any other going to read memoirs? It often seems only three of us are actually commenting. Ahahah, bad weather is a bookworm's best friend. Perfect excuse to curl up with a book. wink Enjoy the read! And indeed, I wonder when we'll catch sight of all the people who vote here. With Tommy on hiatus, I'm just glad at least we get some other people participating in the conversation with each book, although they appear for a month, then disappear for the next. A club with just two active members would be a very strange club...
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