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A review by ishasih
Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar
5.0
nothing i have read compares to this novel in its plunge into the depths of one man's desires, ambitions, philosophy and scope.
one major role of a historical fiction and its writer is to inspire their reader to turn to the seeds and sands of the past, leaf through its pages and explore what actually transpired, weave for themselves an accurate tapestry, as closely as possible. this means, however, not to reject inventions, for these are integral to a novelist, to a poet; but rather to embrace and understand the flourishes, the flights and the dives, keeping intact the historical backdrop, to grasp the very aspects of a character and culture that give them life and the touch of truth. at the same time, historical narrative inadvertently has its limitations, but an exceptional novelist paints upon that mechanical wall a rich mural, leaps over it sometimes, and often brings it down. here, [a:Marguerite Yourcenar|7732|Marguerite Yourcenar|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1655661586p2/7732.jpg] succeeds with soaring colours.
Hadrian (24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was the Roman emperor from 117 to 138, at a time when the classical world was slowly shifting over the undercurrents of a newer one. it was a time of great uncertainty: the roman gods had not yet faded, the philosophical and cultural traditions yet not abandoned; not had the christian faith been established. now, in this version by Yourcenar, the aged and ailing emperor lies on his deathbed. he writes to his successor [a:Marcus Aurelius|17212|Marcus Aurelius|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1430676293p2/17212.jpg], meditating his on military triumphs, love of poetry and music, philosophy, and his passion for his lover Antinous. he looks back and he looks forward: what his life held and what the future now may hold.
there are no dialogues, but in a manner reminiscent of [a:Gustave Flaubert|1461|Gustave Flaubert|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1651461896p2/1461.jpg]'s "melancholy of the antique world", the book is in conversation with the writer, with the reader, as much as it is with 'My dear Mark'. meticulously crafted, Memoirs of Hadrian is an entirely moving masterpiece where moments of being meet marked by a warm melancholic movement, giving way to a musical composition that has no equal.
one major role of a historical fiction and its writer is to inspire their reader to turn to the seeds and sands of the past, leaf through its pages and explore what actually transpired, weave for themselves an accurate tapestry, as closely as possible. this means, however, not to reject inventions, for these are integral to a novelist, to a poet; but rather to embrace and understand the flourishes, the flights and the dives, keeping intact the historical backdrop, to grasp the very aspects of a character and culture that give them life and the touch of truth. at the same time, historical narrative inadvertently has its limitations, but an exceptional novelist paints upon that mechanical wall a rich mural, leaps over it sometimes, and often brings it down. here, [a:Marguerite Yourcenar|7732|Marguerite Yourcenar|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1655661586p2/7732.jpg] succeeds with soaring colours.
Hadrian (24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was the Roman emperor from 117 to 138, at a time when the classical world was slowly shifting over the undercurrents of a newer one. it was a time of great uncertainty: the roman gods had not yet faded, the philosophical and cultural traditions yet not abandoned; not had the christian faith been established. now, in this version by Yourcenar, the aged and ailing emperor lies on his deathbed. he writes to his successor [a:Marcus Aurelius|17212|Marcus Aurelius|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1430676293p2/17212.jpg], meditating his on military triumphs, love of poetry and music, philosophy, and his passion for his lover Antinous. he looks back and he looks forward: what his life held and what the future now may hold.
there are no dialogues, but in a manner reminiscent of [a:Gustave Flaubert|1461|Gustave Flaubert|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1651461896p2/1461.jpg]'s "melancholy of the antique world", the book is in conversation with the writer, with the reader, as much as it is with 'My dear Mark'. meticulously crafted, Memoirs of Hadrian is an entirely moving masterpiece where moments of being meet marked by a warm melancholic movement, giving way to a musical composition that has no equal.