Quote:
Originally Posted by painkiller
Ackroyd's Death of King Arthur is waiting on my shelf, haha  I haven't read anything by this author yet, but I hope I'll enjoy it as well.
Besides, for birthday I got loads of books from my friends. Mary Beard's SPQR (yay!), Graves's Claudius and Messalina and Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind. |
Oh my - you've done well! I've already read Carlos Ruiz Zafón's
The Shadow of the Wind. It's opening page is written with the most beautiful imagery depicting 'beneath a sky of molten copper' if my memory is correct. Except what sets this book apart, and at the top, is the characterisation. Not just of the players but of the city itself. There are moments of poetic beauty and those moments sit comfortably beside the bawdy comedy of one particular character who often manages to be poetic and bawdy at the same time! There is a sadness in Zafón's writing, a darkness and intrigue running through the story that keeps it moving at a wonderful pace. It was a fantastic read, and I have the first edition.
Grave's I Claudius I've also read and watched the film with Derek Jacobi playing C-C-Claudius. Wonderful acting.
I think you will enjoy any of Peter Ackroyd's books. They are painstakingly well plotted and with virtually no 'sag' halfway through the books. His book Death of King Arthur remains unread in my library room back home in England. Among 2,000+ others. My late mother was a serial bookworm in addition to being totally bats. (see my blog, 'An Attic Full of Bats')
Bon reading!