Augustus by John Williams is one of the best books I have read. I have grown more stingy with my rating lately, but I was completely overwhelmed by this novel that I had to award it 5 full stars. It is my first 5-star read in more than two years.
Augustus is a work of fiction. Williams has done a thorough research of the historical facts, events, and characters that covered the period of life of Octavius Caesar the August until his death, but he specifically states that the book is a “work of imagination”. “With a few exceptions, the documents that constitute this novel are of my own invention…But if there are truths in this work, they are the truths of fiction rather than of history.” He also emphasizes that Augustus is NOT a work of historical fiction. “I didn’t want it to sound historical. Those people were very real and contemporaneous to me.” His take on the novel intrigued me, and from the outset, I felt that I’d be in for a rare treat.
The novel is written in the epistolary style. Through the use of letters, memoirs, and dispatches William tells the story of Gaius Octavius Caesar – “a sensitive and scholarly a sensitive and scholarly nineteen-year-old” – who finds him suddenly thrust into the centre of power as the heir of his great-uncle Julius Caesar who was murdered. Young Octavius has two tasks – to avenge the murder of his great-uncle, Julius Caesar, and to fulfill his dream of building the Roman Empire. It is not an easy task with many opposing his authority to rule. But with his intelligence, political diplomacy, and occasional ruthlessness, he successfully establishes a peaceful and prosperous Roman Empire and becomes its first emperor. The story proceeds till Octavius Caesar’s death and we read about all the political maneuvering he undertakes to preserve the stability and integrity of the Roman Empire even to the extent of personal sacrifice. I enjoyed every part of the story – from the adventurous acquisition of power to the quiet establishment of the Empire, and finally the ruminations of an old man who partly pleased and partly doubtful if he is done alright. But what fascinated me the most was the women’s role in the power game, especially Octavius’s wife, Livia, and daughter, Julia. They willingly become sacrificial pawns to achieve their own political ambitions.
When I first realised that the story was narrated in epistolary form, a doubt clouded my mind as to its suitability. I wondered whether it wouldn’t have been better if a narrator had presented the story rather than this usage of various letters, fragments from memoirs, notes from journals, etc. In his defence, the author states that “I wanted a kind of immediacy in it…I also knew that all educated Romans were great letter-writers…I wanted the characters to present themselves. I didn’t want to try to explain them. I didn’t want to have a twentieth-century vision of the Roman times. So the epistolary form lets the people speak for themselves.” While his explanation reassured me, I also felt that epistolary style gave the story a forward drive and made it a page-turner.
This is my first novel by John Williams and I was amazed by his impeccable writing. He brings to life his characters, the events with honesty and simplicity so as to be unable to question their truthfulness. He treats his characters with sympathy that even in their ruthlessness, they win the readers’ hearts. What is most fascinating about his writing is the lighter tone he adopts throughout the story while employing a sort of “semi-classical” language that is suitable to the time period described. I found this combination vastly satisfying. It helped me to read faster as well as fully engage with the story and its characters.
Augustus is the sort of perfect read that one has the pleasure of discovering in her reading life. John Williams decidedly is a brilliant storyteller and Augustus is his “living proof”.
Rating: 5/5