Pompeii

by Robert Harris | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0091801206 Global Overview for this book
Registered by winghyphen8wing of Honolulu, Hawaii USA on 10/19/2015
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This book is in the wild! This Book is Currently in the Wild!
13 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by winghyphen8wing from Honolulu, Hawaii USA on Monday, October 19, 2015
I enjoyed this a lot when I read it: I've long found volcanoes a fascinating subject, and the story of Pompeii is both intriguing and tragic.

The story is told from the point of view of a young engineer: he's trying to figure out what's wrong with the aqueduct...

Other copies on my BookCrossing shelf:

390672145809501170015713512175

Journal Entry 2 by winghyphen8wing at Honolulu, Hawaii USA on Monday, October 19, 2015

Released 8 yrs ago (10/19/2015 UTC) at Honolulu, Hawaii USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Headed out as a very late Birthday RABCK, direct from Better World Books. Hope it doesn't take too long to get there!

Journal Entry 3 by wingAbi-Gibbywing at Millbrook, Cornwall United Kingdom on Friday, October 30, 2015
The label for the "late" birthday present has arrived I look forward to reciveing it :)

Released 8 yrs ago (1/29/2016 UTC) at -- Controlled Release, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

I very much enjoyed reading this book I thought it had a fantastic storyline and plot I also thought that the book was jam packed with fantastic historical detail. A must read book

Now off to an OBCZ
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Journal Entry 5 by wingGlencorseCentrewing at Auchendinny, Scotland United Kingdom on Monday, February 1, 2016
Thank you Abi, much appreciated. This will be on the shelf later this week.

I've actually read this one myself, I remember it as a good tale well told.

Journal Entry 6 by wingCassandra2020wing at Roslin, Scotland United Kingdom on Thursday, June 9, 2016
Retreived from obcz

The 2016 UK Bookcrossing Unconvention will be held in Birmingham, 23-25 September 2016. Visit http://2016.bcukunconvention.co.uk/ for details!

Journal Entry 7 by wingCassandra2020wing at Roslin, Scotland United Kingdom on Thursday, December 21, 2017
I decided to offer this book up as a bookray. You can find the forum details here: http://www.bookcrossing.com/forum/20/536963



List so far:

nordie, in UK, prefers UK then EU postage
Flutterbies9, in UK, prefers UK postage
Silver-Greece, in UK, will post within EU
Greenbadger, in UK will post anywhere
penelopewanders, in Switzerland, EU postage only
Mankyi, in Switzerland, will post anywhere
Femke85, in Sweden, prefers EU postage
Icila, in France, will post anywhere

If this changes for any reason, I will update this journal entry as well as the forum post

Journal Entry 8 by wingCassandra2020wing at Roslin, Scotland United Kingdom on Thursday, December 21, 2017

Released 6 yrs ago (12/21/2017 UTC) at Roslin, Scotland United Kingdom

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Posting out to Nordie today. Happy travels little book!

Although this book is registered at www.bookcrossing.com, you don't have to be a member. It's perfectly OK to just take the book and enjoy it. Of course, if you can visit the website and let us know that you've picked it up, that would be even better - you don't even have to join, you can add your comments anonymously - you can also post your review when you've read it, then return it or pass it on to someone else.

If you do join Bookcrossing, you'll be able to see what happens to it afterwards - for ever!

Journal Entry 9 by nordie at Birmingham, West Midlands United Kingdom on Thursday, December 28, 2017
Arrived over the Christmas break, thanks!

Journal Entry 10 by nordie at Birmingham, West Midlands United Kingdom on Thursday, January 11, 2018

This was the first non-ebook of the year, and had been on my reading wishlist for a while, so it was good to finally get my hands on a copy. I've always had "a thing" for volcanoes and I visited Pompeii a few years ago, so it seemed natural to want to read this.  I've read several of Harris' books before (e.g. Fatherland) and quite like his style.

The story starts 4 days before the eruption of Vesuvius, where Attilius has recently arrived in Misenum to look after the aqueduct. He finds that the previous engineer (Exomnius) disappeared several weeks before and no one is admitting to knowing, or caring, what happened to him. The first sign that something is wrong with the water is the death of a pool full of fish - expensive and mainly decorative, the loss of face is made worse by the fact that it is the feast of Vulcan, where tradition states that live fish are sacrificed onto hot coals. It is whilst the slave responsible for looking after the fish is being fed alive to the pool of eels that Attilius interrupts the "show" and determines that the fish died through poisoning - the water from the aqueduct has been tainted with sulphur.

From then it's a race to find out where the problem with the aqueduct is (Attilius makes an educated guess that it's somewhere around Pompeii and Vesuvius) and fix it before the water in the Bay of Naples dries up. Therefore he manages to get to Pompeii and persuades Pliny to grant him permission to investigate further.  In doing so, Attilius comes up against the worst of society: the ex-slave who has become one of the richest men in the area due to corruption and brutality (he's also the father of Attilius' love interest); the weak and feeble local council members who are too scared to make a decision, or stand up to the man they despise the most; the work-gang leader who resents Attilius' presence. He also comes upon Pliny, who is still well known (in some circles) for his extensive volumes of works, including a real time description of the eruption.   Attilius also gets to find out what happened to Exomnius and what he knew, both as an Engineer and a Sicilian (where they had paid attention to when Etna erupted).

Some parts of the book are stronger than others........Attilius's belief in Roman Engineering, understanding that a failure in the water supply would undermine most of the confidence in the Empire; Pliny (a known narrator of Vesuvius's explosion) and his logical and factual belief in reporting what *is*;  the understanding of some as to the effect of a lack of water would have on the "mob" etc. There are things that are a little less strong - the love interest (which was too short and shallow); the local council members were lightly sketched, and it was difficult to see how they had got to the position whereby they could be dominated so completely by an ex-slave. 

On the whole, a reasonable thriller, set against a known historical fact, that had a couple of things that could have been tightened up a little, but I'm glad to have read it.

I have the address of the next in line and this will be in the post soon

Released 6 yrs ago (1/18/2018 UTC) at -- Controlled Release, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Off on it's travels!

Journal Entry 12 by Flutterbies9 at Meare, Somerset United Kingdom on Sunday, January 21, 2018
Received on Sat 20th January. Will read and pass on asap.

Thanks for including me in this bookray cassandra2020.

Journal Entry 13 by Flutterbies9 at Meare, Somerset United Kingdom on Friday, January 26, 2018
In one of these odd coincidences, when I started reading this I realised that I had in fact read it previously, a number of years ago. However, I loved it again!

The historical and factual detail in this book is obviously well researched and the stories of the individual characters made the plot come alive. I have to agree with Nordie re: the love interest and the characterisation of the Pompeii officials, but on the whole although some were better described than others, most of human nature was well displayed through the small vignettes of 'real life' interspersed within the narrative.

Have pm'd next in line and awaiting details to send on.

Released 6 yrs ago (1/27/2018 UTC) at -- Controlled Release, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

On to the next reader in the ray. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Happy travels little book.

It's with me. I'll read it and send it to the next on the list.
Thank you all for sharing!

Released 6 yrs ago (2/26/2018 UTC) at -- Somewhere in London 🤷‍♀️ , Greater London United Kingdom

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

I sent it to the next person on the list

Journal Entry 17 by winggreenbadgerwing at St Albans, Hertfordshire United Kingdom on Monday, February 26, 2018
Received this ray book today, thank you.

I went to the excellent Pompeii exhibition at the British Museum when it was on and am very interested to learn more.

Journal Entry 18 by winggreenbadgerwing at St Albans, Hertfordshire United Kingdom on Sunday, March 11, 2018
The events leading up to the eruption of Vesuvius are told through the eyes of the engineer in charge of the Aqua Augusta, the great aqueduct bringing water to the people of the region. He has been sent there when the previous aquarius went missing, and when the water fails he must do a hasty repair so that thousands of people don't go thirsty. Not everyone welcomes the new aquarius, and he has to deal with corruption amongst the citizens of Pompeii as well as the natural disaster which is imminent. He has an ally in the beautiful Corelia, soon to be married to fill her father's ambitions. This is a gripping story, a fascinating look at Roman society and an excellent description of one of the great natural disasters.

Journal Entry 19 by winggreenbadgerwing at St Albans, Hertfordshire United Kingdom on Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Released 6 yrs ago (3/14/2018 UTC) at St Albans, Hertfordshire United Kingdom

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

On its way to penelopewanders, next in the ray. Enjoy! :)

Journal Entry 20 by wingpenelopewanderswing at Hasliberg, Bern / Berne Switzerland on Tuesday, March 20, 2018
This has arrived safely in the Swiss Alps, along with a few other bookrings etc. I will try to get to it soon. Thanks so much for making it available and sending it along!

Journal Entry 21 by wingpenelopewanderswing at Hasliberg, Bern / Berne Switzerland on Monday, March 26, 2018
This story of life in the ancient Roman Empire, and more specifically the life of an aquarius in the region during the 72/48 hours leading up to and just after the eruption of Vesuvius came here as a bookcrossing ring. I remembered that Pliny had written about the events but didn't realize it was also the time of his death. I was a bit disappointed to read no mention of Paestum, a nearby town I had much pleasure visiting decades ago, but while this was not the book of the year for me, I appreciated it nonetheless. It had been a while since I'd plunged so deeply into this era and it was nice to be reminded of that distant civilization, so advanced in so many ways. I hope to send this on soon but have to juggle post office open times with my holiday dates - I may have to wait until I get back to send further.

Journal Entry 22 by wingpenelopewanderswing at Hasliberg, Bern / Berne Switzerland on Saturday, March 31, 2018

Released 5 yrs ago (3/31/2018 UTC) at Hasliberg, Bern / Berne Switzerland

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Heading down from the suddenly very snowy Berner Oberland in the Alps, to Zurich... Enjoy! Thanks for making this available and for sending.

Journal Entry 23 by Mankyi at Zürich, Zürich Switzerland on Sunday, April 8, 2018
I have found this book waiting for me at home today - thank you, penelopewanders!

Wow, the book started its journey from Honolulu, how cool! I'd love to visit Hawaii one day!

I have another book to finish at the moment, so this one is next in line.

Journal Entry 24 by Mankyi at Zürich, Zürich Switzerland on Sunday, April 29, 2018

Released 5 yrs ago (4/29/2018 UTC) at Zürich, Zürich Switzerland

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

The book is now ready to travel to its next destination in Sweden. Enjoy!:)


If you aren't familiar with Bookcrossing, take a few minutes to check out this very cool site. Bookcrossers LOVE books, and more than anything, they love to read books and then set them free for other people to find and enjoy. I would love it if you would leave a journal entry -- you can say where you found the book or how you liked it when you read it.


Journal Entry 25 by Mankyi at Zürich, Zürich Switzerland on Saturday, June 16, 2018
This book has been returned to me as it hasn't been claimed by Femke. I'll keep it for now until I get a reply from her.

Journal Entry 26 by Mankyi at Zürich, Zürich Switzerland on Sunday, June 17, 2018

Released 5 yrs ago (6/17/2018 UTC) at Zürich, Zürich Switzerland

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

The book is now heading to its new temporary owner in France. All the best!:)


If you aren't familiar with Bookcrossing, take a few minutes to check out this very cool site. Bookcrossers LOVE books, and more than anything, they love to read books and then set them free for other people to find and enjoy. I would love it if you would leave a journal entry -- you can say where you found the book or how you liked it when you read it.


Journal Entry 27 by wingIcilawing at Nantes, Pays de la Loire France on Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Safely at home, thank you !

Journal Entry 28 by wingIcilawing at Nantes, Pays de la Loire France on Friday, July 20, 2018
I traveled twice to Pompeii and had the luck the first time to be alone and wander in the ancient city without the crowd, the second time I didn't see anything at all. The curse of too many tourists. Amazing to be there and think that all was as 2 000 years ago.
The story in the book isn't very credible but I loved the very well researched work about the engineering of the aqueduct and so more.

Journal Entry 29 by wingIcilawing at Nantes, Pays de la Loire France on Friday, August 10, 2018

Released 5 yrs ago (8/10/2018 UTC) at Nantes, Pays de la Loire France

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

On its way again ...

Journal Entry 30 by Femke85 at Uppsala, Uppland Sweden on Wednesday, August 22, 2018
I was supposed to get this via the bookray, but then something went wrong with the post. Now I get to read this book afterall, through the Town and Country bookring

Journal Entry 31 by Femke85 at Uppsala, Uppland Sweden on Thursday, October 11, 2018
The good thing about bookrings and bookrays is that sometimes you stumble upon books that you would never have picked yourself. Since I’m not a big fan of histrical fiction, I would probably have never picked up Pompeii from a bookstore, but I’m glad I gave it a chance via the Town &Country bookring.

One of the reasons I don’t like the genre is because it often gives me the feeling that the author wants to show off his knowledge or research on the subject. Unfortunately this story was no different. Since it is told from the perspective of an engineer of an aquaduct, there were a lot of passages about the architecture that I sort of browsed over. I also felt that the personal relationships and some of the intriges or scandals were only briefly mentioned and could have used a bit more depth, as now it was very superficial.

As a scientist I mostly enjoyed the descriptions of Pliny about the natural phenomena that occur during a vulcanic eruption (or “manifestation” as it was called). Mixing scientific observations with poetry, I wish I could do that in my scientific papers ;)

I’ll try to find a new home for this book soon! Perhaps it can travel again in the next “town & country bookring”.

Edit 08/01/2019: reserved for the global sweeps

Journal Entry 32 by Femke85 at Exchange/Trade, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases on Sunday, February 3, 2019

Released 5 yrs ago (2/3/2019 UTC) at Exchange/Trade, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This book travels to the winner of the Global Sweepsz

I always try to post my controlled releases with real stamps. If you are not a collector yourself, you might want to check out this post on the forum about a stamps sweeps that I’m currently organising or this one about Bookcrossers who collect stamps. A lot of Bookcrossers collect stamps for charity, so it’s nice to find them a good home!

Journal Entry 33 by wingHarobed82wing at Pornichet, Pays de la Loire France on Thursday, February 7, 2019
Thank you for this book, it was a nice surprise in my mail box! :)
Wow so many readers! I think iT's the 1st time I receive a book that has travelled so much! Hello everyone!!! :)

Journal Entry 34 by wingHarobed82wing at Pornichet, Pays de la Loire France on Friday, May 3, 2019
Although I found it a bit long for my taste, i thouroughly enjoyed this book.

Journal Entry 35 by wingHarobed82wing at Château des Ducs de Bretagne in Nantes, Pays de la Loire France on Thursday, May 30, 2019

Released 4 yrs ago (5/30/2019 UTC) at Château des Ducs de Bretagne in Nantes, Pays de la Loire France

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

In the LFL.
Happy reading! :)

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