Quo Vadis

Quo Vadis: A Tale of the Time of Nero by Henryk Sienkiewicz / Jeremiah Curtin (Translator) 

432 pages 

Historical Fiction 

This is a great novel to get stuck into if you are self-isolating at home, so I wanted to share it with you for #tbt. It was originally written in Polish and won the 1905 Pulitzer Prize.

Set in Nero's Rome, a Roman nobleman falls in love with a Christian woman and converts to Christianity against the backdrop of Nero's royal court and the persecutions of the newly formed Christian religion. Rome was wild and savage!

Overall, the book was exciting to read, though I did find it slow in the middle and had to slog through reading some parts. The end was very hard to put down! This long book covered all types of people and reactions to the faith. It felt authentic and insightful.

The apostles Peter & Paul appear in parts of the book. Their words of challenge and encouragement were straight out of the bible. This book brought alive the time period and the faith for me. Entertaining and edifying. Well done!

Recommended For: Historical Fiction Fans. Romance Fans. People interested in Roman times and early Christianity.

Caveat: Though not explicitly described, the Colosseum games in one section of the novel were hard to read about - especially the torture and murder of children. The book doesn't dwell on it, but Rome was a violent place. Characters are beaten and/or killed. Not for overly sensitive minds.