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“Fun book, good intro to historical figures from 5th century bce”
alban80 wrote this review Tuesday, September 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Creation is a novel by Gore Vidal which deals with some of the most ancient and difficult human questions: “How was the universe created? Why was evil created with good?”.
Baldo wrote this review Sunday, August 9 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Cyrus Spitama, the protagonist, is the grandson of Zoroaster and lives at the court of Darius, the great king of Persia. There Cyrus becomes friend of the king’s son Xerxes, future king of Persia, and start a long travel as persian ambassador. In his travels Cyrus visits India, where he meets the Buddha and learn about the nirvana, and Cathay (modern China) where he fishes with Confucius on a riverbank while discussing of creation and the way of the nobleman.
I have to say that although I enjoy books about philosophy, I had some initial difficulties. The numerous characters and facts presented at the beginning (don’t forget it’s an historical novel) somehow confused me, maybe just because it’s my first novel of this kind. However after some pages I started to enjoy the narration. Vidal narrates, very vividly, the context of the fifth century BC, the persian court, the war with greeks and the scenario in India and Cathay. The political and cultural’s picture resulting is very intense and realistic, making look the characters and the facts absolutely actual. Also the direct and sarcastic style of Cyrus is worth of the reading.
Suggested to everyone who wants a break from economy/science/… books and looks for a well written history merging travels, philosophy and politics.”
“I pick this as my favorite novel. I reread it every few years and it continues to please. It combines a good story, history, and philosophy in a 'thumping good read'. ”
Michael R wrote this review Monday, July 27 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“suddenly I was really in 5th century BC . understanding it, smelling it, seeing it. I'm sure Vidal was there for a long time too.”
Joana F wrote this review Friday, June 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A grand historical novel in which we meet Confucius, Buddha, Socrates, and Li Tzu (among others). A novel of ideas and their intermixing.”
muque and shylock tomes wrote this review Thursday, January 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A novel of breathtaking ambition. What James Mitchner might have written if he knew how to write. The book begins in the Greece of Herodotus and takes us through the age of Xerxes. Stunning in its historical accuracy, while weaving a potent, fictional story (as do many of Vidal's books).”
whatmeworry wrote this review Tuesday, October 28 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This is the most amazing historic book ever read by me. It is about the beginning of the beginning”
Diego Vinícius wrote this review Saturday, June 21 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Another tour de force from a wonderful historical novelist. Vidal is interesting, erudite, and a bit of a crank, which only adds to the many pleasures of this novel.
Mark W wrote this review Saturday, October 27 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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“This was a very interesting story, that was a lot of fun to read. i enjoyed the converstions the main charachter had with buddha, confuscious, master li, etc, and the historical references to the ancient persian and greek empires.”
tmunson wrote this review Thursday, September 6 2007. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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