Augustus by John Williams
Jul. 21st, 2025 10:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
m_oonmoonI have finally partially completed John Williams' novels. I say partially because I have yet to read his debut novel but I heard that he
wasn't particularly proud of that work so I'm not particularly inclined to read it either. I might pick it up at a later time. It's fitting that i should read Augustus last since this is Williams' last published work.
All of his works seem vastly different from each other in style but closely related in themes. Augustus is an epistolary novel about the emperor of Rome, Augustus. It tells the story of his rise in power - the intrigues and diplomacy that must come with it.Told through the perspective of a whole host of characters, which can be challenging since the Roman names almost all sound the same, it is only towards the end that we get Augustus' own perspective on the events that make up his life. This adds a completely different tone to the entire novel, turning what you think you understand about Augustus in its head.
I keep thinking back on what Mendelsohn wrote in his introduction for Augustus:
I felt this very acutely in Butcher's Crossing and in Augustus, Williams takes it on a grander scale. The emperor is the emperor because of circumstances that he did not orchestrate but at the same time, the emperor is also the emperor because he chose to be the emperor. In Augustus' final letter to his friend Nicolaus of Damascus, he is aware of the "contrariness" of his life:
[...]
Just like Williams' other novels, Augustus is beautifully written. It prompts the reader to introspection, to look at the motivation behind these historical figures' actions. However, the characters remain fictional in my head. They don't seem to gain a true life of their own in the same way that Mantel's historical fiction does. Perhaps this is because of the format of the novel. Despite the fact that letters should feel like a very up-close and personal view of a character, it felt somewhat distant. It could also be because we are viewing the events from the point of view of fringe characters. Nevertheless, Augustus is a worthy read and I am glad I finally finished most of Williams' works.
wasn't particularly proud of that work so I'm not particularly inclined to read it either. I might pick it up at a later time. It's fitting that i should read Augustus last since this is Williams' last published work.
All of his works seem vastly different from each other in style but closely related in themes. Augustus is an epistolary novel about the emperor of Rome, Augustus. It tells the story of his rise in power - the intrigues and diplomacy that must come with it.Told through the perspective of a whole host of characters, which can be challenging since the Roman names almost all sound the same, it is only towards the end that we get Augustus' own perspective on the events that make up his life. This adds a completely different tone to the entire novel, turning what you think you understand about Augustus in its head.
I keep thinking back on what Mendelsohn wrote in his introduction for Augustus:
All of Williams's work is preoccupied by the way in which, whatever our characters may be, the lives we end up with are often unexpected products of the friction between us and the world itself"
I felt this very acutely in Butcher's Crossing and in Augustus, Williams takes it on a grander scale. The emperor is the emperor because of circumstances that he did not orchestrate but at the same time, the emperor is also the emperor because he chose to be the emperor. In Augustus' final letter to his friend Nicolaus of Damascus, he is aware of the "contrariness" of his life:
It was destiny that seized me that afternoon at Apollonia nearly sixty years ago, and I chose not to avoid its embrace.
[...]
When I was young, I would have said that loneliness and secrecy were forced upon me. I would have been in error. As most men do, I chose my life then; I chose to enclose myself in the half-formed dream of a destiny no one could share, and thus abandoned the possibility of that kind of human friendship which is so ordinary that it is never spoken of, and thus is seldom cherished"
Just like Williams' other novels, Augustus is beautifully written. It prompts the reader to introspection, to look at the motivation behind these historical figures' actions. However, the characters remain fictional in my head. They don't seem to gain a true life of their own in the same way that Mantel's historical fiction does. Perhaps this is because of the format of the novel. Despite the fact that letters should feel like a very up-close and personal view of a character, it felt somewhat distant. It could also be because we are viewing the events from the point of view of fringe characters. Nevertheless, Augustus is a worthy read and I am glad I finally finished most of Williams' works.