The Door in the Wall

By Benita Kane Jaro

Book Overview

Jaro recreates the major characters and events in the waning Roman Republic with a solid command of the ancient sources and the kind of disciplined imagination that brings history alive. A compelling... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0865165335
• ISBN13: 9780865165335
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
• Length: 249 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

An extroardinary vision of Julius Caesar and Rome

Julius Caesar is rather an avocation of mine, and I've tried to read all available fiction about him, as well as all available scholarly resources. I haven't been this impressed with a book about ancient Rome in a very long time. Jaro's writing style is effective and lyrical, her evocation of Rome hits all the right notes (and those are NOT easy to hit for many writers). Making Caelius her narrator is an effective, indeed fascinating, plot device; the man knew everyone, apparently, and Catullus, Antony, Curio, Cicero, and others are solidly grounded in her story. But of course, this is a novel about love and about Julius Caesar (not a phrase that automatically leaps to mind). The love of a young, ambitious, rebellious Roman for what appeared to be the most brilliant, charming political operator of his day, a reformer who, too, was disillusioned with the power establishment? Yes, that and much more. There is a tone of wistful "what-ifs" in this book I feel strikes a realistic note for those living through the turbulent, violent last years of the Roman Republic. Although I have minor qualms about the author's choices - her Cicero is a bit too noble, her Caesar's hinted bisexuality arguably too emphasized - in all the primary elements she finds an admirable balance in tale-telling between the history of the period (which she obviously knows intimately) and the projections we must all bring to it to make it come alive. Thoroughly recommended and fascinating.

An engaging fictionalized account placed in Caesar's time

I enjoyed reading this book. Benita Kane Jaro has an engaging style, combining vivid description of scenes, lifelike if somewhat fictionalized characterization of historical characters and events, and, in this novel, an intriguing literary device: Marcus Caelius Rufus's "final" report as a Roman Praetor, which he is trying to write. In this first-person account of an actual character, Caelius repeatedly turns to the draft of the report to ask himself on which side of the emerging conflict between Caesar and Pompey he stands. The cast of characters includes many of the great figures of Julius Caesar's reign, including the statesman and writer Cicero (who comes off as the most honorable character of the book), Caesar's sometime rival Pompey, the noted independent-minded Senator Cato (the Younger), and Crassus, the third member of the Caesar-Pompey-Crassus triumvirate, Mark Antony, Cassius (of the "lean and hungry look" -- one of Caesar's assassins),the influential poet Catullus and the seductive Clodia, among others. In this account, Caelius has personal relationships of one kind or another with many of these characters, including notably Caesar himself. The book incorporates in its plot the actual texts of some of Catullus's poems and letters of Cicero, contributing significantly to its verisimilitude.

Reading The Door in The Wall

Reading "The Door in the Wall" was a wonderful experience. Ms. Jaro's elegant prose transported me to ancient Rome. The characters came to life vividly, and I've never felt so connected to a main character in historical fiction. The book is beautifully researched; throughout it reads as a personal document by the main character, Marcus Caelius Rufus. My interest never flagged, and I'm on my second re-read.

Open Door to the Past

The Door in the Wall proves that Gore Vidal hasn't cornered the market on fiction about ancient Rome. The character of Marcus Caelius Rufus, politician and rebel, is superbly and sympathetically drawn--the novel's supporting cast (Caesar, Catullus, Mark Antony, and Cicero) has been equally well brought to life. Jaro is erudite but never ponderous in her recreation of some of the seminal events in western history. She's also an elegant prose stylist, something one sees all too seldom these days.

The Door in the Wall

The Door in the Wall proves that Gore Vidal isn't the only contemporary novelist who writes erudite and stylish fiction about ancient Rome. Benita Kane Jaro has imagined the life of Marcus Caelius Rufus in a way that brings this rebel and politician to vivid and sympathetic life. (Other expertly conceived characters include Cicero, Mark Antony, Caesar, and Pompey.) Enthusiasts of historical recreation will savor this book. So will classicists, and admirers of elegant prose.