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The Etruscan

Mika Waltari

Hardcover | Pages: 381 pages

Rating: 4 | 1500 Users | 71 Reviews

List About Books The Etruscan

Title	:	The Etruscan
Author	:	Mika Waltari
Book Format	:	Hardcover
Book Edition	:	First Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 381 pages
Published	:	1956 by G.P. Putnam's Sons (NY) (first published 1955)
Categories	:	Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction. European Literature. Finnish Literature. Classics

Narrative Toward Books The Etruscan

My comments on this book must be prefaced by two caveats. First, I am reading a translation from the 1950s (by Evelyn Ramsden), which I suspect would benefit from being updated. Second, it seems that this translation has drastically slashed the length of the original novel, resulting in a story that alternately drags and leaps without any real internal logic. It's hard to tell how much of my assessment is based on the unsympathetic editing and how much on the original story, so I wanted to make that clear at the outset!

Set in the 5th century BC, this is the story of Turms, an exile who has come to Delphi seeking judgement in the aftermath of a religious crime. Recognised by the oracle as a man of destiny, he is acquitted and then embarks on a journey around the ancient Mediterranean, taking in battle with the Persians, piracy and - eventually - a romance with a priestess of Aphrodite, the alluring Arsinoe. As Turms follows this beguiling woman from the Greek colonies of Sicily to the nascent republic of Rome, he grows ever closer to his fate. With all this taken into account, it's quite remarkable how this translation manages to make it all so dull. Turms spends the vast majority of the book aimlessly wandering around the Mediterranean, and even when he meets the much-vaunted Arsinoe, his relationship with her is thoroughly implausible. One moment he can see right through her, as she flirts outrageously with his friends; the next minute he is plunged into a frenzy of desire for her. Arsinoe herself is merely a cardboard cut-out femme fatale. The gods are invoked to explain sudden changes of loyalty, friendships or allegiances that can't be justified by rational human behaviour, and the whole thing is an awkward mess. Judging by comments from people who've read the original, Waltari's text is actually much richer and more lyrical than is suggested in this translation. It's unfortunate that such an admired writer isn't given justice, but I really can't recommend this particular edition. If anyone should happen to find a more successful translation into English, I'd be enormously grateful for recommendations.

You can find further bafflement, and a longer review, here on my blog:
http://theidlewoman.blogspot.co.uk/20...

Itemize Books During The Etruscan

Original Title:	Turms, kuolematon
ISBN:	9997408950 (ISBN13: 9789997408952)
Edition Language:	English URL http://www.mikawaltariseura.fi/

Rating About Books The Etruscan

Ratings: 4 From 1500 Users | 71 Reviews

Judgment About Books The Etruscan

This was a book I just could not get into. I finished it but it just never piqued my interest. I think it's just me so give it a read (if you can find it as it's rare and most libraries do NOT have it).

Somehow did not manage to submerge into the story in similar way than with Waltari's earlier historical novels.



NEVERMORE!

If you can find this author's books, grab them. Most of them are out of print. The exception is "The Egyptian" Mika Waltari recreates ancient lives in a fascinating narrative style. I wish there were more books by this author.

I am childishly in love with every Waltari book I ever read, starting from a very young age, so I doubt I can be objective.This is one of his historical novels: the life and adventures of a man in the 500s BC who is unaware of his own background, having been raised in a Greek city in Asia Minor. The English title spoils his background, and the original title (Turms the Immortal) spoils other things, but neither lowers the enjoyment.The book follows Turms (warrior, pirate, exile, wanderer,

Even though I like Waltari's style of writing and I don't want to compere with the Egyptian, I was missing something in this book. The story and main characters are wonderful, but probably I am just simply disappointed with Turms lack of care towards his personal life in the end. However, it is wonderful reading and I definitely recommend it :)