Pompeii by Robert Harris.
Shane and I listened to this book while driving around Spain on our honeymoon. As the title suggests the book takes place in Pompeii and spoiler alert, Vesuvius explodes with a force 100,000 more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. Shane and I really didn’t see that one coming. OK, kidding aside, going into the book you know what is going to happen and the overall plot is fairly formulaic and nothing new. The main character of the book though, Marcus Attilius Primus, is the local Aquarius or engineer for the Augusto aqueduct that runs through the area. Through him, the entire event is seen in a very different perspective. What struck Shane and I, was the fact that even as the volcano was erupting no one had any idea what was happening. It was a completely new phenomenon. In listening, you can’t help but think, wow these people were primitive, how could they not know? But as Shane and I were discussing this idea, it suddenly reminded me of the 2004 tsunami disaster, where people noticed the signs that something was happening (ie, the tide suddenly going out), but unfortunately just didn’t now what was coming. In reading (well listening) to the story and knowing what was happening, we got really pulled into Attilius’ life and just kept hoping he would put the signs together fast enough to somehow prevent the tragedy that was about to unfold. Overall, I found this book to be very enjoyable, and also very informative. We were so rapt with it that we actually went out of our way to buy headphones so we could finish listening to it in the airport on Shane’s laptop after we returned the car. Definitely a fun read.
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