Excellent and Unfortunately All Too Relevant

 

I am a serious consumer of

audio books. I mentioned recently that I was listening to Michener's The Source-- such a good book but in light of all that's going on in the so-called Holy Land these days, I began to find it too grim for bed time listening.

So I decided to shift my attention to ancient Rome and downloaded Robert Grave's I, Claudius. I've read it several times, beginning when I was in high school. It was one of a few books in the house and at the time, it seemed a bit racy.

I also saw the TV version but found it difficult to follow.

This audio version, however, is perfect. The reader is a delight to listen to, and somehow, over the course of many hours, it was easy to keep track of the various characters. Listening was compelling.

Except for one thing. The novel shows how Rome

sank from a republic to a dictatorship, culminating in the rule of insane, depraved Caligula. Senators had the choice of assenting to his whims or being banished or executed.

Somehow it all seemed familiar.