Seven Hundred seventy by Bogdan Boeru is a historic fiction novel revolving around the mysterious banishment and murder of the great Latin poet Ovid.
Abstract: The novel plays with the existing, still unsolved, historical mysteries surrounding the reasons behind the banishment of the Antiquity’s great Latin poet, Ovid, to Tomis, a Greek colony by the Black Sea, as well as the circumstances of his death there and the location of his tomb.
Far more than a simple fiction based on the last years of Ovid’s life in Tomis, the novel weaves an intricate tapestry of the Roman Empire in the first two decades of the 1st century AD.
Readers will walk through the very real, rigorously documented and vividly brought to life slums of extravagant and sophisticated Rome, and are treated to street performances, life and death back alley fights, brothel incursions, gladiatorial arenas, terrifying close-up battle accounts, the smells and tastes of the underbelly of Rome, the ancient everyday brought to life in high definition colour and sound.
Review: I am a big fan of historic fiction, but somehow this book didn't resonate with me completely. There were some aspects like the historic setting and the similarity to actual historic events. But it got a little too confusing in between.
The writer has a great writing style. When there was a scene being portrayed like the encounter of an assassin with Nasso, the story flow smoothly. The events revolving around the Black Bird were interesting as well. But when there was too much info dump, I got a bit distracted.
Since the book is set in a Roman empire setting, you get to see a lot of historic Romanian culture, which is kind of intriguing. There is a lot of Latin / Greek words used within the book, which the author clarified nicely in the footnotes. I learned a bit of Latin reading the book :P
The ending was definitely interesting as well. Overall, I have mixed feelings about the book. Although it's a short story, it does have a lot of information that gets a bit confusing. I had to go back a few pages multiple times to get the gist of it all. But I do like some scenes as mentioned above. I loved the historic facts and the setting but would have preferred more story than data. It might not be for me, but if you are into historic fiction of the Romanian Empire and don't mind a bit of high-end reading, this book might be for you.