Breathing Life Into The Dead

     During high school, I had to learn Latin and translate the orations of Cicero,one of the greatest Roman Lawyers from the year B.C. I admit that every class was pure "blah" because I was into the usual juvenile things like loud music and videogames. My teachers tried to convince me that this dead guy was cool and it just went over my head. In fact, me and my classmates were even assigned to make a play about his life. Yet, I still wasn't able to appreciate Cicero because I was too focused on passing Latin and going back to finding the hidden sword in Final Fantasy. 

   Years later, Cicero's ghost seemed to haunt me once again when National Bookstore sent me Imperium by Richard Harris, a piece of historical fiction on this great orator's life. I hesitated for a moment in picking up the book because of the memories from the oh-so boring Latin class conjured up in my mind. However, I decided to read it anyway because Cicero was just like an old high school classmate you haven't seen in a long time. You weren't really close to that classmate but you have this funny urge to catch up just for the sake of it.

  So, how is my friend Cicero now? Surprisingly, he is now much cooler than I remembered him to be. This is due to the mood that Robert Harris brings to the book through the narrator Tiro who is Cicero's assistant and admirer. Through the eyes of Tiro, we get a glazed picture of his master as a great mind whose defects are not hideous but are rather charming. As a result, we are also awed by this man named after chickpeas (Cicer in Latin).

  Aside from Tiro's admiration for Cicero, Robert Harris's style seamlessly works well for a gritty law drama like Imperium. As you read the dialogue of Cicero, his speeches in court and the rest of the novel, you find yourself thinking of David E. Kelly shows such as the Practice and Boston Legal. Harris' words seem to make you feel that there is a lot of back story in each scene that evoke a sense that no one can be trusted in Rome. For example, Cicero's teacher Molon teaches him "Content does not concern me. Remember Demosthenes: ' Only three things Count in oratory. Delivery, Delivery, and again: Delivery.' "

  These words really strike a cord for me because it shows how superficial Rome is, which is not so far to the world today. The only difference is that these guys were much more "free" down there under their togas. Hmmm.. I wonder if that is why I find Cicero much cooler now…. I guess I will just have to read on to find out….

Author: Robert Harris

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Price: Php 499.00 for Trade Paperback

National Bookstore Release: Available Now!