Julian: A Novel

An excellent piece of historical fiction. Vidal certainly brings 4th century Rome, Greece and Gaul to life, at least from the perspective of a ruling class youth rebelling against his family's embrace of what he considers to be a false religion (his uncle was Constantine the Great, the first emperor to legalize Christianity). Always the "weak" younger brother, both angry and in fear of being executed by his emperor cousin, as were both his father and later his older brother; more scholar than soldier, Julian devotes himself to study and worship of the traditional Hellenic gods and to staying alive by not rocking the family boat. The author recreates time and place with seeming ease and it's almost exciting to get an inside glimpse into the Roman emperor's court, the student "scene" of ancient Athens, and the unexpected train of circumstance that leads Julian himself to the highest office of his time, that of Roman Augustus. His transformation to a brilliant military tactician and outstanding ruler could not, however, save him from the treachery of those "Christian" generals among his own staff who had him murdered by his own aide on the battlefield. A rather long but compelling work which should delight anyone interested in the Roman empire.

I had read  The Last Pagan: Julian the Apostate and the Death of the Ancient World  and I was wondering how the Julian in that book that dabbles in magic and sex with prostitutes, quick jokes about his violent, sexual yet Christian brother and other oddities would translate to real life. Gore Vidal definitely brings it to life (TMI!). The summary is that Julian's family was killed by Christians, then he was raised but great Christians but ultimately rejected the philosophy and basically became a High Priest in Greek mythology, which had power then and wasn't a myth. They choose Julian to become Emperor and got him there and Julian vowed to raise them up. He re-established the Greek gods and persecuted Christians through getting them out of the military, government, preventing them to teach, stopping free rides on the transit system, and getting rid of tax waivers for churches. The Greek gods told him to wait a year to go to war with the Persians and he didn't and he died. The first third is pretty sexual and philosophical. An interesting war to take the throne in the middle, the royalty of basically bashing Christianity, and finally a quite ponderous war that led to his death. I'm guessing Gore Vidal overdoes the sex and violence, while not talking much about his interaction in his childhood with the great church fathers he lived with. Vidal draws from lots of sources that I read though, like some of his writings "Beard Hater", and  Against the Galileans  that I was wondering how they would play in real life. Thank you Gore Vidal, even if it is way too much sex, and a throughly Christian bashing work.

What a fun read! This was my first Gore Vidal novel and if anything only whetted my appetite for more. I'd recommend this to anyone curious about dipping a toe into Vidal's highly stylized prose. Aside from showing some love to a seriously under-appreciated character, Julian sets the scene vividly with his depictions of an empire spanning the barren frontier of northern Gaul to the glittering capital of Constantinople. Moreover, Vidal introduces a narrative structure (that I've since come to see as his trademark) based around two timelines: one told in first person from Julian's POV and another based around two aging philosophers trying to tell his story years after his death. Not only does this allow for a wide range of perspectives on the plot, but it also introduces a degree of narrator unreliability that makes this such a pleasure to read. The author's extensive use of Church history and references to Scripture paint a a very diverse theological landscape full of debate which looks very different to the rigid orthodoxy that came to characterize catholicism, and he holds no punches when gleefully eviscerating christian doctrine. However, the dual-narrative structure keeps things fair and allows Vidal to poke fun just as much at some of Julian's own more bizarre pagan beliefs and rituals. Ultimately a dazzling read and a wonderful introduction to everything this writer has to offer. Currently reading Burr and can't wait to get my hands on more of his books!

For lovers of historical fiction and late Roman history, this book is a must read. It's written in a very clever quasi-epistolary narrative form in which two philosopher-friends of Julian comment on Julian's memoirs posthumously, Vidal tells the story of the last Roman emperor to openly worship the ancient Hellenistic gods. Julian was a well-intentioned man, a philosopher and poet at heart, who believed that his uncle, Constantine the Great committed a big mistake making Christianity, for all intents and purposes, the official Roman religion. Julian, who's father was murdered as a rival to the throne by Constantine's devoutly Christian son, Constantius, grew disillusioned with the hypocrisy and life-denying outlook of those he called the Gallileans and longed for the ancient mysteries to return--the gods of Homer and Plato. When he was elevated to the role of Augustus in his early twenties, he instituted universal religious tolerance, took away the Christians' special privileges and starting rebuilding temples. Vidal shows how Western civilization might have turned out a lot differently if Julian hadn't tragically over-reached with an ill timed Persian war and his religious revival dissolved. As with all of Vidal's historical novels, you'll walk away from "Julian" with a sense of how things must have worked politically and economically on the quotidian level, which is almost worth the price of admission itself.

An interesting period in history, a good emperor, a philosopher emperor, but if you do not kill your opponents or potential opponents then you will not survive for long. And Julian did not survive for long, stabbed in the back by the Christian zealots who could not tolerate competition for their new religion. A religion full of contradictions and hypocrisy and a lust for power. Julian was right to allow complete religious tolerance which was soon to disappear with the Christians in control until the Ottoman Empire came to power centuries later. A good read, I am going to try Creation next which looks fascinating.

The sheer detail and exquisite use of the English language makes this an historical and literary feast for anyone remotely interested in the times and people portrayed. They are, one feels, described with consummate accuracy and as much historical veracity as is possible given the passage of time. Julian as a religious rebel in an increasingly over-Christianised society will endear himself to those of us who have a (secret?) yearning for a less hypocritical and pompous dispensation which has hardly proved itself worthy of the very Person who is said to be responsible for its inauguration. A fascinating read - and a pity that Vidal did not write with such acumen and professional style about other figures from the classical past. Phil

I thoroughly enjoyed this but I can't really say why! I fully expected to tire of it at some point but I didn't. The two commentaries by Priscus and Libanius, that run alongside Julian's autobiograpical musings, are quite bitchy but a very useful device that keep the narrative lively. I found myself rooting for Julian and was quite sad when the inevitable happened.

Having read most of Gore Vidal's historical novels, I left this until last. In my opinion it's one of his best. The characters are all quite engaging, and have a feel of authenticity about them.The fact that we know in advance that Julian's project to roll back the rise of Christianity in the 4th century Roman Empire was set to fail doesn't detract from the book.Like all Vidal's work, this is witty, fascinating, intelligent and shows at times great depths.

4 out of 5 for a great book, delivered in a timely fashion, at a great price. I'd give it 5 stars if it were half the price. But that's just me being an obnoxious tightwad. I couldn't recommend it more!