Creation: A Novel (Vintage International)

I have been studying the ancient civilizations of Persia, Greece, Rome through on-line and audio lessons but somehow, I was not relating to the dynamics of those civilizations. Gore Vidal has a unique style that is historically correct yet enables the reader to 'feel' the lifestyle and times of those who actually made the history.In addition to being well written, it is also clever and amusing. How often does one feel like laughing, or at least smiling, when reading a historical novel? To be entertained while being educated is a very special treat. When I finish this long novel, I am sure I will be looking for other Gore Vidal books - perhaps "The Twelve Caesars" will be next.

Vidal's Creation is a wonderful work of fiction "masquerading as history" to quote another reviewer. Literally a tour of the known world at height of Persian power, in page-turner prose. I read this after a recommendation from Charles Hill in his recent Grand Strategies (also excellent) and wanted to reacquaint myself with this period of history while taking a break from non-fiction. And while Creation is a work of fiction, throughout are life lessons; lessons in the fragility and frailty of human beings and their systems of governance and their competing philosophies. Highly recommended.

"I am puzzled by creation," says Cyrus Spitama, our narrator at one point in his travels, an attitude that will be shared with the reader who stays with him until the end, and absorbs all that he encounters and ponders through his peregrinations, ostensibly as Persian Ambassador, throughout the Fifth Century world.I have no problem, as some other reviewers seem to do, with Vidal's caustic snipes peppering the narrative. In fact, they kept me going at several points in the book. For my one criticism of the book is that it becomes theologically tedious at times. What is generally denominated the "First Cause" argument for a Creator is rehashed so many times that it becomes almost unbearably tiresome. --- The argument, for those sans a philosophy class in their background, takes the form of something more or less like this: Everything has a cause, and if you go back far enough in your questioning of what caused this, and what caused this that caused this that caused this other thing etc etc, you'll finally come across something that has no cause. That something is God or the Creator, or, what you will. And if you question someone who actually believes this argument for a creator as to why this must be so, you'll be told that there can't be an "infinite regression". This argument was dismissed by philosophers and even most believers in a creator many moons ago for the very obvious reason that there is no reason that there not be an "infinite regression" other than that we find it hard to imagine. It's also not true that everything has a cause. But that's for a higher level philosophy class, and is not dealt with in Vidal's book.The theodicy question, the problem of evil in the world, which keeps arising among all the different philosophers and religious figures whom our narrator encounters, is far more interesting. It is best posed by Prince Jeta as he is dying in India: "We can't conceive [of] a god who takes an immortal soul, allows it to be born once, plays a game with it, then passes a judgment on it and condemns it to pain or pleasure forever." This is a question that has dogged Western religious thinkers for ages: Why is there so much evil in the Creator's world? Need I say that the question has never been answered thoroughly despite many attempts to do so. The only coherent answer to the question, if you believe both in the creator and evil, is the belief of the Ancient Gnostics that the creator of this world is himself evil. But the "Ancient Gnostics", as far as we know, did not come along until four centuries after this narrative is set.But I'm omitting the most fascinating part of the book, indeed, what makes it worth reading, the view into the ancient world from a non-Hellenic viewpoint. This firsthand narrative from the imagined perspective of a Persian is most refreshing. We are taught to revere the Ancient Greeks as the founders of modern civilisation. It is altogether bracing to see them treated with the irreverence and disdain a contemporary Persian must have felt for the comparatively impoverished and chaotic country, particularly Athens. The pre-eminence they now enjoy was by no means foreordained.Vidal's intriguing panoramic view of the Ancient world almost makes one wish one could travel back in time as an ancient Persian, Indian, Cathayan or even Greek to experience all these things oneself----Ahem, I exclude those who believe, with Pythagoras and the Indians, in the transmigration of souls. They've obviously already been there, in some form or another....But, as our narrator laments, "What we are is seldom what we want to be while what we want to be is either denied us - or changes with the seasons."

Vidal truly outdid himself in this one. The idea is ingenious, to take all this amazing people from the 5th Century BC and put them all in one place with Cyrus Spitama, a cynical narrator who was born into Zoroastrianism: a religion he is quite half-hearted about and might have run from if not that he is supposedly the chosen one of the Wise Lord. Cyrus Spitama by himself is worth the reading of this novel, but then throw in his crazy mother and his friendship with Xerxes and their growing up under the reign of the mighty Darius, the intrigues of the court, the fabulous queen Atossa, and a most interesting take on Persian history and the death of Cambyses ii, not to mention the deep conversations with Buddha and then Confucius. This novel is exhausting but in the best way possible and though it is lengthy and carries on at times, it is more than worth it in the end. If you are any lover of history, you absolutely can't miss this.

Creation is a great book. It is written as a novel and is written so that the ordinary person can read it. It is difficult reading and will take quite a while to finish it, but is well worth it. The conversations in this book are not real.but could have been just this way. That's what makes it a "novel". Gore Vidal did so much research on this book that it is hard to keep track of it all, but it is factual.

This is the third historical fiction book by Gore Vidal that I've read (Burr and Lincoln as the others) and I keep wishing one of them would actually be good. So far, not so much. Yeah, you get to move through a lot of the ancient world but you never really feel like you're THERE. The subtleties of life are, while not completely missing, just not very immersive.If you're looking for a flyover of the shallowness and pointlessness of religion (particularly the EVOLUTION of religious "thought" that led to christianity), well, I guess this is interesting, but there are better things to invest your time in.

This is one of my favorite books. Gore Vidal's writing is one of a kind and brings the ancient world to life. When reading this book you become absorbed, you feel like you are there witnessing the tales of an old man on the shores of the Aegean recalling a life that covers the philosophy of Zoroaster, Confucius, Lao Tzu, and the Buddha. Philosophy, history, religion, life itself - all these are the themes of 'Creation' and these themes are brilliantly elucidated through Vidal's story telling. This is an unparalleled masterpiece of historical fiction.

Fabulous adventure examining global relations in the age of Confucius, Zoroaster and Darius the Great. Tyranny is everywhere and exists today where multinational corporations refuse to allow workers to organise.

This was the first Gore Vidal book I read and certainly not the last. It is a marvellous and fascinating journey, specially for me, living in India. Vidal has the brilliance of making history come alive, making it memorable and meaningful.A must read for everyone, everywhere.

I read this 30 years ago and had such great memories I tried it again. The prose is elegant, the erudition remarkable and the lead character is wonderful. A pure reading pleasure.

E' un piacere immenso leggere Gore Vidal, soprattutto in questo romanzo. L'accuratezza dei dati e la maestria nel ritmare racconto e avvenimenti uniti ad un piacevolissimo "sense of humour" lo rendono godibilissimo.

Très bien. Tout c'est très bien passé. Produit tel comme il a été décrit. ****** ****** ****** *** *** ****