Salaambo
-
- USD 0.99
-
- USD 0.99
Descripción editorial
Salaambo is a historical novel by Gustave Flaubert, whose vivid plot bursts with exoticism, high drama and bloody violence.
We join war-torn Carthage in the third century B.C., as the city is on the cusp of the Mercenaries' Revolt. Uncertainty pervades the once-great capital, whose finances are in disarray as a result of the lengthy Punic Wars. As it cannot pay or fulfill the promises made to mercenaries it hired, many of these mercenaries turn on the city, with the intention of claiming their dues by force.
The main character is Matho, a Libyan mercenary who leads his own company in an assault against the city of Carthage. He has his eyes set not merely on gold but on a strikingly beautiful woman named Salaambo, who is the daughter of Hamilcar, one of the city's leading generals.
However, Salaambo proves more than just a mere beauty. She seeks to confound Matho, whose wits are blinded with lust, by stealing back the Zaïmph - a sacred, jewel-encrusted veil said to protect Carthage and its people. The Zaïmph carries immense importance both patriotic and religious, however it is also foreboding; it is said all who touch it will shortly die...
Written by Flaubert immediately after he finished the realistic novel Madame Bovary, Salammbo is an enthusiastic departure from gritty realism into the entirely different genre of historical exoticism. The author invested much time into painstakingly researching the surviving accounts and most authoritative histories of Carthage, which to this day is one of the less fictionalized powers of ancient times.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Druillet offers a new science-fictional take on Flaubert's 1862 protoheroic story involving the Punic Wars, creating a staggeringly vibrant but roundabout tale. In a cosmic landscape, Sloane betrays and kills his own crew aboard his space ship while looking for his friend Yearl. Sloane then finds himself in Carthage, hoping to conquer it after glimpsing the face of the beautiful Salammb , sacred virgin of the city. After interrupting a feast where Salammb is present, Sloane becomes involved in a war between unpaid mercenaries and their employers in Carthage that ultimately leads to both his and Salammb 's deaths. But the returning Yearl promises future resurrection. Despite Druillet's eye-catching use of high-contrast colors and masterfully intricate line work, the story is unfortunately marred by wordiness and excesses of world-building. The intricacy of Flaubert's original plot is lost and often unreadable due to the sheer volume of information and needless story components. Though visually stunning, this book ends up at war over the importance of detail and accessibility.