Emily Holleman
Auteur de Cleopatra's Shadows
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Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 2
- Membres
- 242
- Popularité
- #93,893
- Évaluation
- 3.1
- Critiques
- 10
- ISBN
- 14
- Langues
- 1
Cleopatra's Shadows (Fall of Egypt #1)
by Emily Holleman
Anyone who knows me well knows that I have always adored books on Cleopatra. I also love literature on Egypt in general.
Through the years I have read so many books on Cleopatra, with "I Cleopatra" by William Bostwick being one of my all time favorite reads.
This book, Cleopatra's Shadows, is a bit different. It concentrates, not on Cleopatra, but on two of her sisters, Berenice and Arsinoe.
King Ptolemy, their father, has been forced into exile, along with Cleopatra. Berenice, the elder daughter, has seized the thrown. Arsinoe has been left behind and is struggling to make sense of these new circumstances in which she finds herself .
I should also note that this is reimagined fiction. Many of the things that occur in this book did not actually take place or are questionable. For example, in reality there was a fourth sister, Cleopatra Tryphaena.
The book alternates between the two sisters and is told from both their POVS. It should be noted that Cleopatra herself is barely in it.
It was interesting reading about the two sisters because there is so much literature about Cleopatra herself and less about the sisters.
I LOVED Cleopatra's Shadow. I found the writing incredible, the characters wholly fleshed out and human and I loved reading this book.
You know a book is good..or great..when you are sad that it ends. I wish Cleopatra's Shadows could have been longer. I have heard this is part of a series and I hope that is true.
SPOILERS:
Although I liked reading about both sisters, I did prefer the POV of Berenice. With Arsinoe, it did get a little tedious, with her continued visions, tutoring with Ganymedes and friendship with Alexander.
Berenice on the other hand..I did not tire of reading about her as she was written so well. Kudos to the writer for that. She was such a compelling character in all her raw loneliness and desire for love and tenderness. She was so virtually bereft of self awareness that it was almost touching. I found her to be a multi faceted complex character.
The characters are many but they are all unique. I loved reading about all the palace intrigue. This is an outstanding piece of writing that I would recommend for any lover of Historical Fiction and especially any fan of Cleopatra or Egyptian History. There is so much here to enjoy and I would give this book 45. stars.… (plus d'informations)