The Emperor's Babe: A Novel
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Review
?Smart, imaginative, and readable . . . A rich farrago of historical fact and outrageous fancy.? ("The New York Times Book Review") A heroine of ancient times for the modern age... a glittering fiction... brilliant.? ("The Times," London) A riotous, racy whirl through Roman Londinium... Bernardine Evaristo has spun a captivating tale in verse.? (Robert Fagles)
Product Description
'Dazzling', 'brilliant', 'streetwise', 'sassy', 'audacious': THE EMPEROR'S BABE has been hailed as one of the most original novels of 2001. Meet Zuleika: sassy girl about town, hellraiser, bored ex-child-bride in Londinium, AD 211. In the place (and time) to be ... Through the bustling, hustling city, we follow Zuleika, feisty and precocious daughter of Sudanese immigrants. Married off to a rich, fat, absent Roman, she is stranded in luxurious neglect, until, one day the Emperor himself, comes to town, bringing with him not just love - but danger ... Funky and funny, sexy and moving, this novel in verse is a triumph of imaginative writing - and of sheer lyrical and emotional vitality.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Don't look at this book as one giant poem that you just wont understand. Ignore the strange lay out of the words on the page, and this really is a brilliant, emotional, adventurous story that does remove the distance between now and the past. Evaristo is a genius!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this book as I was looking to read something funny and light hearted. I was fully aware that this was written in verse in two line couplets and even read the first couple of pages on the Amazon page and liked it. But r reading a couple of pages and a whole book is a big difference and I found it hard work to read as it was written.
That being said it was enjoyable and I like the idea of the book. The main character Zuleka is charming and endearing, and it begins at that age where she realises she knows nothing when she thought she knew everything. The colourful cast of characters also make it a good read.
Had this been fully prose I think I would have enjoyed it more. But that is just my preference and others will probably see differently. Either way it is worth a read.
That being said it was enjoyable and I like the idea of the book. The main character Zuleka is charming and endearing, and it begins at that age where she realises she knows nothing when she thought she knew everything. The colourful cast of characters also make it a good read.
Had this been fully prose I think I would have enjoyed it more. But that is just my preference and others will probably see differently. Either way it is worth a read.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It's been a while since I've been knocked off my feet by a book in way The Emperor's Babe did. Maybe not since I read Rimbaud at highschool... Adverbs keep flying through my head when I want to describe the book: funny, intelligent, sophisticated, heart-warming, etc. etc. What struck me first (of course) was the verse. Steady two line most of the time, but changing pace in more intimate sections and by that changing atmosphere at once. The book is somewhat of a classic lyrical epic and bc of that rhytm it grips you from the first pair of lines, and (I have to say this) it swings!!
Second: the main character, Zuleika, is a welcome apparition in present-day literature. Zuleika is tough, smart and gets what she wants. No whining like Bridget J. or all the other 30-ish single women-books and definitely nothing of the "I've lived through it all" Oprah-books. Zuleika's got a certain sense of girl-power (sorry for that word) and that makes you love her from the start.
And then the story: London 211. It's dirty, rotten and sexy. But that's all I say, just go and read. And after that go and look for her first book "Lara". You won't be sorry...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Imaginative and brilliantly written
This is a tremendous piece of writing which should be on the reading list for all A-Level English and Classics students (risque passages aside). Read more
Published 2 months ago by DJW
History as carnival
The one duty we owe to history is to rewrite it, said Oscar Wilde, as the first page of this sexy, naughty, quite wonderful book reminds us. Read more
Published 9 months ago by J. A. Eyers
A Sassy Roman Romp
Roman London through the eyes on a young woman, a child bride who has never lived, until she catches the eye of the emperor and becomes his mistress. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Lorraine Sears
a babe of a novel
Wow! What a discovery! This babe is a heroine for our times. She's sharp, witty, vulnerable and oh, so human. Read more
Published on 8 Dec 2002 by Ms. A. E. Milton
scintillating, tantalising, ravishing
I heard about this books because I scour the papers for recommended books and this one came up trumps time and time again. Read more
Published on 29 Aug 2001
fantastic - imaginative - funny - sad - a mega hit
This is a wonderful read. Original, fast paced and written in verse.This book has everything - some history, street savvy, a litle latin, sex and soul. Read more
Published on 7 Aug 2001
so funny, so witty, so unexpected
this book was such a surprising read. i guessed it would be fun from the press i'd read but i didn't expect it to be so full of riches. Read more
Published on 5 Aug 2001
A funny, sexy and modern look at black and british history
This is a great book on so many levels. Firstly it's entertaining and fun, mixing clever references to the modern day, into the voice of its funky roman heroine. Read more
Published on 16 July 2001 by t.bressey@ucl.ac.uk
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