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In a literary universe where so many plots are recycled, the plot of "The Mirror of Diana" is refreshingly original - for example, a German World War II officer is the hero, and the little-remembered but greatest archaeological disaster of the Second World War is the centerpiece. The officer, Klaus, has a love of the classics and a disgust in all things Nazi, but in 1943 he finds himself heading an artillery unit for the Fuehrer's army in Italy. But his love of antiquities leads him to the fabulous ships of the emperor Caligula. He forms a friendship with Paolo, the museum's curator, whose daughter, Rosanna, he rescues from rape by drunken German soldiers. Rosanna is beautiful, and despite everyone's better judgment, she and Klaus fall in love. The disastrous consequences of this love and of Klaus's steadfastness to his ideals make for palm-sweating reading in the second half of the book, when he battles not only with his odious Nazi commander, but also with his internal conflict of love versus duty.
As for learning something, the novel is based on an actual event - the mysterious burning of the ships of Caligula as the German army retreated from Rome. The author weaves into the story some fascinating history about these huge floating palaces, about the German occupation of Italy, and about the 2500-year-old Temple of Diana and its bizarre legends (which, by the way, inspired "The Golden Bough").
The characters in "The Mirror of Diana" are vividly alive: the idealistic but vacillating Klaus; the archaeologically-gifted but superstitious Rosanna; Paolo, Rosanna's head-in-the-clouds father; and Maria, her long-suffering but hard-boiled mother. Supporting cast include Gunther, Klaus's sergeant, who can make anything happen by winning at cards, and Gianni, the ragged but dauntless ragamuffin who is Klaus and Rosanna's go-between. And under the urbane exterior of Dressler, the SS commander, glow the burning coals of unspeakable villainy. And, of course, there are the magnificent but doomed 2000-year-old ships.
This is a beautiful book and I give it my highest recommendation. Well done, A.R. Homer!
But this book is a feast - a fascinating and beautiful tale told with the eloquent simplicity of a competent and confident author. I enjoyed this book immensely. You should read it.
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