The Lost Voices of Pompeii: Life and Death on Pompeii’s Final Day – An Immersive Ancient History of Roman Culture
Dr. Venner, social media sensation and content creator, brings us The Lost Voices of Pompeii, a ‘critical fabulation’ (a term created in 2021 by Saidiya Hartman). Not a novel, it is a work that combines academic research with theory illustrated by fiction (a quick summary). The reader wades through a preface establishing the author’s credentials and an introduction to the history before the story elements begin.
Venner’s knowledge is impressive, less so her storytelling skills. Through the imagined lives of seven people and those they interact with, we get a vision of the last day of Pompeii with some historical background. The story narrative can be repetitive. There is little time for the elements of story or character development. Resolution is swift. ‘Tell’ overwhelms ‘show’ as the vignettes unfold. There are illustrations from the archeological site as well as footnotes in the story that distract a reader but may be the norm for this type of work.
The book may appeal to those who have been or plan to go to Pompeii.
