THE PLOT: ‘Lavinia’ by Ursula Le Guin is a retelling of ‘The Aeneid’ from the perspective of the princess of Latium. The dutiful and pious Lavinia is one of the most eligible princesses in Italy. Several neighbouring kings aim to win her hand in marriage, but her mother plans to give her to Turnus, King of Rutulia. When an oracle foretells that Lavinia must marry a foreigner and found a great kingdom, there is outrage. Then a Trojan hero, Aeneas, sails the river Tiber with the remains of his people, refugees after losing a mighty war. Lavinia wants to seize her destiny but Turnus and the other scorned suitors want to oust these foreigners from their land.

SUMMARY:  This novel explores the mythical tradition that some noble Trojans escaped the burning city and went on to found the Roman Empire. The author skilfully brings the ancient world to life, emphasising religion, ritual and the natural world to create a deliciously alien atmosphere. However, despite loving the realism of the setting and the juxtaposition between the true ‘piss and vinegar’ of antiquity and our modern notions of ruined white columns, I felt there was a lack of realism in the main character. I believe the best ancient retellings focus on universal truths about human nature. They go deep into the psyche of mythic heroes to present them as ordinary people who had to make difficult choices. Novels are able to give us an interiority and emotionality to explain the historical actions. And while I loved the characterisation of Aeneas, Ascanius and Turnus, I just didn’t empathise with or understand Lavinia. And that’s why this is only a three star. It’s definitely a good book, but it just didn’t tip the scales into a great book (for me).

GOOD BITS:  By focusing on religion and ritual, as well as detailed descriptions of the settlements and daily chores, the novel shows how antiquity was completely different to the world we inhabit. Learning more about the Lares and Penates (household gods) made me understand their importance in a way I have never appreciated before. I also liked how the poet, Virgil, was brought into the narrative via the oracle and the meta-poetic distortion of time and fate. Overall, the plot was a tad slow but I enjoyed the last third the most, as the author invented what happened after Aeneas’ death and how Ascanius could have ruled.

NOT SO GOOD BITS: The author stuck to the Aeneid a little too faithfully. The battles are always my least favourite part of the original text and seeing them replicated in a novel was a bit dull (I’ve always been one to skip over a page of “`X killed Y”). But my main criticism is that I couldn’t fully fall in love with Lavinia. I think her POV could’ve been stronger if she had a greater internal motivation to marry Aeneas. She’s very pious, but I want her to want power. If the idea of founding a famous dynasty appealed to her for selfish reasons, it could make her a more dynamic character, increase tension and be a character flaw she needs to overcome.

OVERALL: I’d recommend this book to fans of ‘Ariadne’ by Jennifer Saint, ‘A Thousand Ships’ by Natalie Haynes and ‘The Silence of the Girls’ by Pat Barker. Many of the current retellings focus on Ancient Greece, so this is a great book to learn more Ancient Rome (before it even existed!).

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