Acting up

I have to be honest: were it not for this weirdly engrossing podcast called The History of Rome, I wouldn't have looked twice at this book.  That's probably a little unfair of me, as the summary on my copy of the book (it was a Penguin edition, so it looked fancy) was pretty amazing.  But it always helps when you know, or at least think you know, a bit of the history that surrounds the content of a historical fiction novel.

Born into a family of performers, middle child Theodora is - luckily - a complete natural on stage and learns quickly how to control and manipulate the audience's feelings.  Her uber-stern tutor Menander warns her time and again that her need for attention will get the best of her, but Theodora won't listen.  When she falls in love, at eightteen, with the easy-going and handsome Hecebolus, she leaves Constantinople with him for an African province - and thus cuts herself off from her theater friends and the thriving metropolis.  Although she tries to gain favor with a religious official, she finds that her past ("actress" is synonymous with "hooker", but Theodora isn't ashamed) drags her down.  After a while, things with Hecebolus go south, and Theodora decides to head back east.  The journey will test her in a way she doesn't know, make her doubt those who guide her, and eventually put her on a path to a position of power that a twenty-year-old ex-whore could never dream of inhabiting.  But Theodora is no ordinary woman, and it's no ordinary fate that awaits her.

This is a boldly-written story about a bold young woman, and that's pretty much all there is to it - but it's a big "all", big enough to satisfy readers.  Don't be afraid of a huge history lesson getting in the way, or stodgy prose that bog down the story: it's efficient and feels very contemporary, like it all just happened yesterday.  Aside from some depictions of city life, politics, and an explanation of the importance of Christianity to the Empire, we stick closely to Theodora, experiencing her trials right along side her.  A singular woman with attitude to spare, she has the power to alienate the reader on one page and win sympathy on the next one.  She's also one of the most honestly-written characters I think I've ever seen; she's portrayed in a way that makes her flaws understandable, but they're not excused away, and that makes her real to me.  She struggles with coming to terms with her faith - the book's most fascinating storyline in terms of portrayal - a struggle that allows the reader to identify with her more closely than before.  

Other than religion, the book's other biggest theme is that of sex.  I like that this theme wasn't overdone or exploitative, but merely a way of showing how comfortable Theodora is with using her body.  The three scenes that do show her having sex are all different situations, showing how different aspects of her personality come into play.  There is also a more subtle theme of how male characters in power make use of Theodora to achieve their own ends - whether pushing her to perform onstage or furthering a religious agenda with her as a pawn.  It's disappointing both to us and to Theodora that this spirited woman is controlled by men; happily, by the end of the book she is in a much more equal union, although she gets there precisely because she's been a pawn.

As with telling any person's life story, the rhythm of the plot is noticeably different and unique from most novel arcs.  Although some parts of the story fail to come together (Theodora's family issues don't get much closure), for the most part it's quite freeing.  A riveting account and thoughtful gray areas help make this book an entertaining and complex read - without making you feel like a history undergrad.  Rating: 4.5 stolen emeralds out of 5.