Imperium by Robert Harris: A Book Review by Cindy Rachel Jessica (published on 1st Edition Newsletter of 2013/2014 Asian Law Students’ Association LC Universitas Gadjah Mada)

Several months ago, when I was having criminal procedural law class, one of my criminal law lecturers quoted a sentence from a novel. I realized that it was the novel that my brother, who was just a student when he did, told me to read about two years before. He said that it was a great novel for a law student like me. Unfortunately, by that time, not so many students in the class had read the novel, so I decided to review this lovely novel hoping that you guys would be interested to read this one :)

I read many novels and this is one of my favorites. What makes this novel such a great novel? Unlike most novels in the bookstores, this one is not a full fiction novel, or perhaps a based a true story, if the writer is that ‘lucky’. Why?The writer created this historical novel based on a full research about the characters, the setting, and so on. The characters are in real name and the story was set as what the history says. The quotes from the main character are the well-known quotes from himself. Therefore, reading this novel makes me reading much like a high quality knowledge instead of just a novel.

The novel tells us a life story of Marcus Tullius Cicero, a Roman philosopher, politician, lawyer, orator, political theorist, consul and constitutionalist. I can learn what’s important in speech, legal arguments, politics, logic, ambition, humanity, and even love life, from this very novel. It was such a great combination for a historical novel. Those things teach me so many values which are sometime still relevant to apply to today’s life.

So, don’t hesitate to read this novel, fellas! :)