"Sarum"

I've been reading the book "Sarum", by Edward Rutherford. The book is a chronological history of England, seen through the eyes of a few fictional families in the area of Salisbury. The book starts when England is cut off from the mainland of Europe, then has chapters for the introduction of agriculture, the building of stonehenge, the Roman Empire, the invasion of the Vikings during the reign of King Alfred (which was amusing because my sister went to Alfred University and that's the only other time I'd heard of this apparently-well-known king), the beginning of parliament, the plague, and so on.

I'm about halfway through the book and judging from the Amazon comments, it might start bogging down as it gets closer to the present time. But so far I've really been enjoying it. The Roman Empire chapter was so interesting that I'm even considering tackling The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire eventually. Although that might be too much of a good thing...

One of the things I like about the characters in the book is that they're given relatively straightforward motivations. Even though it's not a very realistic portrayal of human psychology, it's still pleasing to imagine a world where people are motivated by only a couple driving forces, and the rest of their life can be disregarded as mere ballast.

Another thing I enjoy about the book: because it covers such a large time span it can't help but give off a feeling of vanitas. Perhaps I'm unusual, but I find vanitas very comforting when faced with confusion over where to lead my life. Because Rutherford decided to center the story around a handful of families whose line continues unbroken through the entire story, he implicitly gives an answer to the question of how to deal with the transience of human life: have children. As with the psychological makeup of the characters themselves, this is a simplistic answer, but it's pleasant nonetheless.