THE RIVER THROUGH ROME

A historical novel gives readers a view of ancient Rome from the rare perspective of a good man just trying to do an honest job.

It is the reign of Octavian, and Lucius Nonius Donatus, an engineer, is commissioned to construct a fountain in a very dubious neighborhood, the Subura, “the crotch of Rome.” Nonius is a pro—talented, modest, and conscientious. But this is Rome, so the engineering is the least of his problems. He has to deal with wily politicians, grifters, street gangs, and arrogant aristocrats and arrivistes. This diverse group includes the Lucceia clan, featuring Quintus Lucceis Hirrius, master of the house (and a senator) and enemy of Nonius. Quintus’ wife, Calixta, is the engineer’s erstwhile lover. Enter Amaris, who will in fact be the love of Nonius’ life. When just a child, she was given to the Lucceia household not as an enslaved person, exactly, but certainly as chattel with no will of her own. She is also a Gaul, striking and proud. The story veers between the tribulations of getting the fountain project done and the slow kindling of Nonius’ love for Amaris and the tortuous complications of that affair. Nicastro is an experienced and accomplished writer and often a prose poet in his descriptions of Nonius and Amaris: “If his life was a stem, she was the rose,” and “Trapped there, between the Scylla of oblivion and the Charybdis of inconsequence he was powerless to go on.” This is a Rome falling fast from greatness, though oblivious to the descent. The Republic is dead; Octavian will soon style himself “Augustus,” a god. Sycophancy and cynicism are the orders of the day. The captivating book does, in fact, provide an excellent slice of history. But what is the audience to make of the love between Nonius and Amaris? She wants terribly to love Nonius but is warped by her pride and rage. As for Nonius, readers see him as an older man inspecting that project in the Subura. The fountain is the pride of the neighborhood. The Street of the Labia is now called the Street of the Aqueduct, signaling a job well done.

An intriguing, well-researched, and well-told tale of ancient Rome.