I'm honestly not sure how this battered and mildewed hardcover found its way into my home, but I'm glad it did. This was a fascinating look at the world of the 5th century BC seen through the eyes of Zoroaster's grandson. It was fun to read something from the Persian perspective since I've read so much about the Greeks and Greek gods that to read about a culture that viewed them as a minor annoyance made me laugh.

Our main character travels from the courts of Persia to India to Cathay and back again before telling his tale for posterity as he lives out his final days in Greece. Overall a really great story and unlike anything I normally read.

A few favorite anti-religion quotes aimed at our Zoroastrian protagonist below:

"If I were a supreme deity, I wouldn't go to the trouble of creating either evil or man or anything at all that was not entirely pleasing to me. I'm afraid that when it comes to explaining your supreme deity, you're obliged to work backwards. Evil exists. You cannot explain why. So you turn your creator into a sort of cruel sportsman who plays games with human life."

"What you believe makes no sense, if you'll forgive me. We can't conceive a god who takes an immortal soul, allows it to be born once, plays a game with it, then passes a judgment on it and condemns it to pain or pleasure forever."

"You serve that peculiar god who created evil so that he would have an excuse to torture his other creations."

"We've long since abandoned the very notion of a supreme deity. And so, I gather, has your friend Confucius. He realizes, as do we, that to accept such a monster means an endorsement of evil, since evil is his creation, too. [...] For practical reasons, we think that men behave better in a world where there is no supreme deity endorsing mischief and confusing the simple. As your Confucius so wisely said, 'Heaven is far. Man is near.'"

It is often remarked upon that the sixth century B.C. contained an overflow of major figures in the history of world religion and philosophy. But what if these disparate persons were all linked by one figure, like an ancient six degrees of Kevin Bacon? In his sumptuous historical novel Creation, Gore Vidal proposes a character: Cyrus Spitama, the grandson of the prophet Zoroaster, who becomes familiar not only with legendary Persians (Darius, Xerxes) or Greek(Democritus, Socrates, Herodotus), but also all three of the "vinegar tasters:" the Buddha, Laozi (referred to as Master Li) and Master K'ung, better known to those us in the distant present as Confucius.

Vidal is a devastatingly witty writer, and also goes to great pains to fill out his vision ancient world with character and detail. The narrator has a plethora of pithy remarks throughout the book, which make it easy to breeze through this rather lengthy book. Although Vidal himself considers this his one of his top few great novels, maybe his greatest of all, it has its share of flaws. For one: for all learn about Cyrus Spitama, Vidal's invented narrator, he does seem, witty comments and elegant phrase-turning aside, somewhat flat and enigmatic, even after almost six-hundred pages, while at the same time appearing just a little too intelligent. Another problem is the excessive inquiries into the intrigue of the various political systems of Persia, Greece, India, and Cathay, or, as we now know it, China. While some of these scenes are compelling, often one gets lost amidst too many similar sounding ancient names; and I think I speak for many people when I say that the politics of obscure ancient Chinese lords is not as interesting as the philosophical investigations with Master Li and Confucius, although one could argue that political intrigue and Confucianism go hand in hand. Finally, the ending chapters to drag a bit, and the novel has no real conclusion, so there is a slight drop-off in quality at the end, although it's interesting to note that Vidal continues introducing new characters and producing detailed descriptions right up to the end, when, for example, we hear of Sophocles for the first time.

As for the praiseworthy aspects of the book, Vidal does much more good than bad in this vast book. His prose is elegant and highly readable, a significant accomplishment when spread over so many pages without much of a dip in quality. Putting aside the narrator for a moment, most of the principle characters are well constructed and interesting, and the dialogue between them, philosophical or otherwise, crackles. Actually, the discussions with the Eastern sages, except perhaps Confucius, are briefer than I expected, but still highlights. The Buddha, Laozi, and Confucius become three-dimensional figures before us, not just names in history books, enigmatic figures people quote to sound mysterious or mystical, but "real" human beings. That in itself is a significant accomplishment. Indeed, there is much to love about Creation, and I highly recommend this "crash course in philosophy," as Vidal called it.

need a re-read

1/8/2012: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-ca...

A fantastic read. It's beyond me how any author, in this case the skillful Gore Vidal, can write about a time so distant from ours and make it so that it seems written by a contemporary in the times of the great Persian Empire. And not only Persia, but ancient India and China are well represented here. A Marvel.

Gore Vidal often remarked that his novels fell into largely two camps: the “inventions,” such as Myra Breckinridge (1968) and Duluth (1983), which explore the human condition through humorous and fantastical situations, and his historical novels, like Julian (1964) and Burr (1973) which are meditations on humanity through the prism of historical events. What’s surprising, though, is that one of his novels actually does a little bit of both, and that is Creation (1981).

Cyrus Spitama, the grandson of Zoroaster the prophet, is one of the Persian empire’s most distinguished courtiers in the 6th and 5th century BC. Upon hearing Herododus’s histories of the wars of ancient Greece, he is inspired to tell his life story to a young Democritus, correcting the record on some of Herododus’s conclusions. Along the way, he tells his life story and the long excursions he took as a diplomat to India, China, and Mesopotamia, learning from such luminaries as the Buddha, Mahavira, and Confucius. His encounters with wise men and women throughout his travels challenge his beliefs in the singular god and the heaven/hell binary of the afterlife. He also advises rulers such as Darius, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes, the latter of whom he helps negotiate the peace with Pericles.

Creation might be Gore Vidal’s most ambitious novel, with sweeping historical knowledge, religious and philosophical meditations, and penetrating insights into humanity. Removed from the prose is his penchant for the vulgar or scandalous and in its place is some of the best writing he ever produced. It is a book that you’ll learn so much from and also be moved by, a rare feat in modern literature.

He conceived it as a foray into comparative religion, and in this respect, I think it succeeded. Readers will encounter many of the major religions and philosophies of the era, including Zoroastrianism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Confucianism— all displayed with an openness that leaves one free to consider them equally.

Creation is one of Gore Vidal’s best novels and exemplifies his enormous talents as a writer, historian, and student of philosophy, making it a crucial entry into his substantial body of work.

For the freaks only - a little dense with history and names. Full of little delights but 150-200 pages too long I think.

A true masterwork. Gore Vidal takes us on a journey through Greece, Persia, India, and China in the 5th century BC.
Part philosophy, part history, part geography, full entertainment. Strongly recommend.

Ciro Espitama nos hace de narrador de su vida, contemporáneo de los grandes pensadores de las principales culturas, Sócrates, Buda, Confucio, Zoroastro o Li, obsesionado con revelar el misterio de la creación del mundo, aprovecha su circunstancia de embajador de la corte persa para indagar en sus viajes sobre religión, filosofía y poder humano. Gran novela, llena de personajes históricos que podrían haber coincidido con este curioso viajero persa, o no.

Did you know that the Buddha, Mahavira (the twenty-fourth and last prophet of Jainism), Confucius, Socrates, and (possibly) Zoroaster were all contemporaries? Gore Vidal found this notion so thrilling that he wove a book around it, and a fascinating and delightful book it is.

Vidal's narrator is Cyrus Spitama, a fictional grandson of Zoroaster, who is raised in the court of Darius the Great of Persia and becomes the great king's ambassador to the lands that lie to the east. In his travels he meets these great minds and debates with them the nature of creation, of the cycle of death and rebirth, of heaven and hell, of truth and untruth.

Cyrus remains a believer in Zoroaster's religion, in the Wise Lord Ahura Mazda and in the duality of Truth and the Lie. But his lifelong struggle to grasp the disparate philosophies of these thinkers makes for a thought-provoking adventure, nestled as it is in the geopolitical machinations of several powerful civilizations. While Cyrus ponders deep questions, he also engages in political intrigue and narrates the major geopolitical events of the day. Persia repeatedly wars and treaties with various Greek city-states. On the Gangetic plain, Ajatashatru (who becomes Cyrus's father-in-law) expands the Koshala empire with bloody conquests to create one of India's first unified kingdoms, a few centuries before Ashoka. And in the valley of the Yellow River, Chinese city-states maneuver to claim a divinely-granted hegemony.

Thus is Creation expansive in political and philosophical scope. Cyrus, old and blind and cynical at the time of his narration nevertheless shows himself to have been a naive and susceptible young man, which makes him a likable curmudgeon, and makes Creation a very fun read.

Romance histórico onde na maioria das vezes é difícil distinguir ficção e realidade.
Relatado em primeira por Ciro Epístama, neto de Zoroastro, filho de pai persa e mãe grega, é uma espécie de embaixador do reino persa. A ação se passa no século aV e Ciro é contemporâneo de figuras como Sócrates, Buda, Xerxes, Confúcio.
Dario, o grande rei persa o envia em missão diplomática, primeiro à Índia e depois à China, com fins mais sondatórios visando a economia que outra coisa, a fim de que ele conhece bem o país e seus mandantes. Ciro é um grande interessado em conhecer novas culturas, suas filosofias e religiões e é com esse olhar que vai nos apresentando essa grandes figuras da História, que são aqui personagens.
O livro é grandioso pela proposta mas não é leitura fácil, principalmente para mim que não conhecia esses fatos históricos, apenas muito superficialmente. Para se tirar maior proveito da leitura vale a pena fazer uma breve pesquisa sobre os fatos abordados.
O que mais chama a atenção é o sarcasmo afiadíssimo do autor, ele parece destilar veneno em cada parágrafo, sem exceção. Muitas vezes Ciro parece estar escrevendo para uma revista de fofoca, colocando esses grandes personagens históricos em situações muito divertidas que tiram aquela aura de seres inatingíveis e universais. Isso torna ainda mais difícil conseguir distinguir ficção da realidade. Livros assim sempre nos fazem questionar a forma com que a História nos é ensinada na escola.



Histórico de leitura

17/05/2016

97% (651 de 672)

"Eu estava perdendo a visão, o que significava ser obrigado a ouvir os outros com atenção - o que é o cúmulo da crueldade."

83% (560 de 672)

"Encontramos, na manhã seguinte, um sábio-eremita que, como a maioria dos sábios-eremitas, não conseguia parar de falar."

82% (548 de 672)

"Um dia antes da fixação dos novos impostos, o barão K'ang aumentou o soldo de todos os seus soldados. Em tempos de crise, a lealdade é cara."

79% (531 de 672)

"Não ocupo cargos importantes, por isso tenho tantas habilidades."

78% (522 de 672)

"Esta parece ser a lei das famílias: o que quer que o pai seja, o filho não é."

66% (443 de 672)

"Os homens eram bons entre si no começo. porque havia poucas pessoas e coisas em abundância. Hoje, há pessoas em abundância e poucas coisas."


53% (358 de 672)

"Procurei encontrar em Dario sinais de velhice e os achei - sempre uma coisa fácil de fazer, exceto diante do próprio espelho."

50% (337 de 672)

"Homem algum jamais sabe quando é feliz; só sabe quando foi feliz."

46% (307 de 672)

"Buda disse que, se tivesse mesmo que se dar ao trabalho de recordar cada uma das suas existências prévias, ele não teria tempo de viver esta, a mais importante de todas, visto ser a última."

43% (288 de 672)

"Qualquer religião que acredita no desprezo a todos os bens materiais é muito útil para um governante. Afinal, se o povo não deseja bens materiais, consequentemente não desejará o que nós possuímos."

41% (273 de 672)

"Eu sempre fizera questão de esperar o pior da vida, e o fato de ocasionalmente me frustrar em minhas expectativas é fonte de sombrio alívio."

33% (220 de 672)

"Não me surpreenderia se os elefantes fossem mais inteligentes do que os seres humanos. Afinal, suas cabeças são bem maiores que as nossas, e o fato de eles não falarem pode muito bem ser indicativo da sua superioridade."

32% (214 de 672)

"- O senhor consegue se lembrar de alguma de suas encarnações anteriores? - Ora, não. E de que adianta isso? Afinal, não é preciso muito esforço para se imaginar como será a gente ser um leão, ou o deus Indra, ou uma mulher cega, ou um grão de areia."


25% (168 de 672)

"Sempre foi minha política apoiar as religiões verdadeiramente populares. Se você finge respeitar um ídolo local, logo os sacerdotes se colocam ao seu lado. Com o paoio dos sacerdotes, não se necessita muito de guarnição para manter a ordem."

15% (100 de 672)

"Pitágoras se recusa a comer carne com medo de estar comendo inadvertidamente um ancestral ou um amigo cuja alma tenha acabado de se mudar para aquele animal específico."


2% (16 de 672)

"Sou cego, mas não sou surdo."

Finalmente li “Criação”, a obra-prima do escritor Gore Vidal, um romance que fiquei namorando por mais de uma década! E é maravilhoso, o Vidal é o monstro sagrado do romance histórico, por Zoroastro!

Are you a fan of exposition? If you are, then boy have I got a book for you. I feel like good historical fiction (like "The Name of the Rose", "I, Claudius" and "Memoirs of Hadrian") works when it lets you stop thinking about the setting and leaves it to seep through the story. This is where this book falls flat.

I started reading Creation because I really enjoyed Vidal's earlier novel Julian. Both are very similar in some respects: Vidal had a gift for witty writing and did his research very well, and wasn't shy about showing either of those off. The difference is that Julian was a very coherent and tight book. The main character was such a central figure for an unique historical period that to develop him is to develop his world, and vise versa.

Cyrus Spitama, in contrast, feels like a flat excuse for a character who was created for the sole purpose of plausibly meeting all these important people (even if, for that, Vidal had to push Zoroaster forwards thousands of years just so the protagonist could be his grandson, at the cost of ignoring any formative role this 'new religion' had on Persian culture).

After a promising first chapter about getting pissed at Herodotus, the narrative takes the following shape: Cyrus tells us of how he went somewhere for no real reason, and proceeds to exposition the hell out of the place. He knows more than a realistic character has the right to (his certainty of the common roots of indo-aryan pantheons particularly irked me), and narrates it from the distant and objective point of view of a modern historian, rather than a biased and flawed man of his time who actually belongs there. The illusion of character, for lack of a developed story, is provided by the occasional Vidal witticism.

If it's going to feel like a history book, you might as well go read the real thing.