Books these days tend to be divided into two categories: those that are ''entertaining'' and those that are 'interesting'. ''Entertaining'' books are enjoyable to read but they tend to be a bit brainless and mediocre, a bit light; ''interesting'' books on the other hand are often boring and difficult to understand: the reader writhes in his seat and sighes as he battles his way through an 800-page classic of Victorian literature, wondering if he should really be doing something else.

Vidal is one of the few writers I have come across who manages to bridge this divide in his books: his novels are erudite and thought-provoking but most importantly, they always entertain the reader. I really enjoyed this book: it is a historical novel set in the Ancient World. The narrator travels to all sorts of places including Greece, Persia and China and I thought it was an excellent read. There are plenty of lavish descriptions in there but Vidal only ever uses lyricism and poetic imagery when it is in the interests of the story and when he needs to set the scene: compare this to John Updike who leaps into tiresome flights of lyrical description whenever and wherever the mood takes him. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes historical novels or history.

I should warn the potential reader that there are several flaws with this novel. Firstly, the narrator is slightly annoying (basically, Vidal in disguise). Secondly, the plot seems contrived and the dialogue can be stilted. Thirdly, considering that it is quite difficult to get into the book, it really does drag on at times. Still, these points don't detract too much from the book as a whole, in my opinion.

If you are open-minded I am sure you will enjoy this book just as much as I have.

The most important thing that we get from "Creation" is a different perspective when it comes to history and life in general. Vidal makes a great effort to put all the focus on the East (Persia, India, and China). For people who have grown up in a Western society, this is a really refreshing and new take on Ancient history and philosophy. I won't go into to many details, but basically you are in for a good education in Eastern religion and philosophy. The amount I learned while enjoying this great novel was incredible.

When it comes to Gore Vidal as an author, I was most impressed. I have not read any other books of his, but "Creation" is very well written and researched. His writing style is smooth and straight forward. He rarely decides to get "artsy" or "flowery". For me this was perfect since I could enjoy the story without trying to decipher his writing. My only complaint would be that sometimes he would get a little too detailed with historical back drop, which could leave the reader slightly lost.

I will give you one disclaimer about "Creation" before you delve into it. This book will be a mission since it is almost 600 pages. On top of that, the historical back drop can be confusing for some. The first 80 or so pages deal a lot with Ancient History, and Vidal goes into such excruciating details at some points that it would be easy for someone who is unfamiliar with history to be discouraged. However, if you keep focus and tough these parts out, "Creation" will reward you.

Good stuff.
Seeing ancient persia, india, china and greece, framed through a fictional person who could plausibly have seen them all, set my imagination and curiosity on fire.

An ingenious animation of the Axial age of world religion, with a very cleverly created Zoroastrian tour guide visiting the great minds from China to Greece.