Cutter's Island: Caesar in Captivity [Hardcover]

Vincent Panella PANELLA (Author), Vincent Panella (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2000

Most of us are familiar with the Caesar of Shakespeare and Shaw. We know him primarily as the wily warlord and manipulative statesman. But what about the Caesar of Plutarch and Suetonius-historians who also dealt with Caesar the younger man? Here, in this stunning first novel, written with all the excitement and eloquence of an epic poem, we find Caesar at the age of twenty-three captured by pirates as he sails to the Island of Rhodes to study rhetoric with the renowned Appolonious Moon. In an odd sort of way, Caesar finds, in the encounter with Cutter-the clever, bloodthirsty pirate and his band of assassins-a new strength of purpose, an unexpected vehicle for him to hone his tactical skills, something he must develop if he is to equal or surpass his contemporaries. After all, weren't Crassus and Pompey the Great already famous generals in their twenties? In eloquent and burnished prose, Vincent Panella has Caesar tell the story of his kidnapping and ransom and his solemn vow to avenge his forty days of captivity. It is a time when Caesar's self-doubt is at its peak: "I don't know where I fit-am I really a man of dreams? Am I as strong as Sertorius . . . as brave as Pompey. . . ?" It is in Caesar's final encounter with the wily pirate and his men that he is challenged to become himself at last. It is a story told with enormous power-a novel readers will not soon forget.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Expanding on a single paragraph in Plutarch's life of Caesar, first-time author Panella imagines a turning point in the ambitious but untested young Julius Caesar's life in this vivid short novel, complete with swashbuckling action and classical allusions. The historical record preserves a brief account of the episode: captured by Sicilian pirates as he attempted to fell strife-torn Rome under the dictatorship of Cornelius Sulla, the 25-year-old Caesar vowed to decimate his captors once he escaped. In Panella's account of Caesar's youthful adventure, the already dramatic facts are elaborated upon in blazing detail, with flashes back to Caesar's early career on Rome's violent political scene. Caesar, as Panella tells it, both openly scorned and fascinated his captors, setting the exorbitantly high price of his own ransom, reciting his poetry to them, joining in their banquets and athletic contests and then returning with a fleet to demolish them. Against the factual backdrop of the Republic's colossal heroes and its violent fall, Panella creates a colorful fictional personage in the character of one-handed pirate chief Vatinio, nicknamed Cutter. Cutter's progress from sailor and soldier to gladiator and pirate in the shadow of Pompey the Great's imperial conquests make the pirate chief and Caesar "brothers in history," as the latter finally admits. Taking its cues from Colleen McCullough's energetic Roman chronicles, though narrowing the focus, Panella's opus matches the film Gladiator in its vigorous, viscerally affecting depiction of ancient Rome. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Taking a little-known event in Julius Caesar's life (a kidnapping by pirates at age 25), Panella crafts an alternately rousing and touching adventure tale that offers an intriguing glimpse into the future dictator's psyche. During his monthlong captivity, Caesar finds himself in a crash course on political maneuvering, manipulating both his captors, who would as soon sell him into slavery, and his countrymen, who aren't necessarily eager to pay his ransom. He forges a tentative friendship with the pirates' leader, the one-armed Cutter, a survivalist bent on exacting revenge for the cruelty by which his forearm was removed. In intertwining both men's stories, Panella offers a panoramic view of Rome. His story winds from the battlefront to the gladiators' ring and spares no grisly detail. Heads and limbs are lopped off with aplomb, and the mechanics of crucifixion are vividly depicted. Throughout, Panella honors the sparse prose of the ancient epic, and this stirring account should be of interest to readers with even a passing interest in ancient history. Brendan Dowling
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers; First edition. edition (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0897334841
• ISBN-13: 978-0897334846
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,625,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Vincent Panella grew up in Queens, New York and graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School with the intention of becoming an engineer in the age of Sputnik. Doses of Homer, Whitman and too many writers to mention here cut short his engineering career and he went on to study literature and then fiction writing at the Iowa Workshop. He worked for a short time in Dubuque Iowa as a reporter for the Telegraph Herald, all the while continuing to write fiction. He has taught writing of all kinds, and for several years he served as the Writing Specialist at Vermont Law School. He is the author of the memoir The Other Side, Growing up Italian in America, and the novel Cutter's Island, which won a ForeWord fiction award. His short story collection, Lost Hearts, is forthcoming.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A sparely written yet illuminating tale of Julius Caesar, November 5, 2000

By 

Mark R., Whittington "author of Children of A... (Houston, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cutter's Island: Caesar in Captivity (Hardcover)

This is a sparely written yet illuminating account of an incident in the early life of Julius Caesar. Caesar was kidnapped and held for ransom by pirates. After his release he returned with an army, captured those who had captured him, and executed them.

It is the author's premise that Caesar's captivity was the making of the man who would later lead armies, conquer nations, and eventually become master of Rome. The story is in effect about the final journey of a boy into manhood. I highly recommend this novel for anyone interested in ancient history or the life of one of history's great statesmen and generals.

(...)

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cutter's Island by Vincent Panella, November 24, 2000

By 

Mary Page Sims (Hendersonville, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cutter's Island: Caesar in Captivity (Hardcover)

AT THE AGE OF TWENTY-FIVE HE SAILED FOR RHODES >AND WAS CAPTURED BY PIRATES OFF THE ISLAND OF >PHARMACUSSA. THEY KEPT HIM PRISONER FOR NEARLY >FORTY DAYS. TO HIS INTENSE ANNOYANCE. >With this quote from Suetonius, Vincent Panella begins his story >of Julius Caesar's encounter with a band of pirates in the Aegean >Sea. This is not the Caesar of Mr. Beehler's second period Latin >class. We left that room with the taste of dust and chalk in our >mouths. Tedious accounts of endless coming, seeing and conquering. >Cutter's Island represents something completely different. What we >have here is: a gull's little blue eye, pirates sleeping in the sand, >swords(both long and short), poetry readings, body parts, many >body parts(some attached, some not), foot-massaging kings, boasting, >dreaming, mocking, blood(quite a lot of blood), feverish fits, vinegar >rubs, twelve thousand gold coins, auguries, power struggles, invoking >the gods, screaming crowds, the smell of roasting lamb and goat, the >smell of roasting humans, smells of shellfish and seaweed, treachery, >nobility, vengeance and compassion. The story alone is compelling >and offers insight into Caesar's character. What drives the story,however, is the beautiful, forceful and lyrical language which >echoes the past but could not be more alive. > The book is a feast and when you push away from the table, >amazed at what you have just tasted (and as in any exquisite meal >there is no hint of all the preparation) and you call to the cook who >is at the sink washing dishes and you try to compliment him on the >meal and he waves you off, muttering something- maybe you see >his funny half-grin and a look of delight in his eye and you hope >that you will be invited back to this table soon. Very soon.>

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Didn't put it down..., December 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Cutter's Island: Caesar in Captivity (Hardcover)

An exciting look into young Ceasar's psyche. Mr. Panella's inventive prose does justice to the subject material. A quick read, but well worth it. Highly recommended.