Customer Reviews

Salammbo (aka Salambo)

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Perhaps wearied by his years in the company of the pathetic bourgeoise Emma Bovary, Gustave Flaubert chose as his next creation what may be the most extravagantly exotic novel ever written, "Salammbô". The critic Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve called it "this laboriously artistic work" and the book, published in 1863, does require a great deal of patience from its readers. To begin with, there is the esoteric vocabulary: a suffete is a judge with tyrannical power, a hierodule is a temple slave, and the all-important zaïmph is a holy veil, the theft of which causes many problems for the main characters. Most of these characters are historical, such as Matho, Spendius, Hanno and the great Hamilcar himself. Hannibal appears as a ten-year old boy, saved from ritual sacrifice to the ravenous god Moloch by the ruthless machinations of his father. Hamilcar simply has a slave boy substituted, despite the parents' grief-stricken protests. (The famous pledge scene at the altar between Hamilcar and Hannibal is not presented here.) As for Salammbô, did she really exist? Obviously, Hamilcar had a daughter (his successor Hasdrubal is listed as his son-in-law) but evidently Polybius nor any other historian ever names the girl. In Flaubert she's an extremely strange and sensual character; at one point she's intimate with a python. Mind-boggled, I had to stop in mid-description, go back and start reading the passage again, but there it is: "The serpent ... gluing its tail to the ground, rose perfectly erect ...resting the centre of its body upon the nape of her neck, allowed its head and tail to hang ... Salammbô rolled it around her sides, under her arms and between her knees; then ... brought the little triangular mouth to the edge of her teeth ... {she} panted beneath the excessive weight, her loins yielded ... and with the tip of its tail the serpent gently beat her thigh." If you're wondering how mid-Victorians dealt with this description, I understand "Salammbô" was not translated into English until 1956. And if reptilian sex isn't enough for you, there are descriptions of torture, mutilations, cannibilism and (as mentioned before) the sacrifice of children, their parents being encouraged to chant "Lord, eat!" during the ceremony. All these events are centered around Hamilcar's suppression of a revolt of mercenaries and the enemy's threat of siege on Carthage in the years prior to 238 BC. It's a little difficult to follow the expeditions of Matho et al because the plan of Carthage and the geography of the surrounding countryside are awfully vague. Sainte-Beuve suggested that illustrative maps would be useful, and perhaps some future edition will include them. But for the time being the narrative itself, "glutted with sensations and abominations", is enough to hold a reader's fascination till the last violent page.

It seems at least surprising why Flaubert, a master of Realism, spent several years writing this novel placed in Carthago. At his time it was a very controversial issue, even though celebrated by critics and public, because of its sensuality which was criticised by eminent archaeologists. Gustave Flabert had made a very careful research, including several travels to Tunisia to figure out the exact settings of his plot, and thus he defended his work firmly. In the end, years afer, many of his proposals turned out to be certain. He took up this exhausting job in order to fulfill his taste for the exotic and even the grotesque in life. The main theme of the novel is the revolt of the mercenaries engaged by Carthago througout the Punic Wars against Rome. This army was formed by a bizarre variety of men from all over the Mediterranian lands, and like every army, they were loved at war and feared at peace. The novel begins with a feast given to honour their many years of sacrifice and loyalty. But soon after they are put apart to an inner region, feared by the citizens of the capital city. It is also the story of Matho, a Libian soldier, and Salambo, the Princess from Carthago. But this is just the starting line for Flaubert's displaying of his careful seek for the right word, le mot juste, and his amazing talent for showing the inner motivations of his characters. Summing up, this is a wonderful historic novel which does not only stand on long forgotten facts but on the rich depth of his characters. That is what makes it contemporary and close.

Evil triumphs over evil

Flaubert spent several years researching this book about an army of mercenaries who revolt against ancient Carthage.

The book is a combination of history and myth not unlike Homer's Iliad. Like the Iliad it is a larger than life epic tale, but this tale has neither poetry nor heroes.

Carthage does not want to pay the mercenaries their due; the mercenaries seek to plunder Carthage in revenge. Both sides rely on deceit and treachery to advance their cause.

In the background, the sensual and mysterious Salammbo, seeking her own objective, indifferently and unwittingly affects the outcome.

The war becomes long and brutal as the balance shifts back and forth. The horror of war becomes increasingly indefensible as the author offers neither heroes nor justifications. Fed only by greed, pride and revenge, the war and the slaughter grind on endlessly.

Some would criticize, "This is not Madame Bovary, and this is too much violence without a point." Others would say, "This is not Madame Bovary, but to criticize that it is too much violence without a point, is to miss the point."

Flaubert, painting with exquisite detail and unapologetic language, tells an epic, exotic and sensual tale of failure.

I read the Mondial release of this book and I found the translation horribly confusing at times. There are also several typos. Once you get far enough into the book things start to make more sense, but I found myself rereading passages several times earlier on to get my head around what was trying to be conveyed. Later into it you have more of a sense of the plot and characters, which helps you piece together what is going on better.

I can't imagine the Penguin edition being any worse than this, so I'll point you in that direction and hope it turns out well.

Gustave Flaubert was one of these writers(Baudelaire , Victor Hugo,Chateaubriand, etc) whose imagination was set on fire by the immensely rich Archeological discoveries of the 19th Century. This book is a richly descriptive tapestry of unsurpassed exotism, and pre-romsn North African opulence, in the epoch and the bein of Troy, or Spartacus.
A feast for the senses and for the mind.

THE STORY: This historically-based account takes place just before and during a revolt of mercenary warriors against Carthage [a series of cities on the Gulf of Tunis, near the present Tunis, Tunisia] in the Third Century B.C.

After the First Punic War ["Punic" refers to the Phoenicians], the prosperous and greedy aristocratic rulers of Carthage were not inspired to compensate the mercenary army soldiers who, in the face of their unexpected and sudden pecuniary demise, subsequently attacked the ancient walled city. This army was chiefly led by Matho who was handily aided by his slave-associate, Spendius.

Carthage lacked firm leadership but one of its primary ruling generals, Hamilcar Barca, (the man who had originally led the mercenaries to success in battle), ultimately took charge of the matter, leading audacious attacks on Matho's mercenaries with varying degrees of success at each battle. Hamilcar's sensuous daughter, Salammbo, established a sort of psychological enchantment over Matho who had been captivated with her stunning beauty and by her artful guile. Salammbo was also inadvertently spiritually united with Matho subsequent to his shrewd theft of Carthage's most prized sacred icon, the sublime Zaimph, an intricately crafted veil.

This story is bulging with heroic battles, the looting of treasures, the grueling torture of prisoners, and colorful descriptions of the participants in the war who hailed from throughout northern Africa, the Middle East, and beyond. It was first published in 1862.

Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) was venerated for the high quality of his precise writing style coupled with his remarkable descriptions of both his characters and their appurtenant activities. These accounts are quite vivid and robust -- he spun a terrific yarn. This renowned French author is most widely known for his 1857 Magnum opus, Madame Bovary (Penguin Classics). "Salammbo" was his next book which sealed the deal of literary distinction for Flaubert.

Contemporary authors of fantasy warlord fiction could learn much by reading "Salammbo." Of course the latter dealt with actual events which Flaubert somewhat fictionalized but the fluidness and crispness of his writing are akin to what we encounter much later in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary, One Vol. Edition.

The Penguin softcover edition runs 228 pages and I can't recall having read anything within the historical fiction genre which surpasses the eminence of this superb work. And while this title is not now well-known or much read in America it should be, especially given its sheer merit and readability. Highly recommended.

Supposedly this is a quote: "Do you know the sum total of my ambition? It's to have an intelligent, well-read man shut himself up with my book for four hours and to give him an orgy of historical hashish. That's all I want." --GF, Jan 1860

If this is accurate he has fulfilled his ambition, although it may take more than four hours to read. There is no doubt, however, that Flaubert provides that "orgy of historical hashish." What an incredible imagination this guy had (if perhaps a little too much adolescent male). It's worth reading for the catalog of fantastical descriptions of the people, places and practices he imagines in ancient Carthage. If I were a time traveller and this place existed as it is in Flaubert's account, what a place to visit!

This review is specifically referring to the Mondial edition of Salammbo. Within the first 10 pages, I counted many sloppy typos - it's regrettable that there isn't really another English translation available on Amazon. The translator must not have been happy with his work either, as there is actually no listed translator - that's the first time I've ever seen that.

Salammbô has been called an epic poem in prose and it is certainly a novel filled with oriental texturing, visual brilliance, and a lush descriptive quality. Flaubert creates the atmosphere of a dying civilization and imagery of sensuous and terrifying cruelty. Set in North Africa after the First Punic War, Salammbô details a mercenary revolt against the city of Carthage led by the Libyan soldier Matho and suppressed by the renowned Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca. Beginning in the suburbs of ancient Carthage in the gardens of Hamilcar his troops are celebrating a victory. As the celebration becomes a drunken spree the language paints what at a Burgessian milk bar could only be called a horror show. "The trees behind them were still smoking; half-burned carcases of apes dropped from their blackened boughs from time to time into the midst of the dishes. Drunken soldiers snored open-mouthed by the side of the corpses" The story marches on from here as stars tremble in reflection on soldiers spears they come across scenes like lions crucified on crosses and Flaubert evokes the landscape the troops pass through "Sometimes a huge rock would tower aloft like the prow of a vessel or the pedestal of some vanished statue." Salammbô's surroundings are equally evocative "fisherman's nets stretched from house to house, like gigantic bats with outspread wings." ... "In the center of the terraces camels tranquilly reposed, lying on their bellies like ostriches." Even poetic prose must have a plot and basically we have three main characters Salammbô daughter of Hamilcar, Matho a leader of the mercenary troops, and Spendius a servant of Matho. Matho loves Salammbô who is a priestess in the temple of the goddess Tanit. Spendius is a master manipulator and while assisting Matho with his love obsession he becomes a key figure in the mercenaries struggle to get paid by the city of Carthage. Matho steals the Zaimph sacred veil of Tanit and Salammbô tries to get it back which is part of a theme of sacrilidge that Flaubert has running through the novel. Flaubert describes battles and the attendant suffering with the same poetic prose used throughout this historical novel. The writing in this novel is really some of the finest I have had the pleasure to read. As the story develops we see that Matho in his pursuit of Salammbô loses his heart, Spendius in one way proves himself like a lion, and Salammbô learns it is not wise to touch the veil of Tanit.

Salammbo by Gustave Flaubert

Salammbo needs to be read as a novel, not as a work of history. This fascinating and exciting book gives us a compelling view of the ancient world.