I am extremely glad I do not live in Ancient Pompeii, just saying. A Day of Fire is an anthology of short stories written by six different authors: Kate Quinn, Stephanie Dray, Ben Kane, Eliza Knight, Sophie Perinot, and Victoria Alvear. Each of their six stories tells the events of the final days of Pompeii from the perspective of a different person and their stories were titled appropriately. A Son, An Heiress, A Soldier, A Senator, A Mother, and A Whore. As their stories develop and intertwine so does the story of Pompeii and the fatal eruption of Mount Vesuvius develop and intertwine with theirs.
This book was intense to read and at times mildly difficult to get through, as I would imagine any book on this subject would be. It did a great job of showing how things might have developed in the final days of Pompeii and the events leading to its eventual burial. I was a little surprised by how well the different stories of the anthology went together to create an overall story. When I saw that it was an anthology I was expecting six different stories of the final days but that was only partly what this was. It was also six different stories that interconnect to create an incredible overall picture of what those final days were for. Though each story was written by a different author and focused on a different person they were all interwoven to create one picture of Pompeii. Many of the characters knew each other and their lives were interconnected so that they would appear in multiple stories which helped flesh out the picture of society that was being created. While this was incredibly well done it was only one of the things that really caught my attention about the story. Another one is how each of the stories also works to develop the overall narrative of the final days of Pompeii. The first story starts earlier and ends earlier than the others and this continues over the course of the rest of the stories with each one moving progressively forward in time until we get to the final eruption and lava flow that buried Pompeii. This shows a lot of thought and organization was put into how these stories were written and arranged within the anthology. I was seriously impressed by the overall narrative structure and continuity of the different stories. On top of that, I also enjoyed how well developed the different characters were. I could tell that each story was written by a different author but the overall level of development was pretty similar. Each one felt like it could have been an actual person, though several were actually based on real historical figures so that may have helped. Either way, it was a great book and great set of stories even with the sad and tragic ending. I am happy to give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.
This book is a work of historical fiction that is primarily aimed at an adult audience. If you happen to enjoy historical fiction I would recommend that you consider trying this book out as it is well worth the read. However, the story is a fairly accurate portrayal of Ancient Roman culture so it does reference a considerable amount of mature topics and themes throughout the book, as you may have gather from the title of the final story. I don’t think this detracts from the quality of the story but I can see where it has the potential to make people uncomfortable. Make sure to think about this carefully before you decide to read this book. For this same reason, I would suggest that it not be read by readers in the teen or young adult age range or younger. The material and content present would not be suitable for younger readers. It is a good book and don’t let this dissuade you from reading it unless you are just unable to handle the content. I hope you consider reading it and if you do feel free to share your thoughts about it in the comments.