Variety is the spice of life they said. Is that how the saying goes? I am not sure. I realized I needed to read something different from my regular stories. I have been reading typical stories since like ever. Stories with a defined plot, named characters, and a somewhat happy ending. This one had an exciting title, hitting towards a bit of history and it delivered. Charlotte Yonge has written several stories and novels and with the quality of this one, I feel like her works might just be worth digging out. Don't worry, no spoilers, hehe.
- Author - Charlotte M. Yonge
- Title - The Last Fight In The Coliseum
- Originally Published -
- Genre - Fiction, Short Stories
PLOT
The author narrates the full experience and way of life of ancient Rome back in AD404. Their culture is centered around 'bread and sports', and sports in this context involve all forms of gore. Animals and all forms of wild beasts put against each other to tear themselves apart. Humans too are not left out. Gladiators are created from slaves, while there are few volunteers too. The gladiators fight to the death for the amusement and entertainment of the spectators. After a change in power which saw the 'Christian empire' ushered in, the new emperor tried to abolish this barbaric sport but the people would not accept this. This barbaric sport went on for a while until a hermit took matters into his own hands and changed the course of history forever.
CHARACTER(S)
No definitive character was named - different Roman names was mentioned though.
SETTINGS
Rome. - Never been more sure, lol.
PURPOSE
All it takes is a will to sacrifice.
As far as short stories go, this one is right up there. It has that right amount of medieval tone and modern tone while telling a fascinating and encapsulating tale. First off, the diction is one to relish. Rich and detailed, then there was the aspect of relevance. The author told a poignant story that serves great benefit even in modern times. The ending was spot on. Fully demonstrates how bravery and courage can save a whole nation and open people's eyes. The part about Christianity was so profound. I recently had an encounter on Twitter with a religious leader. He was going on about how abortion was bad and people should be punished, blah blah blah. And then I thought, if you want to help people, you don't force them to see the light, you show them the light and why the light is better than the dark. It's a controversial topic and the convo was a whole thing, but yeah. Great story. I will rate it a solid 4 out of 5 and recommend it for leisure reading.
Thank you for reading my short story review. I tried not to give spoilers, :). Everything said herein is actually my own opinion. If there is anything I might have missed out, misinterpreted, or quoted wrongly, please do point to me in the comment. It is about six pages and a free short online story on American Literature. Till next time. Cheers.