What do you think?
Rate this book
Lupa
What is reality, what is illusion? A lost circus girl in late 20th century Rome; a female gladiator in ancient Rome. What connects these two very different women over two millennia? In her riveting novel, "Lupa", Marie Marshall takes us through two contrasting versions of Rome and shows masterfully how people tend to see only what they want to see.
176 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2012
14 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 21, 2013
Jelena is a displaced soul wandering the streets of Rome. While her memory clings to the horrors of the Bosnian War, she tries to find her way to a new a life. Likewise, a woman called Lupa, tries to escape her past by surrendering herself to the fighting ranks of the gladiator class in Ancient Rome. Both stories play out simultaneously as each woman struggles to find her strength and defeat her demons.
When Jelena meets the charismatic Vittorio, she finds herself trusting him despite her usual standoffish approach to strangers. He eventually takes her to an archeological site that he oversees and the dig yields artifacts that possibly belong to a female gladiator. Jelena is instantly intrigued by the idea of a woman strong enough to hold her own in a fight.
Meanwhile, Lupa signs her life over to the Lanista who trains her in the art of hand-to-hand combat. Her journey to fit in as the lone female and to prove herself among the others is the stuff of legend. She goes on to fight numerous battles where one by one, her opponents fall. However, the past is never far away, no matter how many enemies she defeats.
Jelena spends an inordinate amount of time helping Vittorio dig deeper into Rome's past, but it's not enough to distract her from the memories of torture, loss of family and friends, and the corruption of her innocence. Her despair is sometimes debilitating, but the spirit of Lupa encourages her to keep fighting for survival.
Marie Marshall captures two historical periods with realistic detail. The Bosnian War is one that is often forgotten, but Jelena's story ensures the raw emotion of war wounds goes down as something real and heartbreaking. In addition, Marshall's portrayal of Ancient Rome is vivid with the sheer violence of the gladiator games. Both time periods display the darker side of humanity, while Jelena and Lupa exist to defy the odds. Lupa means "she-wolf," which is a distinctive characteristic for both women. They share a connection that cannot be broken, for each lives within the other.
When Jelena meets the charismatic Vittorio, she finds herself trusting him despite her usual standoffish approach to strangers. He eventually takes her to an archeological site that he oversees and the dig yields artifacts that possibly belong to a female gladiator. Jelena is instantly intrigued by the idea of a woman strong enough to hold her own in a fight.
Meanwhile, Lupa signs her life over to the Lanista who trains her in the art of hand-to-hand combat. Her journey to fit in as the lone female and to prove herself among the others is the stuff of legend. She goes on to fight numerous battles where one by one, her opponents fall. However, the past is never far away, no matter how many enemies she defeats.
Jelena spends an inordinate amount of time helping Vittorio dig deeper into Rome's past, but it's not enough to distract her from the memories of torture, loss of family and friends, and the corruption of her innocence. Her despair is sometimes debilitating, but the spirit of Lupa encourages her to keep fighting for survival.
Marie Marshall captures two historical periods with realistic detail. The Bosnian War is one that is often forgotten, but Jelena's story ensures the raw emotion of war wounds goes down as something real and heartbreaking. In addition, Marshall's portrayal of Ancient Rome is vivid with the sheer violence of the gladiator games. Both time periods display the darker side of humanity, while Jelena and Lupa exist to defy the odds. Lupa means "she-wolf," which is a distinctive characteristic for both women. They share a connection that cannot be broken, for each lives within the other.
August 29, 2013
An enchanting tale, gripping to the very last page.
The scene opens with an injured circus girl, Jelena, with a bad attitude; alone and unemployed, a Serb in Rome during the time of the Serbo-Croation war. Her life is going nowhere and she has seen too many atrocities. And into her life walks - Vittorio, tall, handsome and surrounded by mystery.
As Jelena deals with her demons, a second tale begins to unfold via an archaeological dig. A female gladiator in ancient Rome?
(To say "female gladiator" is like saying "female stallion", but so foreign was the concept of females in Rome doing the martial sports, that the word "gladiatrix" was only coined in the 1800's, by post-Renaissance society. A small but sterling example of how accurately this author does her research and applies it.)
"Lupa" arises from the dead, and we are transported back into the time of Ancient Rome, to witness how this gutsy woman holds her own among detractors and mainly, men.
How is Lupa connected with Jelena? Who is Vittorio? What about that mysterious medallion? What about the dreams, the dark psychosis, and Rome...?
You read some stories once and they never let you go.
This is one of those.
The scene opens with an injured circus girl, Jelena, with a bad attitude; alone and unemployed, a Serb in Rome during the time of the Serbo-Croation war. Her life is going nowhere and she has seen too many atrocities. And into her life walks - Vittorio, tall, handsome and surrounded by mystery.
As Jelena deals with her demons, a second tale begins to unfold via an archaeological dig. A female gladiator in ancient Rome?
(To say "female gladiator" is like saying "female stallion", but so foreign was the concept of females in Rome doing the martial sports, that the word "gladiatrix" was only coined in the 1800's, by post-Renaissance society. A small but sterling example of how accurately this author does her research and applies it.)
"Lupa" arises from the dead, and we are transported back into the time of Ancient Rome, to witness how this gutsy woman holds her own among detractors and mainly, men.
How is Lupa connected with Jelena? Who is Vittorio? What about that mysterious medallion? What about the dreams, the dark psychosis, and Rome...?
You read some stories once and they never let you go.
This is one of those.
January 20, 2013
This magnificent story of the young woman Jelena, a Serbian immigrant with post traumatic stress syndrome, who lives temporarily in Rome where she meets the mysterious Vittorio, will grab you from the moment you start reading. The story meanders from present to the days of the gladiators, and while we get to know Jelena better and what happened to her, we also learn about the harsh life of ancient Romans. This book is very well written, in a nice pace, and the end is amazing! It really was a very good read, from begin to end!
October 2, 2013
the slayer who ran looked a lot like Lupa. My experience: the reader is no match for parry-able writing of such high calibre. The experience brings to mind to this philosophy major the dialogues of Plato and also process meditations created by Carl Jung's disciple Ira Progoff of "At a Journal Workshop." These interwoven stories also bring to my mind the books of Alice Miller ("The Gifted Child" and many others) on toxic child rearing, neglect and abuse of infants and how many adults today survived. robertjulianbraxton
November 26, 2014
"If the City truly is a monster than there are times when its scales--its lamellar armour--shine and make it seem beautiful."
A strange tale split equally between modern-day Rome and a phantasmagorical ancient Rome, between a Serb living in the present and a female gladiator in the distant past. The writing is sparse and lovely (see the quote above), as is the ending.
A strange tale split equally between modern-day Rome and a phantasmagorical ancient Rome, between a Serb living in the present and a female gladiator in the distant past. The writing is sparse and lovely (see the quote above), as is the ending.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews