A Gladiator Dies Only Once
“said Lucius Claudius. “Go on—taste it!”
I wrinkled my nose. Strange as it may sound, I was not particularly fond of garum. Never mind that ninety-nine out of a hundred Romans adore it, and add it to ninety-nine out of a hundred dishes, spooning it over everything from sausages to egg custard, from asparagus to honey cakes. “Garum goes with everything,” goes the popular saying.
We sat in the garden of Lucius’s opulent house on the Palatine Hill. A slave stood before me—a rather beautiful young slave, for in all things Lucius was used to having the best—holding a small silver dish in each hand. In each dish was a dark, glistening dollop of garum.
“Taste it!” insisted Lucius.
I dabbed a finger into the thick, oily sauce in the dish to my left. I smelled it first, breathing in the sharp odor of pickled fish; reluctantly, I popped my finger into my mouth. The taste was powerful: salty and slightly tangy, the spices playing with remarkable complexity upon my tongue.
Guest a year ago
Enjoyed If a Cyclops could vanish in a blink of an eye from this collection. Was a fun story in which both jovial nature and historical accuracy made the story believable and engaging. The writing style was also easy to read and I would recommend reading this collection is you like historical fiction.Write Review:
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