Asterix and the Chariot Race was released in 2017. This book is jaw-dropping to read this year. Spoiler alert: I'm discussing the plot of the entire book in this post.
In this book, Asterix and Obelix are a team of charioteers, and are racing alongside many other teams from all over the known world, down the length of Italy. The race is however organised by the Roman Empire (of course), and the Roman champion is, I kid you not, named "Coronavirus". His sidekick is "Bacillus".
That alone would be a funny coincidence, but this is a whole lot deeper than that.
Coronavirus is a man in a mask. Coronavirus is his "stage name". There is no real man called Coronavirus.
Coronavirus is also unassailable, he is much faster than anybody else. Because Bacillus and a couple of other agents embedded in the race are cheating on his behalf, by secretly giving Coronavirus fresh horses every night to make his chariot fastest, and by sabotaging all other competitors. Coronavirus himself has nothing to do with this though, he is actually a relative weakling who is surprised by his own success... The point of all this cheating has nothing to do with Coronavirus himself. The entire point of him winning is to establish the superiority of Rome.
The crowds cheer him on loudly, but that is because the Roman legionaries are planted through the crowds and instructed to cheer him on loudly. Which is explained by this discussion:
Senator in charge of the race: "Our champion is holding the lead! All through the provinces, jubilant crowds cry his name!"
Caesar: "Perfect! When they chant his name, they're actually chanting Rome! And when they chant Rome, they're actually chanting CAESAR!"
By the end of the race even the person under the mask is changed, and Coronavirus becomes Caesar himself.
Symbolically, this is so powerfully accurate that I am flabbergasted. I really don't know what else to say, it speaks for itself. You should find this in your local library. If you can't find it that way it is possible to read all such books online for free, illegally, but I won't share a link for that. This one is worth buying in my opinion!
The Asterix comics are a long-running deep political commentary, not just fun kids books. For the background of what they mean to the French, check this article. Basically, the Romans are a symbol for all forms of government oppression, and Asterix is standing for personal liberty, with a French flavour, symbolising the concept that the people can never be completely repressed.
In this book, Asterix and Obelix are a team of charioteers, and are racing alongside many other teams from all over the known world, down the length of Italy. The race is however organised by the Roman Empire (of course), and the Roman champion is, I kid you not, named "Coronavirus". His sidekick is "Bacillus".
That alone would be a funny coincidence, but this is a whole lot deeper than that.
Coronavirus is a man in a mask. Coronavirus is his "stage name". There is no real man called Coronavirus.
Coronavirus is also unassailable, he is much faster than anybody else. Because Bacillus and a couple of other agents embedded in the race are cheating on his behalf, by secretly giving Coronavirus fresh horses every night to make his chariot fastest, and by sabotaging all other competitors. Coronavirus himself has nothing to do with this though, he is actually a relative weakling who is surprised by his own success... The point of all this cheating has nothing to do with Coronavirus himself. The entire point of him winning is to establish the superiority of Rome.
The crowds cheer him on loudly, but that is because the Roman legionaries are planted through the crowds and instructed to cheer him on loudly. Which is explained by this discussion:
Senator in charge of the race: "Our champion is holding the lead! All through the provinces, jubilant crowds cry his name!"
Caesar: "Perfect! When they chant his name, they're actually chanting Rome! And when they chant Rome, they're actually chanting CAESAR!"
By the end of the race even the person under the mask is changed, and Coronavirus becomes Caesar himself.
Symbolically, this is so powerfully accurate that I am flabbergasted. I really don't know what else to say, it speaks for itself. You should find this in your local library. If you can't find it that way it is possible to read all such books online for free, illegally, but I won't share a link for that. This one is worth buying in my opinion!
The Asterix comics are a long-running deep political commentary, not just fun kids books. For the background of what they mean to the French, check this article. Basically, the Romans are a symbol for all forms of government oppression, and Asterix is standing for personal liberty, with a French flavour, symbolising the concept that the people can never be completely repressed.
