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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I thought this book would make me laugh. It mostly made me cry. A Greek tragedy by way of Arthur Miller.
It has such a fantastic narrative thrust, which makes it impossible to put down. The protagonist is this perfect combination of a fuckwit and golden retriever that you can't help but love him and occasionally desire to choke the light out of his stupid eyes.
The modern Irish lingo is a stroke of genius, as it brings you instantaneously into the proximity of the characters and humanises them.
There is this great and nuanced through-line as to the merit of what the Athenians experience. I kept thinking about to what degree their suffering is justified. I do wish the book was longer, with a greater focus on the Athenians. It loses some thematic exploration without their side in their fate.
It has such a fantastic narrative thrust, which makes it impossible to put down. The protagonist is this perfect combination of a fuckwit and golden retriever that you can't help but love him and occasionally desire to choke the light out of his stupid eyes.
The modern Irish lingo is a stroke of genius, as it brings you instantaneously into the proximity of the characters and humanises them.
There is this great and nuanced through-line as to the merit of what the Athenians experience. I kept thinking about to what degree their suffering is justified. I do wish the book was longer, with a greater focus on the Athenians. It loses some thematic exploration without their side in their fate.
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A friend told me this book was based on the historical fact that Syracusans were feeding captured Athenians in exchange for Euripides quotes. This story, written with an Irish twist felt like a really weird episode of Hogan's Heroes. And I mean that in the most flattering way possible. At times I was grossed out thinking about how Lampo and Galen wandered through hundreds of dying men and trying to find actors for their play. And how this compares to some modern events makes it even less humorous. But the story isn't ever trying to be serious and the beautiful Greek tragedy elements remind readers why these stories still linger.
3.5. Liked that it was written with the characters talking in modern vernacular. Feel if you are a classic Greek scholar you probably will get more out of it as it’s probably rather clever. I felt the ending was strong. I enjoyed a story of 2 working class lads trying to escape their background set in a time in history I’m unfamiliar with.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ve wanted to read this for a year, was gifted a copy in January, and waited until now to read it because I was so certain I’d love it. So it’s really surprising to me that I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would.
The writing style is really modern, which completely threw me off. Swears like the f and c words are used, people mention their ‘ma’ and ‘da’ and call each other ‘mate’. It was clearly a deliberate choice, but it did not work for me at all - I started reading the whole book in a northern English accent. The protagonist is also incredibly flawed, to say the least. Which is fine, but I was never certain if I was meant to care about him regardless. I feel like we were meant to be rooting for him, in a ‘he’s so flawed but means well’ kind of way, but I found him unredeemable. The remaining cast of characters consists of so many people I found it hard to keep track of. Some scenes were indeed funny, in a dark humour kind of way, but I found the situation the Athenians and enslaved people were in too dire to really get on board with this.
I was able to imagine the settings and scenes easily enough, which is always a big plus for me. There’s an underlying message about how hatred is taught and how rewarding looking out for the other is, which was done well enough. I just found this weirdly hard to get through.
The writing style is really modern, which completely threw me off. Swears like the f and c words are used, people mention their ‘ma’ and ‘da’ and call each other ‘mate’. It was clearly a deliberate choice, but it did not work for me at all - I started reading the whole book in a northern English accent. The protagonist is also incredibly flawed, to say the least. Which is fine, but I was never certain if I was meant to care about him regardless. I feel like we were meant to be rooting for him, in a ‘he’s so flawed but means well’ kind of way, but I found him unredeemable. The remaining cast of characters consists of so many people I found it hard to keep track of. Some scenes were indeed funny, in a dark humour kind of way, but I found the situation the Athenians and enslaved people were in too dire to really get on board with this.
I was able to imagine the settings and scenes easily enough, which is always a big plus for me. There’s an underlying message about how hatred is taught and how rewarding looking out for the other is, which was done well enough. I just found this weirdly hard to get through.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
There was barely any theatre content; the blurb and marketing made me think this was about art. But it was more just about Lampo generally living and getting into situations in Ancient Syracuse. I also didn't find it satirical or funny, it was a good enough read but I don't feel like this is the book I thought it was going into it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes