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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A standing ovation to this quirky book that seemed so innocuous from the cover/blurb, but hit hard with strong character development, emotional depth, and beautiful pictures of friendship, love and humanity.
The cover of this book is quite deceiving, and the author very cleverly disguises the starting tone of this tale in a comedic façade – we follow Lampos (our narrator) and Gelon, two Syracusans who have made a habit of visiting the prisoners of war (Athenians) on their island’s quarry where they have been condemned to die. Lampos and Gelon, obsessed with Greek plays, pump the Athenians for information on the plays of Euripides, and upon discovering that these prisoners know a fair bit of the work, decide to put on a production with the prisoners of the quarry.
It's a setup unlike anything I have read in other books, and the author even acknowledges at the end that this took a long time to finish - he almost abandoned this project thinking it might be too weird. I am very glad that Lennon did not, though, as he created a story that had me bent on seeing Lampos, Gelon and the Athenians succeed.
The most unique thing about this book to me were the number of times that I felt like laughing at a joke or humorous situation, and then immediately feeling a bit dirty for laughing as I considered the horror of man’s inhumanity to man on display in this novel. It was a clever way for this author to help readers face our own biases, examine our own motives, and consider who we consider to be “other” or “enemy” in our lives.
Animal Alert Horses/general
What I Liked:
- Lampos’ narrative voice is easy to read, and I loved that he didn’t always look at things in selfless ways – he reflects insecurities all readers can likely connect with and he was an amazing perspective to read this story from.
- I loved all the characterizations in this book – all of the people felt very real, with flawed motivations, real fear, anger and hopes.
- I appreciated this book as a medium for us to examine how we feel about those labeled “enemy” and how we must humanize in spite of differences. The Syracusans, reacting to the tragedy of the invading Athenians and loss of loved ones, commit their prisoners of war to a slow, tortuous death, and continue to foster hatred for them. Lennon challenges that perspective.
What I Didn’t:
- SPOILER:
The cover of this book is quite deceiving, and the author very cleverly disguises the starting tone of this tale in a comedic façade – we follow Lampos (our narrator) and Gelon, two Syracusans who have made a habit of visiting the prisoners of war (Athenians) on their island’s quarry where they have been condemned to die. Lampos and Gelon, obsessed with Greek plays, pump the Athenians for information on the plays of Euripides, and upon discovering that these prisoners know a fair bit of the work, decide to put on a production with the prisoners of the quarry.
It's a setup unlike anything I have read in other books, and the author even acknowledges at the end that this took a long time to finish - he almost abandoned this project thinking it might be too weird. I am very glad that Lennon did not, though, as he created a story that had me bent on seeing Lampos, Gelon and the Athenians succeed.
The most unique thing about this book to me were the number of times that I felt like laughing at a joke or humorous situation, and then immediately feeling a bit dirty for laughing as I considered the horror of man’s inhumanity to man on display in this novel. It was a clever way for this author to help readers face our own biases, examine our own motives, and consider who we consider to be “other” or “enemy” in our lives.
Animal Alert Horses/general
Spoiler
Horses are run nearly to death and it’s implied they will die following their ordeal. An augur is noted to dissect animals to divine the future (not described on page, though)What I Liked:
- Lampos’ narrative voice is easy to read, and I loved that he didn’t always look at things in selfless ways – he reflects insecurities all readers can likely connect with and he was an amazing perspective to read this story from.
- I loved all the characterizations in this book – all of the people felt very real, with flawed motivations, real fear, anger and hopes.
- I appreciated this book as a medium for us to examine how we feel about those labeled “enemy” and how we must humanize in spite of differences. The Syracusans, reacting to the tragedy of the invading Athenians and loss of loved ones, commit their prisoners of war to a slow, tortuous death, and continue to foster hatred for them. Lennon challenges that perspective.
What I Didn’t:
- SPOILER:
Spoiler
The deep sadness of Lampos losing Lyra, and the fact that he wasn’t even able to explain to her what he was accomplishing before he lost her. I understand the author’s choice in case for realism here, and maintaining the overall tone, but it was so very depressing.
I know nothing about that time period or people and while I found it humorous there was nothing interesting to me about the story or the characters.
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Very unique. Didn’t really click for me with impact until the last 1/3.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
funny
sad
fast-paced
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No