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lisamchuk's review against another edition
2.0
A fictional tale about Artistotle and young Alexander - not very exciting but I didn't think it was a waste of time.
imissyou's review against another edition
5.0
“Men regress. It’s a rule of nature. In Achilles’s time, men were taller and stronger. Every generation shrinks back a little from greatness. We’re just shadows of our ancestors.”
I have liked Alexander the Great since I was five when my mother bought me this small bio for children, I think it was because I admired all his accomplishments during the 13 years he had the power of the whole army and Macedonia. Some days ago, my history teacher asked me to write a proposal of a significant individual to study about and I, of course, chose Alexander.
Now, that I have read this book after having an obsession with Alexander I can only say I absolutely adored it.... I'm a big fan of character development and this book gave me exactly that! We start with a mean Alexander that hates everyone and everything that breathes and we end up with:
“The boy who knew where to find the head, the heart, the breath, the brain. The boy who smelled so nice. The boy running in from the rain. “Majesty.”
He says, “Stay with me. Don’t make me go the next step alone.”
To end up this review that does not make much sense, read it even if you're not an Alexander fan, you might surprise yourself with how lovely the content and the teachings in this book are.
I have liked Alexander the Great since I was five when my mother bought me this small bio for children, I think it was because I admired all his accomplishments during the 13 years he had the power of the whole army and Macedonia. Some days ago, my history teacher asked me to write a proposal of a significant individual to study about and I, of course, chose Alexander.
Now, that I have read this book after having an obsession with Alexander I can only say I absolutely adored it.... I'm a big fan of character development and this book gave me exactly that! We start with a mean Alexander that hates everyone and everything that breathes and we end up with:
“The boy who knew where to find the head, the heart, the breath, the brain. The boy who smelled so nice. The boy running in from the rain. “Majesty.”
He says, “Stay with me. Don’t make me go the next step alone.”
To end up this review that does not make much sense, read it even if you're not an Alexander fan, you might surprise yourself with how lovely the content and the teachings in this book are.
ramsayl2023's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
zybes's review against another edition
4.0
This book was quite different than what I'd expected when I first picked it up, but it was a great book anyway. I thought the author did a great job of writing from Aristotle's perspective, which is something pretty daring and brave, but I was impressed with how well she knew Aristotle to be able to write from his perspective. The philisophical aspects of this book were very interesting, too. I thought the plot was a little lacking, but it was mostly about relationships between people and philosophies. I wished there was more between Aristotle and Alexander The Great, but other than that it was a good book!
patchworkbunny's review against another edition
3.0
Set in ancient Greece circa 342 BC, The Golden Mean is the story of Aristotle's time with the young Alexander (soon to be Great). The great philosopher takes the position of the young prince's tutor as well as his disabled brother and forges an odd friendship in a time of war.
Leave your modern morality at the door to avoid being offended. Obviously lifestyles were very different back then and there's plenty of sexual references and coarse language that would be the norm for warriors of the time. Think Spartacus Blood and Sand in literary form (only Greek not Roman). As far as I can tell, the historical aspects are well researched and there's only a few occasions where the speech comes across as a bit modern.
The cover blurb would have us think that Alexander was a sadistic and unlikable child but I found some of the moments between him and Aristotle almost tender. I would have preferred more insight into the young mind of Alexander but the story revolves much more around Aristotle, although it skims over his depression. He explains he suffers from black bile which from description sounds like manic depression but I rarely felt it through the storytelling. The prose came across as a bit impersonal so I think it would appeal more to the reader with a historical interest.
It's interesting reading some of Aristotle's ideas with a modern perspective. He was eerily close on some areas of biology but others were so far off they are nearly laughable. For info, Ox Head is the translation of Becephelous, Alexander's famous horse. Considering that other names aren't translated I don't know why this was, especially as it's not flattering nor recognisable.
Leave your modern morality at the door to avoid being offended. Obviously lifestyles were very different back then and there's plenty of sexual references and coarse language that would be the norm for warriors of the time. Think Spartacus Blood and Sand in literary form (only Greek not Roman). As far as I can tell, the historical aspects are well researched and there's only a few occasions where the speech comes across as a bit modern.
The cover blurb would have us think that Alexander was a sadistic and unlikable child but I found some of the moments between him and Aristotle almost tender. I would have preferred more insight into the young mind of Alexander but the story revolves much more around Aristotle, although it skims over his depression. He explains he suffers from black bile which from description sounds like manic depression but I rarely felt it through the storytelling. The prose came across as a bit impersonal so I think it would appeal more to the reader with a historical interest.
It's interesting reading some of Aristotle's ideas with a modern perspective. He was eerily close on some areas of biology but others were so far off they are nearly laughable. For info, Ox Head is the translation of Becephelous, Alexander's famous horse. Considering that other names aren't translated I don't know why this was, especially as it's not flattering nor recognisable.
smalltownbookmom's review against another edition
2.0
Very detailed and authentic seeming story. Reminded me of watching the Rome television show. Not sure it's worth all the hype it's gotten though.
blairconrad's review against another edition
3.0
Ultimately disappointing. Not because it's a bad book, but because it's billed as a fantastic book. I'm sure Ms. Lyons did a tremendous amount of research, but that doesn't affect the reader directly, so we have to judge what we read.
The book is good, but slightly uneven. There are sections in which we get insight into (Ms. Lyon's interpretation of) Aristotle's mind, and at first these are interesting. Likewise, nearly all of the lessons that Aristotle gives Alexander, but that's about it. The rest of the book falls a little flat - sort of boring interactions between Aristotle's contemporaries.
The prose is adequate - not terribly good, but not awful, except the profanity. I've seen others complain about the anachronism, but once we have the characters speaking English (well, written in English), I don't think modern profanity is a problem with the consistency of the book - I just don't care for it.
The book is good, but slightly uneven. There are sections in which we get insight into (Ms. Lyon's interpretation of) Aristotle's mind, and at first these are interesting. Likewise, nearly all of the lessons that Aristotle gives Alexander, but that's about it. The rest of the book falls a little flat - sort of boring interactions between Aristotle's contemporaries.
The prose is adequate - not terribly good, but not awful, except the profanity. I've seen others complain about the anachronism, but once we have the characters speaking English (well, written in English), I don't think modern profanity is a problem with the consistency of the book - I just don't care for it.
thetamari's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not totally convinced that the characterisation of Aristotle, who acts as the narrator, is accurate. The author does offer an interesting depiction of a genius whose mind is so active he has bipolar tendencies. I initially had some problems with the flow of the writing, the text seemed to jump from one topic to another and I'd often have to reread parts to get things in order. The book does improve as it goes on.
alicemc25's review against another edition
1.0
Maybe I'm rating this a bit unfairly because I didn't actually finish it properly. I got about halfway through and then skim-read until the end because I just wasn't enjoying it. There seem to be a lot of reviews praising it as rich and unusual historical fiction - but I found it really boring and un-engaging.