A review by smemmott
The Charioteer by Mary Renault

4.0

So up until very recently I thought this was about an actual charioteer (because I knew Mary Renault wrote historical fiction set in ancient Greece.) When I realized the book is set during WWII I decided I needed to finally read it. I agree with all of the reviews that it's beautifully written, and that the characters, especially Laurie, are quite real: everyone has strengths and flaws, and can be wise and then foolish within the span of moments. But the subtlety was sometimes a struggle; there were a number of scenes when I felt that something was being implied, and I wasn't sure if understood the cultural cues well enough to make the right assumptions.