An exhilarating, fiercely original story of brotherhood, war and art, and of daring to dream of something bigger than ourselves.
'Bold and totally unexpected, I loved this book' Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie Bain
'A very special, very clever, very entertaining novel' Roddy Doyle, author of Paddy Clarke, Ha Ha Ha
***
It's 412 BC, and Athens' invasion of Sicily has failed catastrophically. Thousands of Athenian soldiers are held captive in the quarries of Syracuse, starving, dejected, and hanging on by the slimmest of threads.
Lampo and Gelon are local potters, young men with no work and barely two obols to rub together. When they take to visiting the nearby quarry, they discover prisoners who will, in desperation, recite lines from the plays of Euripides for scraps of bread and a scattering of olives.
And so an idea is born: the men will put on Medea in the quarry. A proper performance to be sung of down the ages. Because after all, you can hate the Athenians for invading your territory, but still love their poetry.
But as the audacity of their enterprise dawns on them, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between enemies and friends. As the performance draws near, the men will find their courage tested in ways they could never have imagined ...
***
'Madly ambitious, cathartic like all great tragedy, but shockingly funny too, Ferdia Lennon's outstandingly original dbut is just glorious' Emma Donoghue, author of Room
Glorious Exploits delivers the comedy and tragedy of the finest Greek theatre, with the author’s added Irish charm. Ferdia Lennon tells the tale of two down on their luck potters in 412 BC Sicily. With a failed Athenian invasion leaving plenty of slaves for the quarries, the duo hatches a scheme to have the Athenian slaves perform Medea.
The beauty of Glorious Exploits is found in its discussions and celebrations of art, war, love and the book’s reluctance to take itself too seriously. The initial premise breeds countless absurd scenarios, thrusting the two potters into the paths of unforgettable characters who don’t stay for long, but leave their mark on the reader. However, the book isn’t afraid to get bloody. Between the war in the world of the characters, and the violence channelled in the theatre, tragedy certainly presents itself. Yet in the hands of Lennon, the most comedic phrases and moments come out of the grimness.
A rollicking adventure for lovers of theatre and history, which is just as likely to thrill as it is to shock.
- Jamil