A stunning work of historical conjecture.
A debut historical novel reconstructs the life of Leotychides, the controversial heir to the Spartan throne in the fifth century B.C.E.
Leotychides first became aware that his father, Agis, was one of the two kings of Sparta when he was 3 years old. He was born into crisis—the protracted war between Sparta and Athens was in its 19th year. But there was significant division within Sparta despite its reputation for solidarity, a disunity brewing over the official policy regarding Athens. As a result of the disharmony, Pausanios, the other king, is charged with treason, and Agis votes in favor of his guilt, a verdict that would’ve resulted in his execution had he not been acquitted. Meanwhile, Leotychides hears rumors that Agis isn’t his real father, whispered gossip that is finally confirmed. Agis makes an official declaration of recognition of Leotychides on his death bed, a move necessary to ensure his succession to the throne. But Agis’ brother, Agisilaos, publicly raises suspicions about Leotychides’ legitimacy and makes his own bid for royal power. Leotychides, for so long at loggerheads with his father, comes to be tormented by the anguish his birth must have caused him, a complex internal conflict described with great sensitivity by Butler: “I, the fruit of a liaison that had caused the husband so much pain, the King such shame.” Leotychides’ deepest desire is to fulfill his father’s wish that he restore unity to Sparta. He also pines to avenge Agis’ mortification at the hands of Alkibiades, an infamous traitor and Leotychides’ biological father, the man who “had cast his shadow across my life.” Little is known about Leotychides beyond the succession dispute, and the author’s novelistic hypothesis is as imaginative as it is historically plausible. His command of the material is magisterial—this is a work of impressive erudition. The volume, however, presumes knowledge of the period—it will be a daunting read for audiences entirely unfamiliar with the era. Still, this is a rare book—literarily inventive, dramatically gripping, and historically astute.
A stunning work of historical conjecture.Pub Date: July 24, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-71811-560-6
Page Count: 570
Publisher: CNPOSNER BOOKS
Review Posted Online: Nov. 7, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A kind of Holden Caulfield who speaks bravely and winningly from inside the sorrows of autism: wonderful, simple, easy,...
Britisher Haddon debuts in the adult novel with the bittersweet tale of a 15-year-old autistic who’s also a math genius.
Christopher Boone has had some bad knocks: his mother has died (well, she went to the hospital and never came back), and soon after he found a neighbor’s dog on the front lawn, slain by a garden fork stuck through it. A teacher said that he should write something that he “would like to read himself”—and so he embarks on this book, a murder mystery that will reveal who killed Mrs. Shears’s dog. First off, though, is a night in jail for hitting the policeman who questions him about the dog (the cop made the mistake of grabbing the boy by the arm when he can’t stand to be touched—any more than he can stand the colors yellow or brown, or not knowing what’s going to happen next). Christopher’s father bails him out but forbids his doing any more “detecting” about the dog-murder. When Christopher disobeys (and writes about it in his book), a fight ensues and his father confiscates the book. In time, detective-Christopher finds it, along with certain other clues that reveal a very great deal indeed about his mother’s “death,” his father’s own part in it—and the murder of the dog. Calming himself by doing roots, cubes, prime numbers, and math problems in his head, Christopher runs away, braves a train-ride to London, and finds—his mother. How can this be? Read and see. Neither parent, if truth be told, is the least bit prepossessing or more than a cutout. Christopher, though, with pet rat Toby in his pocket and advanced “maths” in his head, is another matter indeed, and readers will cheer when, way precociously, he takes his A-level maths and does brilliantly.
A kind of Holden Caulfield who speaks bravely and winningly from inside the sorrows of autism: wonderful, simple, easy, moving, and likely to be a smash.Pub Date: June 17, 2003
ISBN: 0-385-50945-6
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2003
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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