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The Persian Boy by Mary Renault
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The Persian Boy (1970)

by Mary Renault (Author)

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1,462244,666 (4.13)47
20th century (13) Alexander (41) Alexander the Great (126) Ancient Greece (72) ancient history (10) ancient world (12) biography (15) British (9) eunuchs (17) fiction (264) gay (41) gay fiction (13) glbt (10) Greece (57) Greek (11) historical (68) historical fiction (248) historical novel (24) history (38) homosexuality (15) literature (18) Macedonia (13) novel (52) own (11) Persia (32) read (15) romance (19) to-read (14) unread (20) war (14)
  1. 11
    The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (jbvm)
  2. 01
    Creation by Gore Vidal (aulsmith)
    aulsmith: Set earlier in Persian history, Creation covers some of the same territory as Renault's book. Vidal's writing is somewhat drier.
  3. 02
    Simple Man: The Autobiography of Peter West by Ruadhán J. McElroy (youngsoulrebel)
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English (21)  French (1)  Italian (1)  Spanish (1)  All languages (24)
Showing 1-5 of 21 (next | show all)
A good novel about a Persian slave boy who is picked up by, and adventures with, Alexander the Great. I was happy to recognize several incidents and characters within - it's very well researched.

I'm not one usually to tolerate love stories and romances and intrigues, but this seemed more palatable. Give it a shot if you like either history or romance, and don't mind homosexuality. If you are none of these, pass it over. ( )
  HadriantheBlind | Mar 30, 2013 |
Historical novel narrated by Bagoas, a young Persian aristocrat who is captured castrated, and sold as a slave to King Darius III. He becomes Darius’ favorite and after Darius’ death becomes the lover and servant of Alexander the Great. ( )
  TonySandel2 | Feb 11, 2013 |
Mary Renault continues the story of Alexander the Great (the first book was Fire From Heaven) in The Persian Boy. When we catch up with Alexander it has been six years. He is now 26 years old. His prowess as a conqueror cannot be questioned, as it was covered in Fire From Heaven, so Renault chooses to explore Alexander's sensual side as he forges a relationship with slave-boy Bagoas. As a eunuch Bagoas is used to being a plaything for royalty. His beauty is beyond compare and when Alexander is presented with Bagoas as a peace offering he cannot refuse. Despite once serving Alexander's Persian enemy Bagoas decides to be loyal to Alexander and make Alexander love him. What follows is the classic struggle of Persian versus Macedonian cultures as Bagoas assumes the narrative. ( )
  SeriousGrace | Sep 28, 2012 |
A beautiful slave boy Bagoas is originally from a well to do family in ancient Persia and witnesses his father's brutal murder, along with his mother's subsequent suicide. As he is only 10 years old, he doesn't know what happened to his sisters as he was gathered up by the Captain of the assassins, to be sold into slavery. His life becomes hell for the next 5 years as the man that purchases him rents him out to uncouth clients. Eventually he end up as a sexual plaything to Darius, king of Persia. Things are better for awhile, but then Alexander the Great comes into the story when Darius is assassinated by his own men, and Bagoas is used as a pawn by one of the assassins as a gift to Alexander in order to obtain his own pardon. Bagoas falls deeply in love with Alexander who is protrayed as kind and fair to those in his care. After some patience and conniving, Bagoas finally gets close to Alexander and they become lovers. Bagoas is many things, young, dramatic, impatient, wise beyond his years because of the life he was thrown into, but ultimately lovable. I re-read this book every couple of years at least. ( )
2 vote taffygold123 | Sep 3, 2012 |
When his family in Persia is wiped out by a political opponent, 10 year old Bagoas is castrated and sold into slavery as a eunuch. As his master becomes poorer he starts renting out Bagoas as a prostitute. Bagoas is eventually taken on as one of the Great King's eunuchs until Darius is murdered after a second defeat by Alexander the Great. Bagoas is given as a gift to Alexander, falls in love with him, and follows Alexander and his army as they try to bring the furthest flung reaches of the Persian empire under control.

High adventure and romance as we see Alexander the Great through a Persian's eyes. Bagoas was a real person, though we know very little about him, and the description of Alexander's career sticks to the facts as they have come down to us.

Some favourite quotes:

"I stood pressed to a tree. It looked a long way across the clearing. I remembered Susa. I was not like the others; I was loot."

"The living chick in the shell has known no other world. Through the wall comes a whiteness but he does not know it is light. Yet he taps at the white wall, not knowing why. Lightning strikes his heart; the shell breaks open.

I thought, There goes my lord, whom I was born to follow. I have found a King." ( )
1 vote Robertgreaves | Jun 4, 2012 |
Showing 1-5 of 21 (next | show all)
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Epigraph
If anyone has the right to be measured by the standards of his own time, it is Alexander.

Hermann Bengtson: The Greeks and the Persians
Dedication
First words
Lest anyone should suppose I am a son of nobody, sold off by some peasant father in a drought year, I may say our line is an old one, though it ends with me.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0394751019, Paperback)

“It takes skill to depict, as Miss Renault has done, this half-man, half Courtesan who is so deeply in love with the warrior.”–The Atlantic Monthly

The Persian Boy traces the last years of Alexander’s life through the eyes of his lover, Bagoas. Abducted and gelded as a boy, Bagoas was sold as a courtesan to King Darius of Persia, but found freedom with Alexander after the Macedon army conquered his homeland. Their relationship sustains Alexander as he weathers assassination plots, the demands of two foreign wives, a sometimes-mutinous army, and his own ferocious temper. After Alexander’s mysterious death, we are left wondering if this Persian boy understood the great warrior and his ambitions better than anyone.

(retrieved from Amazon Wed, 02 Jan 2013 22:17:31 -0500)

(see all 3 descriptions)

A slave-boy in the household of Alexander the Great tells about the adventures of the Macedonian king during the last seven years of his life.

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