A typical Mary Renault. Ancient Greeks drily accept their circumstances and numerous barbaric cruelties, while staying pious somehow. A good re-telling of the events preceding the Persian Wars; the conquest of the Ionian cities by Cyrus, the death of Polykrates of Samos, the ascendancy of Pisistratus and the murder of his son, Hipparchos, who seems to have become very Nero-like to provoke the assassination. Simonides is telling the tale many years later while living in Sicily; every so often he like to remind us that a large part of the beautiful Athens he knew was burned by the Persians. For him there is no going back to those lyric days of yore. ( )

Renault has a beautiful way with descriptions of land and society, and effectively creates the social, political, and geographic climate of ancient Greece, particularly ancient Athens, in this novel. Her willingness to leave her hero in the dark is one of the ways she does this so effectively. As a poet, Simonides would have been hyperaware of the court's status, but not necessarily high enough to know all the secrets of the tyrants. It is this exchange of information, and the way Simonides collects and responds to this information, which make her rendition of the social setting so persuasive. The arc of Simonides' travel, which structures the book into sections by his geographic location, is also very effective, as the reader follows him in growing knowledge of the Athenian climate from his ignorant rural boyhood to favor and acceptance for his talent. ( )

This was a great read, even if it wasn't one of my favorite Renault novels. She always manages to transport me back in time. The section on the Olympics was especially interesting, as was the final downfall of the Tyrants. Fascinating stuff! ( )

A joyous read. Though a bit dated, this book gave both an excellent feel for the pre-Persian wars Aegean, and also very nice reading. My only qualm is with her use of the words 'thrall' and 'knight,' which pulled me out of the novel. Her foreshadowing and phrasing were wonderful. I certainly felt that I was there, and had full sympathy for the main characters.


In service to community,
ShiraDestinie
William James MEOW Date: Monday, July 16. 12014 H.E. (Holocene Era) ( )

"The Praise Singer" is Mary Renault’s take on the life of Simonides, a real lyric poet who lived in Ancient Greece from 556 BC to approximately 468 BC, a fairly hefty life span for that period in time. Details of his early life and family are sketchy, which gives the opportunity for a good historical fiction writer like Ms. Renault to imagine those details, keeping in mind whatever knowledge historians have about the period in question. Most of the characters in this book were also real people; only close associates such as housekeepers, courtesans and pupils are invented by the author. I won’t go into the details of the story, which essentially covers about the first half of Simonides’ life, except to say that he was present for a lot of events that occurred during that time, both politically and socially, and Ms. Renault does a great job of taking the information historians have about those events and filling in the details. If you’re a fan of historical fiction, particularly fiction about Ancient Greece, you probably have run across this author before (I believe she was most active from the 1950s to early 1980s, in terms of her historical fiction at least); if you’re not a fan but are curious about life in the ancient world, her work is a good starting place. My only quibble with this particular novel is that it ends quite abruptly; still, it’s quite impressive and definitely recommended. ( )