Tyrant

I've read about a third of it, and have added it to the Lifeline box. I can't stomach any more of its heavy-handed "tyrant rules, democracy drools". That's the young, handsome, capable, hunky, bad-ass, heroic, noble budding tyrant Dionysius of Syracuse vs the doddering, ugly, old, venal, indecisive, stupid, elected democratic rulers.

Now, extremely probably the democrats weren't all that great, and the tyrant had his good side. It is 400 BC, and the democrats of the time were really much more like aristocrats and plutocrats. Maybe there is a decent historical novel to be written about this interesting chunk of history. But this sharply black and white apologia for fascism is not it.

2.5/5. The novel gives us an unusual subject and time period--Greek Sicily at the time of the Peloponnesian War and beyond. I'm just using that as a reference as to when the story takes place. The novel tells of Dionysius of Syracuse, a good man who is badly affected by the death and destruction of his beloved wife. He then seizes power and becomes a tyrant, in the worst sense of the word--ruthless, merciless, cold-hearted. We see how absolute power corrupts him. He has mixed success against Carthaginians but does make Sicily into something to be reckoned with.

Hampered by a poor translation, was the wording of the original Italian also as bad? The novel was overwhelmed with battles, but I did have to admire Dionysius's military genius: show more hauling ships overland, the invention to catapults. Sex scenes were risible, especially the one under water. Characters were one-dimensional but for his brother, Leptines, and his friend, the historian Philistus, whose original work has been lost. I feel this author was a better historian than novelist, although I applaud him for tackling this subject. A superior novel on a Greek who lived somewhat later, Timoleon, whose name will always be coupled with Syracuse is Peter Vansittart's A Choice Of Murder. show less

This book is to be commended in the sense that it's one of the very few novels based in classical Sicily, and it therefore provides an introduction to a period that most people are unlikely to know. From that angle, I am glad to have read it. However, Manfredi is so keen to counteract the traditional negative portrayal of Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, that he ends up with a character who is implausibly perfect. We are given an insight into Dionysius' personality, with the invention of a beloved wife whose tragic death propels him into tyranny; and yet we are never fully able to sympathise with him because he doesn't convince as a three-dimensional, multifaceted character. We are invited to marvel at his intelligence, his tactical show more acumen, his good looks and his sense of honour. We are constantly shown how his strategic brilliance overshadows the selfish plotting of Syracuse's oligarch generals. As one previous reviewer noted, it's presented as self-evident that Syracuse will do better under the rule of a tyrant than under a democracy. But it isn't enough to be shown these things - we also need to be convinced of the character's reality and engaged in the story, and that's where I felt the novel failed. I simply ended up frustrated that the author was trying to dictate my reactions to his character - a character whom I felt lacked that most appealing aspect: a convincing grey area.

I must also mention the translation, which may accurately reflect the original Italian but which does little to make the text fluent and engaging for English-speakers. The style veers between overly academic and flamboyant; the dialogue is either implausibly colloquial or stilted. Throughout, you remain conscious that you are not reading the original language. Had I not been intrigued to find out more of the history behind the story - which does, generally, seem to be accurately represented here - I would have given up without finishing. I am sorry, as this is my first venture into Manfredi for quite some years, and I was expecting something more gripping and complex.

For a longer review, please visit my blog at https://theidlewoman.net/2012/09/21/tyrant-valerio-massimo-manfredi/ show less

2.5 stars

Il tiranno

Devo ammettere che sono molto di parte sul giudizio dei libri di Manfredi, (A lui posso perdonare tutto!!) Nel caso in questione non conoscevo la storia del tiranno di Siracusa, e lui con la sua straordinaria vena narrativa ha provveduto, tenendomi letteralmente incollato alle pagine fino alla fine. Una bella storia dove si mescolano ambizioni, sentimenti, affetti, adatta anche a chi non è appassionato di antichità classica.

Sicilia, siglo V a.C. Dionisio, el guerrero más audaz de Siracusa, tiene una sola pasión: liberar a la isla de los cartagineses y fortalecer el dominio griego sobre ella.
De ese modo comenzó la prodigiosa aventura de Dionisio, el Tirano de Siracusa, temido por quienes se oponían a su política. Logró convertir a su ciudad en la más próspera del mundo griego y los magníficos monumentos que hizo construir todavía se admiran hoy.

No se si la traduccion o la novela pero me pareció tan mala que la abandone