This lived up to its title in that it was "glorious" and there were lots of exploits. The narrator is Lampo, who is an unemployed Sicilian potter . The time period is 412 BC Sicily. Athens has failed in its attempts to invade Sicily and there are many captive Athenian prisoners in a quarry. Gelon, his friend, had always loved Greek Tragedy and comes up with the unlikely idea of staging Medea by Euripides in the quarry with the prisoners as the actors. This was a refreshingly different book, not another retelling of Greek myths but a whole new spin. Gelon narrates in an Irish vernacular style (very vernacular in its use of swear words) Both main characters spring to life off the page as do the more minor characters. There are genuinely moving moments too- a funeral pyre towards the beginning of the book. for example. I had read this as it won the Waterstones Debut Novel prize originally. The sense of possible "duty" was quickly replaced by a real passion for this book, which was one of the most original I had read in some time. Tracey Exeter Roman Gate

Incredible from start to end, I kept going back to it and read the whole book in a day. It's original, poignant, funny at times, and a beautiful ode to the power of theatre, and humanity. I highly reccomend!

Oh my gosh I loved this book. I picked it up expecting a little light entertainment and, within a couple of pages, was overwhelmed by how brutal and humane it was. Taking its starting point as the disastrous invasion of Sicily by Athens in 415BCE, Glorious Exploits goes on to explore grief, loss, suffering, and the transformative power of art and love within a narrative that contains a lot of violence and death but somehow remains weirdly joyful. I really hope a lot of people read this and then pick up some Euripides!

Glorious Exploits is the most unlikely novel I’ve read in years. Set in the aftermath of the Athenian defeat in Syracuse, it has two young Syracusan lads, Geron and Lampo, (clearly speaking with strong north Dublin accents), making use of a ready supply of (RP speaking) defeated Athenians to mount a theatrical production of Euripides (Medea and The Trojan Women) in the very quarries in which the Athenians are chained and starving to death. In this venture, they are funded by an Irish trader ‘from the tin islands’ with an interest in the arts (and well as other nefarious business). The novel plays enjoyably with modern concepts of theatre production but stays true to the actual history. I have visited the quarries in Syracuse and it is horribly easy to imagine the grimness of the conditions of the wretched Athenians. The circumstances of the ‘exploits’ as well as the content of the plays, are used to make powerful comments on the horrors of war, revenge and violence. The novel sent me off to read Euripides with a new appreciation. It is a page turner and reads like a thriller (will they succeed or will other forces prevent them?) at the same time as being a funny (sometimes hilarious - the section on Lampo blueing the production money on good clothes especially so), sad, powerful meditation on human conflict. I hope we hear more from Ferdia Lennon.

The statement at the end of the book is "the world (is) a wounded thing that can only be healed by story". This resonates strongly today. This book is stunning - its the book Ive most enjoyed this year and yet Ive had some fab reads- the reviews which focus on humour do not give a full sense of the book - its far more than a humorous tale. I found myself drawn into the world and fully invested in the fate of the characters whom you know really well by the end. You dont need to be an expert in Greek politics or drama in 400 BC - the setting is so vivid that you absorb the historical period through some kind of osmosis and you are drawn in to the background and understand it completely as well as the parallels with the world today. I could not put the book down. I hope for a sequel to carry on the story from the conclusion - which I dont want to reveal as it would need a spoiler alert......