A brilliant debut novel by Ferdia Lennon, Glorious Exploits it's a beautiful, funny and heartbreaking tale about how powerful art is and how it connects us, no matter how many things set us apart. As brutal as it is funny, Lennon managed to write a simple yet complex story about humanity, forgiveness and beauty sprouting in a world where there seems to be no place for it. Many thanks to Fig Tree Penguin for sending an early copy!

Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon is a novel that will grab you from the first sentence and won't let you go until the last. It is based on Ancient Greek historical fact: Plutarch claimed that after the disastrous Athenian invasion of Sicily in 413 BC, captured Athenian prisoners of war were given food and drink for reciting Euripides plays. Lennon takes this snippet and creates a drama around it: literally. Unemployed potters Lampo and Gelon decide to stage Euripides' play Medea and his latest play, Trojan Women, in the quarry where the captured Athenians are sent to starve and die, using the Athenian prisoners as actors. Glorious Exploits is by turns shockingly violent, funny and painfully moving. Lampo and Gelon's world is one of wine, slavery and song, in which suffering is inevitable and yesterday's aristocrats can become today's prisoners. A strike of the club across the head is never far away, nor is a jug of 'Catanian red', yet amongst the violence comes a longing for poetry and drama that can unite enemies and elevate a brutal life experience into a universal understanding. Lennon's style is original, pacy, unpredictable and laced through with comedy and tragedy. Lampo, our narrator is a startlingly original creation, written with an Irish accent (Lennon studied Classics in Dublin), morally deficient and yet showing kindness along with his rabid self-interest. Having studied Classics, I recognise that I might be the target market for such a book (Lennon doesn't offer lengthy historical notes, or explanation of Ancient Greek theatrical terms, which this gives the book immediacy), but Glorious Exploits is a very human tale told with dramatic punch and skill. Brave, ferocious and unforgettable.

This was an interesting story of a very different kind to the usual stories about this part of the Meditteranean.. Some great descriptions that brought the story to life. A very clever conclusion

An absolute triumph, and a more than worthy winner of the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize. Despite its historical setting, the novel's Irish voice makes it incredibly accessible and entertaining, effortlessly pulling you into its world and making you fall in love with its setting and characters (and also absolutely ripping your heart out on occasion). A deeply layered and fascinating read, highly highly recommended!

a perfect blending of modern storytelling and ancient epic. a story full of hope, tragedy, passion and loyalty, this book truly had everything. it was poetic and charming and is truly the epitome of people banding together in times of hardship and how art unites us all - history repeats itself and you can see the echoes of modern day in the setting of ancient Syracuse!