The Persian Boy A Novel of Alexander the Great A Virago Modern Classic edition by Mary Renault Tom Holland Literature Fiction eBooks
Download As PDF : The Persian Boy A Novel of Alexander the Great A Virago Modern Classic edition by Mary Renault Tom Holland Literature Fiction eBooks 
'Renault's masterpiece. One of the greatest historical novels ever written' SARAH WATERS
In the second novel of her stunning trilogy, Mary Renault vividly imagines the life of Alexander the Great, the charismatic leader whose drive and ambition created a legend.
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 is sold as a courtesan to King Darius of Persia, but finds freedom with Alexander the Great after the Macedon army conquers 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.
'Mary Renault is a shining light to both historical novelists and their readers. She does not pretend the past is like the present, or that the people of ancient Greece were just like us. She shows us their strangeness; discerning, sure-footed, challenging our values, piquing our curiosity, she leads us through an alien landscape that moves and delights us' Hilary Mantel
'The Alexander Trilogy stands as one of the most important works of fiction in the 20th century . . . it represents the pinnacle of [Renault's] career . . . Renault's skill is in immersing us in their world, drawing us into its strangeness, its violence and beauty. It's a literary conjuring trick like all historical fiction - it can only ever be an approximation of the truth. But in Renault's hands, the trick is so convincing and passionately conjured. Nowhere is this more evident than in The Persian Boy . . . Bagoas is a brilliant narrator. Rendered unreliable by his passion, he is always believeable and sympathetic . . . His Persian background allows him to see the king and his Macedonians through the questioning eyes of an alien' - Antonia Senior, The Times
The Persian Boy A Novel of Alexander the Great A Virago Modern Classic edition by Mary Renault Tom Holland Literature Fiction eBooks
The book discussion group at the LGBT Center in NYC read this novel in September 2015. As expected, consensus on the novel was split. About half the readers loved the book and were captivated by this romantic story. And the other half liked it, but thought that it was too long and old fashioned.A couple of themes emerged. We were fascinated by the first-person narration from the point of view of a young eunuch. While most stories center around Alexander's much better known life-long lover Hephaistion, Mary selected Bagoas to tell this story. This is a fascinating choice since it allows her to be especially creative (and even a bit outlandish) in presenting the attractive Alex and Bagoas' intimate relationship, even if all that perfection and vaguely described sex does get to be a bit grating by the end.
We discussed the role of captives several times. Bagoas is essentially a slave to the Macedonian king. To survive, he adopts the strategy of most successful captives of subjugated peoples: He forgets the past and his former high position and concentrates on day-to-day concerns and marches forward, doing what he can to thrive under the current circumstances. By doing this, he leads a prosperous life with a very powerful man.
The modern concept of "love" turns the story into a romance and even melodrama at times. But this "love" that Bagoas describes would have been a completely alien concept to the actual historical characters. "Romantic love" between men didn't exist (this concept is a much later creation of the middle ages as part of the "courtly love" tradition), and even Alexander marries to consolidate his holdings and bear an heir, rather than because he loves Roxane. Later, when Alexander selects brides (and even paying for dowries) for all his officers, everyone considers this a brilliant idea - love wasn't involved. Bagoas' love for Alex makes for a romantic novel, but probably not very accurate.
Finally, Mary has given us a clever story in the form of a historical novel. It's full of research and actual events, packed with details of ancient life and travels. I liked it for the first 100+ pages, then got bogged down with the forgettable names, the long campaigns, the unclear places, the not-very-interesting court intrigues, and the ancient politics. Both Alexander and Bagoas are too perfect. By the time they get to the wars in India, I really didn't care very much and just plowed through to the end, which was very satisfying.
Looking at the reviews on Amazon, an awful lot of guys consider this their favorite novel. I'm guessing that most of these readers have very fond memories of reading "The Persian Boy" when they didn't have many choices for positive gay characters, or even much gay literature from which to select. It was an early novel (1972) to have an openly gay character who isn't punished for his sexuality and actually prospers with his lover. There's no great coming-out trauma for Alexander, Hephaistion, or Bagoas, and it's presented as a great love story, so in some ways it seems very modern and even post-gay. But then that old fashioned, plodding, and high-British tone sets in and we're stuck with a long and tedious novel with a few characters we don't care much about.
"The Persian Boy" was probably a better novel 40 years ago. I'm not sure if anybody will be interested in reading it in another 50 years. But it has an important place in the history of gay literature and Mary Renault is an excellent writer of this genre. Your enjoyment of it will depend on your love of long historical novels, regardless of how imaginative or well written they are.
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The Persian Boy A Novel of Alexander the Great A Virago Modern Classic edition by Mary Renault Tom Holland Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
If you are looking for an exciting story, you can't go wrong with Alexander biographies and stories. Whether he is portrayed evil or good, his life was full of energy and events that simply amaze you. But of all the books I've read about him, this book is the one that captured my mind the most.
First, she starts out with Bagoas's boyhood. Doing so she is successful in educating her reader about Persian people and their culture/customs, the environment and the way it was back then, to prepare us for deeper understanding of the future events. The first one-third of the book is about Bagoas's boyhood, mostly about his court life, which tells what had happened inside the Persian Empire before Alexander actually came into scene. This is a very smart start, because by the time Darius was killed, and his murderer Bessus was arrested by Alexander and executed, with nose and ears cut off, the reader is well prepared to understand why it had to be done that way. She also explains well the reason why Alexander became so Persianized, which created resentments and mutinies and lots of problems. Mary Renaults does the best job in making the reader understand this crucial point which cast shadow over him until he died.
As for homosexuality and the love scenes, it is not as disturbing, since it is not graphic at all. Transparent, clean, and good taste.
She also brings other characters to life. All that she mentions by their names, the reader will know what kind of person he/she was. Whether her portrayal of Alexander and the way she used the well-known events to develop the characters and story are factual or not, she will convince you effortlessly. Remarkable work, well-studied, well-reasoned, well-developed. You will not be able to put it down once you open the first page.
Mary Renault has a talent for creating a world so rich that you feel like you just vacationed in ancient Greece. This is one of my favorite stories of all time. It is the story of Alexander the great and his Persian lover. If you have not read her books, then give yourself a treat and purchase them. Excellent transfer.
Wonderful book told from the perspective of a oft ignored historical character who may have known the great conqueror as well as anyone. Mary Renault's writing is always sublime and this book is no different in that regard from it's predecessor, "Fire From Heaven."
The book discussion group at the LGBT Center in NYC read this novel in September 2015. As expected, consensus on the novel was split. About half the readers loved the book and were captivated by this romantic story. And the other half liked it, but thought that it was too long and old fashioned.
A couple of themes emerged. We were fascinated by the first-person narration from the point of view of a young eunuch. While most stories center around Alexander's much better known life-long lover Hephaistion, Mary selected Bagoas to tell this story. This is a fascinating choice since it allows her to be especially creative (and even a bit outlandish) in presenting the attractive Alex and Bagoas' intimate relationship, even if all that perfection and vaguely described sex does get to be a bit grating by the end.
We discussed the role of captives several times. Bagoas is essentially a slave to the Macedonian king. To survive, he adopts the strategy of most successful captives of subjugated peoples He forgets the past and his former high position and concentrates on day-to-day concerns and marches forward, doing what he can to thrive under the current circumstances. By doing this, he leads a prosperous life with a very powerful man.
The modern concept of "love" turns the story into a romance and even melodrama at times. But this "love" that Bagoas describes would have been a completely alien concept to the actual historical characters. "Romantic love" between men didn't exist (this concept is a much later creation of the middle ages as part of the "courtly love" tradition), and even Alexander marries to consolidate his holdings and bear an heir, rather than because he loves Roxane. Later, when Alexander selects brides (and even paying for dowries) for all his officers, everyone considers this a brilliant idea - love wasn't involved. Bagoas' love for Alex makes for a romantic novel, but probably not very accurate.
Finally, Mary has given us a clever story in the form of a historical novel. It's full of research and actual events, packed with details of ancient life and travels. I liked it for the first 100+ pages, then got bogged down with the forgettable names, the long campaigns, the unclear places, the not-very-interesting court intrigues, and the ancient politics. Both Alexander and Bagoas are too perfect. By the time they get to the wars in India, I really didn't care very much and just plowed through to the end, which was very satisfying.
Looking at the reviews on , an awful lot of guys consider this their favorite novel. I'm guessing that most of these readers have very fond memories of reading "The Persian Boy" when they didn't have many choices for positive gay characters, or even much gay literature from which to select. It was an early novel (1972) to have an openly gay character who isn't punished for his sexuality and actually prospers with his lover. There's no great coming-out trauma for Alexander, Hephaistion, or Bagoas, and it's presented as a great love story, so in some ways it seems very modern and even post-gay. But then that old fashioned, plodding, and high-British tone sets in and we're stuck with a long and tedious novel with a few characters we don't care much about.
"The Persian Boy" was probably a better novel 40 years ago. I'm not sure if anybody will be interested in reading it in another 50 years. But it has an important place in the history of gay literature and Mary Renault is an excellent writer of this genre. Your enjoyment of it will depend on your love of long historical novels, regardless of how imaginative or well written they are.
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