Customer Reviews

The Praise Singer

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

there are many reviews of ms. renault's work here already, so i will keep this very brief: the reason mary renault is my favorite author is that she can bring the emotional and human quality of her characters to the surface. she makes these long dead people with strange names come alive. she gives them a quotidian life. she makes them human, and humane. true, her knowledge of the ancient greeks is encyclopedic. true, her descriptions are wonderous, but her deep empathy for the people in her novels is what separates her from other historical writers. she also handles homoeroticism/homosocial behavior with a sweetness and sensitivity that demonstrates the value of the delicate bonds that men should be encouraged to explore and nurture. her compassion for the human experience is sometimes overwhelming.

Maybe Mary Renault intended "The Praise Singer" to reflect the work of Simonides of Keos--compact, yet expressive and beautiful. Well, "The Praise Singer" is beautifully written. It is also too short. On the one hand, I'm grateful she avoided the temptation to have Simonides' fingers in every political pie in pre-democratic Athens; on the other, I wish she'd fleshed the story out more.

The book is typical Renault: exquisitely drawn characters (I will never forget her Anakreon) and lyrical language that moves you along (necessary, because there's not much of a plot). But her retelling of the story of Harmodios and Aristogeiton (which feels like a random vignette, unfortunately) is flat compared to the downfall of Polykrates of Samos, which is told second-hand but still gave me chills to read. The book is no epic, and it isn't one of her best historical novels, but if you like Renault's novels on ancient Greece, you will like "The Praise Singer," faults and all.

I must confess to being an ardent Renault partisan. You must therefore approach my review with skepticism, though I will attempt to win you over. I have read every one of Mary Renault's historical novels, some twice, as well as her nonfiction "The Nature of Alexander," and a competent biography about her (1993, by David Sweetman).

While the virtues of Renault's various historical novels naturally vary, they are, every one of them, of a quality deserving Amazon's five stars, meaning they are in the top 80 to 100% of available novels (to my understanding, that is the meaning of a system that rates from 1 to 5). I do not think it is fair to knock stars off the rating, just because you prefer another of her works. Instead, the rating should compare hers against all by other authors. When that is done, I fail to see how anything by Renault falls below the top 80%.

I do have my own favorites, but don't wish to prejudice the reader, because all of them are worth trying. Her fiction of Alexander (begin with Fire From Heaven) is so much better than others I have browsed in the bookstore, including one by an Italian prone to flowery, artificial sentiments.

If you want to be transported to Ancient Greece, you will find no better vehicle than Mary Renault, period. I have tried many other authors, and many of them fail to come close to Renault. Indeed you might be advised NOT to start reading Renault, because once you do, entire tribes of authors will fail to please you anymore. She sets the bar very high. Even Gore Vidal, another historical novelist, pales before Renault. She simply "gets" Ancient Greece like no one else does. She has the classic virtues, duty and decorum, and writes with authority as one who has burned the midnight oil studying the ancient works and getting inside the bones of the ancients.

The only author I have found to surpass Renault in historical fiction is Patrick O'Brian, but he deals with a different age, with high sea adventure in the British navy in the early 1800s. But it must be mentioned here, that Mary Renault was supplied manuscripts of the younger O'Brian, when he was coming up, and she warmly recommended him to her legion of fans; he returned the compliment. What could be more fitting, than for the two greatest historical novelists to be in a mutual admiration society? As publishers already arrange for the exchange of compliments, ideas, and research, I firmly believe that in the future, they must also arrange for the exchange of DNA. I can only speculate what kind of masterpieces their lovechild might have created. It is to be regretted by future generations that Mary Renault, as far as we know, never did procreate, although her books represent spiritual and intellectual children of sorts, as their influence will be felt for many hundreds of years, as they are classics of the English language.

The dollars you pay for any historical novel of Renault's will be amply rewarded. Choose the subject that interests you most, and buy with confidence.

A brief comment in response to some reviewers who liked other of Mary Renault's historical novels, but didn't particularly like this one ... I first read this book when it came out, some time in the '80's, and wasn't especially taken with it. In the intervening 20 years, during which I have become a practicing poet and storyteller, my perceptions have changed: I now think it one her best, if not *the* best - subtle, insightful, and quotable - and am now on my third copy, having read the first two to pieces.

The classical world comes alive in all of Renault's books about Greece, and this is one of her best. Her scholarly background combined with her literary talent not only teaches the reader the factual history of the characters but gives them real personality and depth. Simonides, the blacksheep of his family rises from his rustic beginnings to the courts of the most powerful men of his time. We follow him from child to old man and experience his loves, sorrows, adventures, friendships, and triumphs all woven together by his craft----singer of praise.

This is a wonderful historical novel about the time of the lyric poets (of whom Sappho is the most famous) This is the life of Simonides, who lived in sixth century Greece during the time of the tyrants, the Persian wars, and a great floweirng of the arts (it preceded Pericles in the 5th century - the Golden Age). She brings Pisistratos and Solon to life. Eminently readable.

I have two more of Mary Renault's historical Greece novels to go. Last of the Wine, and elusive hardback find, and The King Must Die. I looked forward to this, the Praise Singer, with great anticipation, thinking that, being a part time singer, perhaps it would appeal to me as much as The Mask of Apollo appealed to me as an actor. However, this was not the case.

Although I greatly enjoyed the creation of the world of the Praise Singer, Simonides, I found this story lacking in real substance, like her other works. Although its own, autonomous work, unlike the Alexander Trilogy, and the two novels of Theseus, it lacked in the full scope of a man's life and work that Mask of Apollo had in abundance. Simonides was without a doubt a graceful, elegant man, despite his self-declared 'ugliness', he showed inner beauty, and overcame the people's perception of what is beautiful, enticing them to look deeper into a person than what is visible on the surface.

Although this novel I found to be very limited, it still was an enjoyable read.

Excellent book by Mary Renault on the society of ancient Greece. The society valued the histories of Greek heroes and gods told by poets via rote memorization similar to Homeric epics in a society just beginning to adopt the (newfangled) written word.The poet was attached to the courts of the time and witnessed the power struggles and abuses of power of the times-principally in Athens,the cultural center of Greece, particularly after the rise of Persia. The rulers in a sense collected the major praise singers for their courts to enhance their glory and sing the praises of the rulers(naturally) for which the poets were well paid and lived as house guests. In many ways the history is quite modern.Excellent book. highly recommended.

This is a great book that deserves to be kept available. An absolutely convincing historical novel that attempts to answer the question of why Athens was Athens, but also has many insights into the act of creativity, the varied kinds of love and the predicament of being old. Someone please reprint this!

I share many of Kris Dotto's opinions about this short novel by Ms Renault but I have some of my own to add.

The plot is strangely detached, far away, a sort of foreign dream told by a confused stranger. All the characters share the same trait: it is not that they are not well rounded, they are distant, someone you cannot care for. The story of Harmodios and Aristogeiton is cold, contrived, but even Simonides, the main hero, never really comes to life.

More than this, the writing is often very convoluted, rather unclear, sometimes even clumsy. Dialogues are often spoilt because it is not clear whom each line belongs to.

All in all, a work not worth the general praise Ms Renault always gets.