Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon is about two friends, Lampo and Gelon, who want to put on a play. After the Peloponnesian War in ancient Sicily, the Syracusans had an abundant number of surviving Athenians left in their city. They kept them as slaves in a rock quarry as prisoners of war and left them to rot.
Lampo and Gelon are two unemployed potters who love listening to poetry and drinking. They head to the quarry to find people who can recite lines from the great playwright Euripides in exchange for some food and drink. Originally, the two headed down to the quarry to pass the time but they decided to put on a full-blown production of Medea.
While most of the Syracusans are no fans of the remaining Athenians, they do enjoy watching plays by them. Lampo and Gelon work to secure funding and props for their production before opening night. They come across a mysterious man who seems to have a big interest in the play.
The novel was an entertaining read. Just a mild warning— It does have a lot of violence, abuse, and coarse language in the book. The book had some funny moments, putting aside human suffering for one's own entertainment. It did make me wonder what people during that period did for entertainment. There were times that the book dragged and felt pointless. The ending did leave more to be desired as a reader. However, I do like that the book had a different and unique premise and I would be open to reading more books from the author but, probably not with this storyline.
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