Reviews

The Persian Boy by Mary Renault

charlottesometimes's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

acoffia's review against another edition

adventurous informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

jmatkinson1's review against another edition

4.25

Born into a noble Persian family, Bagoas expects to become a lord. However when his father is brought down, Bagoas is captured and sold into slavery as a eunuch. After becoming a favourite of King Darius, Bagoas is given to the invader Alexander.
This is a classic novel with a new foreword and an emphasis on its LGBTQ credentials. That takes away from the fact that this is just a really well-written story with a huge amount of depth.

jessicakimmet's review

4.0

As far as a historical fiction set in Ancient Persia goes, this one is as accurate as you're going to get. The author clearly did a lot of research, but she also manages to tell a compelling story. I'll admit that I was most involved in the first half of the book, the second half being mostly about Alexander's war efforts, but overall it was a good story.

sarapia's review

adventurous challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lawofeyes's review

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Really loved this novel. I read this as a standalone, but will certainly now read the other books in Renault's Alexander series. Renault's writing really transports you to the Classical age. The romanticized story of Bagoas and his relationship with Alexander and witnesses to his actions is enchanting and emotional. I felt these historical figures as real people and was truly cheering for Alexander and Bagoas, whether or not if in reality the were the way Renault characterizes them. Besides the characters, I felt the highlight of the book was the description of setting, peoples, and environments that just really felt real.

kaiguerrero's review against another edition

4.0

No soy mucho de novela histórica, pero una persona importante me recomendó esta muy encarecidamente. Nunca he estado tan feliz de haber aceptado la recomendación. Es una maravilla! Yo sabía poco de la figura de Alejandro, más allá de lo más básico. Esta novela está bien documentada, según tengo entendido, pero es que además está escrita con muy buen gusto. No se detiene en temas bélicos más de lo necesario, cosa que yo agradezco, porque me aburre bastante. El narrador, al ser Bagoas, da una panorámica de los hechos políticos que rodean la figura de Alejandro, pero en realidad lo más importante de esta novela es que perfila el carácter de este. Bagoas lo ama tanto que te enamoras tú también. También es muy homoerótico y eso mola. Claro que hablamos de un rey, militar, colonizador, esto hay que tenerlo claro. Pero un señor bastante particular.
Los únicos peros: Hefestión es tratado muy de pasada y las mujeres son meras sombras. En realidad cualquier personaje fuera de Alejandro y Bagoas lo son. Pero vaya, está narrado desde su punto de vista, es lo que tiene.
En cualquier caso la recomiendo, porque es una novela muy bella.

lori85's review against another edition

5.0

A beautiful, poignant story about love, threaded with melancholy throughout. Filled with war and conquest yet delicately vulnerable. Also impressively researched and really brings antiquity to life.

And that's all I can say. *sob*

kclimer01's review

challenging emotional informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

maia24_'s review

adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

4.5