A review by vitsa
The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault
5.0
I really enjoyed this book.
It was about a period in history that I knew practically nothing about, and thanks to Mary Renault's great writing and compelling story I had a lot of fun learning about it.
I had great fun sometimes stopping and googling various historical figures that popped up. I spoiled the book for myself about half way through after googling one of the battles that took place and finding out how the Peloponesean wars ended.
But at the same time I didn't feel like I had to check every name or Greek term that popped up in the book, it could stand on it's own merit as a self-contained unit.
Alexias was an interesting character and I loved reading about his personal journey from boy to man and about the wider politics of Athens through his eyes.
The writing was heavy going at times, but I felt that the style fit really well with the story.
It was a really interesting and enjoyable read and I am glad that I got to learn about a period of history I knew nothing about.
It was about a period in history that I knew practically nothing about, and thanks to Mary Renault's great writing and compelling story I had a lot of fun learning about it.
I had great fun sometimes stopping and googling various historical figures that popped up. I spoiled the book for myself about half way through after googling one of the battles that took place and finding out how the Peloponesean wars ended.
But at the same time I didn't feel like I had to check every name or Greek term that popped up in the book, it could stand on it's own merit as a self-contained unit.
Alexias was an interesting character and I loved reading about his personal journey from boy to man and about the wider politics of Athens through his eyes.
The writing was heavy going at times, but I felt that the style fit really well with the story.
It was a really interesting and enjoyable read and I am glad that I got to learn about a period of history I knew nothing about.