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a blog about a novel about Aristotle's daughter ~ by Annabel Lyon
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Advance praise
The harsh light of the classical world is prone to bleach away all humanity and leave only the bare outline of myth. Not so in Annabel Lyon's The Golden Mean, in which Aristotle is haunted by agonies of the flesh and spirit, and Alexander, his most famous pupil, struggles to be Olympian despite a murderous nature and merely human powers. We witness their brilliance emerging through their pain and ignorance.
--Zachary Mason, author of The Lost Books of the Odyssey
Few writers would dare to employ Aristotle as their narrator but Annabel Lyon has done exactly this in her extraodinary novel The Golden Mean. In thoughtful and controlled prose that never fails to grip, Lyon presents an unexpected portrait of the young Alexander the Great, a fascinating recreation of Plato's Academy and brings the ancient world back to life with a splendour I haven't seen since I, Claudius. A triumph of erudition and story-telling.
--John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Lyon's singular gifts for description, character development, and plotting are on full display here, informing her unique and creative story. The novel is deep and rich in thought and accomplishment, yet it reads with the calming ease and influence of a cool summer breeze.
--Quill and Quire starred review
I absolutely loved The Golden Mean. Annabel Lyon brings the philosophers and warriors, artists and whores, princes and slaves of ancient Macedonia alive, with warmth, wit and poignancy. Impeccably researched and brilliantly told, this novel is utterly convincing.
--Marie Phillips, author of Gods Behaving Badly
The Golden Mean, so full of intellect, is a pleasure to read. If excellence is our standard, then this novel will certainly flourish.
--David Bergen, Giller-winning author of The Retreat and The Time In Between
--Fred Stenson, author of The Great Karoo
--Zachary Mason, author of The Lost Books of the Odyssey
Few writers would dare to employ Aristotle as their narrator but Annabel Lyon has done exactly this in her extraodinary novel The Golden Mean. In thoughtful and controlled prose that never fails to grip, Lyon presents an unexpected portrait of the young Alexander the Great, a fascinating recreation of Plato's Academy and brings the ancient world back to life with a splendour I haven't seen since I, Claudius. A triumph of erudition and story-telling.
--John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Lyon's singular gifts for description, character development, and plotting are on full display here, informing her unique and creative story. The novel is deep and rich in thought and accomplishment, yet it reads with the calming ease and influence of a cool summer breeze.
--Quill and Quire starred review
I absolutely loved The Golden Mean. Annabel Lyon brings the philosophers and warriors, artists and whores, princes and slaves of ancient Macedonia alive, with warmth, wit and poignancy. Impeccably researched and brilliantly told, this novel is utterly convincing.
--Marie Phillips, author of Gods Behaving Badly
The Golden Mean, so full of intellect, is a pleasure to read. If excellence is our standard, then this novel will certainly flourish.
--David Bergen, Giller-winning author of The Retreat and The Time In Between
An exhilarating book, both brilliant and profound. Annabel Lyon’s spare, fluid, utterly convincing prose pulls us headlong into Aristotle’s original mind. Only Lyon’s great-hearted intelligence could have imagined and achieved the brave ambition of this book. Vital, ferocious and true, The Golden Mean is an oracular vision of the past made present.
--Marina Endicott, author of Good to a Fault
In Lyon’s clever hands, more than two thousand years of difference are made to disappear and Aristotle feels as real and accessible as the man next door. With this powerful, readable act of the imagination, Annabel Lyon proves that she can go anywhere it pleases her to go.
--Fred Stenson, author of The Great Karoo
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Quote of the Day
"The more lonely and isolated I am, the more I have come to love myths." attributed to Aristotle toward the end of his life in Demetrius, De Elocutione 144 (frag. 668, Rose)
2 comments:
Annabel, I was so enthralled by The Golden Mean (which I had purchased in h/c some months ago but had left it on the shelf, while I worked through Ulysses), that I read it in two long sittings, Friday night and most of Saturday (rainy, perfect). I then located your interview on CBC Radio's Sunday Edition .
Your research paid off: the philosopher and his times are brought to life, but the facts don't interfere with the portrait or the dramatic arc. I felt as I did when watching the Rome series, as if I was there.
As a mature graduate student in Liberal Studies at SFU, and a sometime TA at SFU, I'm going to promote The Golden Mean as a way to get into the period, and into a discussion about Aristotlean method. It's a terrific book and I hope it has a long life, and that the p/b edition sells like crazy. I may write a review for my online journal, now read by over 2,500 Liberal Studies students and alumni (march 2010 stats).
Michael Cox
coastlinejournal.com
Mike, thanks so much! You're very kind. (I loved the Rome series too). I'd be honoured if you'd write a review of the novel; please do keep in touch and let me know if you do. Thanks again for getting in touch - best -
Annabel
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