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Glorious Exploits

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Glorious Exploits

By: Ferdia Lennon
Narrated by: Ferdia Lennon
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.


Ancient Sicily. Enter GELON: visionary, dreamer, theatre lover. Enter LAMPO: lovesick, jobless, in need of a distraction.

Imprisoned in the quarries of Syracuse, thousands of defeated Athenians hang on by the thinnest of threads.

They’re fading in the baking heat, but not everything is lost: they can still recite lines from Greek tragedy when tempted by Lampo and Gelon with goatskins of wine and scraps of food.

And so an idea is born. Because, after all, you can hate the invaders but still love their poetry.

It’s audacious. It might even be dangerous. But like all the best things in life – love, friendship, art itself – it will reveal the very worst, and the very best, of what humans are capable of.

What could possibly go wrong?

‘One of the most original and brilliant debuts in years’ Irish Times

‘Bold and totally unexpected ... I was hooked from the first page’ Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie Bain

‘Brilliant ... Hilarious, moving, and profound’ R. F. Kuang, author of Yellowface

©2024 Ferdia Lennon (P)2024 Penguin Audio

©2024 Ferdia Lennon (P)2024 Penguin Audio Ancient Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt Funny Inspiring Tear-jerking Thought-Provoking Witty

Critic reviews

'Madly ambitious, cathartic like all great tragedy, but shockingly funny too, Ferdia Lennon's outstandingly original début is just glorious.' (Emma Donoghue, author of Room)

'A very special, very clever, very entertaining novel.' (Roddy Doyle, author of Paddy Clarke, Ha Ha Ha)
All stars
Most relevant
This is my kind of book, think of an Irish Hans Solo in ancient Syracuse, relating a tale. The best book I've read in a long time about the horrors of war and slavery, the transformative power of theatre and the importance of friendship. Now I need to find a copy of Euripides' plays.

Such a good audiobook

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This is entrancing and a sheer delight from start to finish. I loved the portrayal of Lampo as a chancer but with fierce loyalty, determination and a true heart. The Irish accent was perfect to show that he was an 'ordinary bloke' whereas the 'aristos' all had 'posh' speech.
The next thing I liked was the brilliant prose, sometimes lyrical, befitting the telling of a brand new Greek myth, at other times straightforward storytelling in familiar language.
I also very much liked that I learned a lot about Eurypedes' stories and absolutely loved the way in which the story of the events in the quarry linked up with the old, famous tales.
I highly recommend the audiobook.

A joy

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A fabulous story, beautifully read. It’s a really unique plot and a book that I came to it with no expectations only that it had been recommended by our local bookshop. I’d certainly say give it a listen if you love reading / listening and want to lose yourself in a tale for a few hours.

Harrowing yet heart warming

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I loved this book, like a Greek tragedy, funny but intense. No suner one in laughing when a very intense episode occours. One will be move by the story

Original

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This is one of the highest-flying books by a new author I’ve ever read. The genius of combing ancient Syracuse with modern Dublin voices is utterly brilliant and creates multilayered echoes of conquest. colonisation and cruelty. I can’t recommend this author and this book highly enough.

A stunningly brilliant debut only slightly marred by poor audio quality

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