Reason read; story of arts/theater, etc by a British author. This is my very first book by Mary Renault. She writes good historical fiction about ancient Greece. This is a fictional story of the poet Simonide. I think her historical research was good. ( )

The Praise Singer is a historical fiction novel, imagining the story of Simonides, a real-life Greek poet of the 6th century B.C. An ugly child relegated to tending his father's sheep, he finds his escape in the serendipitous death of the visiting praise singer Kleobis's apprentice. The talented Simonides convinces Kleobis to take him under his wing. Years pass, as does Kleobis. Simonides finally secures a patronage in Athens, first through its tyrant, Peisistratus, then, upon his death, through his sons Hippias and Hipparchus. Unfortunately for Simonides, the homosexual Hipparchus falls in love with Harmodius, who is himself in love with Aristogeiton. Bloodshed ensues, and Simonides flees, eventually landing in Sicily. And the novel ends.

If you find that summary boring, consider it an accurate reflection of my attitude towards the novel. I would only recommend The Praise Singer to readers with a keen interest in and knowledge of Greek history. The book is told by an aged Simonides in a matter-of-fact tone with little tension or suspense. The character names are difficult to overcome, as are the many articles of the time, presented without explanation as though the reader should already be familiar with them. Even in context, it is unclear what they are or their significance—if any—to the story. Understanding them likely wouldn't add enjoyment to your reading.

From my themed reading list, I chose The Praise Singer as A Book Based Entirely on its Cover; in this case, the adage about judging by this criteria should be heeded. ( )

A typical Mary Renault. Ancient Greeks drily accept their circumstances and numerous barbaric cruelties, while staying pious somehow. A good re-telling of the events preceding the Persian Wars; the conquest of the Ionian cities by Cyrus, the death of Polykrates of Samos, the ascendancy of Pisistratus and the murder of his son, Hipparchos, who seems to have become very Nero-like to provoke the assassination. Simonides is telling the tale many years later while living in Sicily; every so often he like to remind us that a large part of the beautiful Athens he knew was burned by the Persians. For him there is no going back to those lyric days of yore. ( )

Renault has a beautiful way with descriptions of land and society, and effectively creates the social, political, and geographic climate of ancient Greece, particularly ancient Athens, in this novel. Her willingness to leave her hero in the dark is one of the ways she does this so effectively. As a poet, Simonides would have been hyperaware of the court's status, but not necessarily high enough to know all the secrets of the tyrants. It is this exchange of information, and the way Simonides collects and responds to this information, which make her rendition of the social setting so persuasive. The arc of Simonides' travel, which structures the book into sections by his geographic location, is also very effective, as the reader follows him in growing knowledge of the Athenian climate from his ignorant rural boyhood to favor and acceptance for his talent. ( )

This was a great read, even if it wasn't one of my favorite Renault novels. She always manages to transport me back in time. The section on the Olympics was especially interesting, as was the final downfall of the Tyrants. Fascinating stuff! ( )

A joyous read. Though a bit dated, this book gave both an excellent feel for the pre-Persian wars Aegean, and also very nice reading. My only qualm is with her use of the words 'thrall' and 'knight,' which pulled me out of the novel. Her foreshadowing and phrasing were wonderful. I certainly felt that I was there, and had full sympathy for the main characters.


In service to community,
ShiraDestinie
William James MEOW Date: Monday, July 16. 12014 H.E. (Holocene Era) ( )

"The Praise Singer" is Mary Renault’s take on the life of Simonides, a real lyric poet who lived in Ancient Greece from 556 BC to approximately 468 BC, a fairly hefty life span for that period in time. Details of his early life and family are sketchy, which gives the opportunity for a good historical fiction writer like Ms. Renault to imagine those details, keeping in mind whatever knowledge historians have about the period in question. Most of the characters in this book were also real people; only close associates such as housekeepers, courtesans and pupils are invented by the author. I won’t go into the details of the story, which essentially covers about the first half of Simonides’ life, except to say that he was present for a lot of events that occurred during that time, both politically and socially, and Ms. Renault does a great job of taking the information historians have about those events and filling in the details. If you’re a fan of historical fiction, particularly fiction about Ancient Greece, you probably have run across this author before (I believe she was most active from the 1950s to early 1980s, in terms of her historical fiction at least); if you’re not a fan but are curious about life in the ancient world, her work is a good starting place. My only quibble with this particular novel is that it ends quite abruptly; still, it’s quite impressive and definitely recommended. ( )

The Praise Singer is the story of Simonides, a great lyric poet who lived in sixth-century Greece. The novel is historical fiction, told in the first person, as an elderly Simonides looks back on his life and the tumultuous events of ancient Greece during his lifetime. I enjoyed the book and learned a lot about ancient Greek history and society. However, I feel like it would have been more interesting if I already had some knowledge of the time period. As I read the book, I became a little bored with the first person style. I felt like the narrator was telling the story to someone who already knew the people and events he was recounting. I also began to realize that it was a case of an unreliable narrator and that I would enjoy the story more from a character's perspective that was less naive about the political atmosphere surrounding him. However, this flaw is also the greatest strength in the novel. You learn a lot about Simonides from his interpretation of events. As the author begins to hint that he may not realize the whole story you see how his perspective changes and how he is eventually caught off guard by events. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in historical fiction or ancient Greece. ( )

Fictional retelling of the story of Simonides, the ancient Greek lyric poet and bard. I've read several novels on Welsh bards of the Dark Ages, so this was a departure for me. Simonides tells his story from childhood, through apprenticeship to another bard to learn his trade, how he wins and keeps his fame, then the cycle starts again, with his travelling with his talented nephew as apprentice. Another of Renault's masterly works with ancient Greek theme. ( )

My introduction to Mary Renault was The King Must Die, the first of two novels about Theseus--it was actually assigned reading in high school. What impressed me so much there was how she took a figure out of myth and grounded him historically. After that I quickly gobbled up all of Renault's works of historical fiction set in Ancient Greece. The two novels about Theseus and the trilogy centered on Alexander the Great are undoubtedly her most famous of those eight novels, and I'd add The Last of the Wine.

I wouldn't put The Praise Singer in the first tier of Mary Renault's historical fiction with the novels mentioned above, but it's heads above most historical fiction you can find on shelves. And in a way you could see this as a prequel to The Last of the Wine. While that dealt with Athens during the the Peloponnesian War, this is mostly set in Athens during the beginning of the Persian War. The central title figure, Simonides, is a real historical figure, an important lyric poet who wrote the famous epitaph for the 300 Spartans who fell at Thermopylae: Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie. The Praise Singer is a great portrait of the early Classical period. ( )

I would give this six stars if I could -- utterly wonderful recreation of the life of a wandering poet in ancient Greece, just at the time the Persians were conquering the Ionians. It may flatter Simonides --who may have been more greedy and mercenary than this version -- but it does not see him as perfect --clearly he is very reluctant to see evil in the Pisistratids, and may be deceiving himself in acquitting them of the murder of Cimon . However, he does recognize how Hipparchus is gradually corrupted by his infatuation with Harmodius, and actually defies Hipparchus for humiliating Harmodius's sister. The story ends with the killing of Hipparchus by Harmodius and Aristogeiton and their deaths. There are a number of references forward to the Persian Wars, and I always wished Renault would do a sequel giving the wars as seen by Simonides (who wrote the epitaph for the Spartan dead at Theomopylae) but she never did, though she wrote an account of the war for children. ( )

3.5 – 4 stars

Mary Renault’s _The Praise Singer_ is another highly enjoyable visit to the world of ancient Greece. This time we have left the heroic age of her consummate Theseus series (The King Must Die and The Bull from the Sea) and entered the early classical period of Athens during the reigns of the tyrant Pisistratos and his heirs as seen through the eyes of the poet Simonides. This turns out to be something of a golden age for Athens and the arts, at least according to Simonides, which lies precariously on the edge of political upheaval and, ultimately, the coming storm of the Graeco-Persian war.

Simonides, the ugly but gifted child of a wealthy landowner on the small and severe island of Keos, tells us the story of his life as he grows from a provincial outcast into a shining star in the cultural centre of the Ionian world. He is an amiable narrator, seemingly unafraid to tell the truth as he sees it, and embodies almost equal parts perceptive insight and naïve simplicity. Given that this is a first-person narrative we obviously see the events of Simonides’ world through his eyes and thus the events that make up his life are central to the story, and yet I also had the sense that however much his life may be the focus of the tale and even be a not insignificant part of the cultural centre of his world, he is still much more of an observer than a participant in what we see. What I mean by that is that while Simonides was in no way a grey or lifeless character I still felt as though it was his world, and not the character himself, that took centre stage in the story. Simonides is also never a mystery to the reader, but I think that is because he is presented as a very straightforward man, a plain-speaking one whose position on any subject is able to be known without needing to ask. This simplicity of character means that there are times that the significance of events, and especially the nuances of personalities, can be overlooked by him until he sees them in a new light after events have fallen out in an unexpected way. The fact that the story is told as a memoir by Simonides as he looks back from old age on the various events of his life lends itself nicely to this nuance of his personality. As is perhaps likely to be the case with any tale set in ancient Greece the story is something of a tragedy, but it is not so much a personal tragedy for an individual brought on by hubris (though that does certainly play a part in things, as it must) as it is a tragedy for a people and a way of life subject to the vicissitudes of time and fortune.

Renault explores many themes in this novel: the unfairness of a human nature which by default castigates ugliness and praises beauty; meditations on the nature and purpose of art as well as its abuses; the precarious nature of human society and the seemingly small, and even personal, incidents that can lead to the downfall of an entire culture; and the serenity that can be found in remaining true to oneself and one’s principles. Aside from these themes the story is worth reading simply to enjoy Renault’s fluid mastery of her prose and her vivid depiction of a long-gone world. I will admit to having enjoyed the Theseus books more, I think that was at least partially because the shading between the natural and the supernatural was still very ambiguous in those and the mythical was coinciding with the historical in a fascinating way, whereas here we are in a much more ‘modern’ and almost purely historical setting where, if the gods are not exactly disbelieved in, they are certainly treated with much more complacency. I sometimes felt as though Simonides’ point of view was occasionally a little too restrictive, though I can’t really count that as a fault since it was really an expression of effective character building and was also inherent in the format Renault chose for her tale; really this was more a case of my own desires not always coinciding with the author’s purpose.

All in all, though, this was an excellent tale that immerses the reader into a specific era of the Hellenic world with vivid characters and a quick, fluid pace. Definitely recommended to lovers of well-written historical fiction and the world of ancient Greece. ( )

A beautifully written book, a historical novel, first person account of the life of Simonides, a lyric poet of the late sixth and early fifth century Greece. Great detail and attempt to capture the period. Spoiler alert, but the climax at the end is the assassination of Hipparchus, an archon/dictator of Athens who brought Simonides to that city; I was a little disappointed that the book did not move more quickly and also include the battle of Thermopylae, for which Simonides wrote a famous epitaph, and his life in Thessaly and Sicily. Anyway, highly recommended for students and lovers of the period and the culture, but a bit of patience is necessary. ( )

This is not my absolute favorite Mary Renault - that would be The Persian Boy OF COURSE - but I give it five stars nonetheless because the worst book by Mary Renault is better than the best book of most writers. And The Praise Singer is definitely in the top tier of Renault's novels of ancient Greece.

Renault's imagined life of the poet Simonides begins with young Sim's wretched early days as a virtual slave in his harsh father's house. When Sim gathers enough courage to beg a traveling singer to apprentice him, his life takes a dramatic turn for the better; at last he is able to give voice to the words and music he has been hiding from his family. I like the small authentic details that Renault always brings to her historical fiction; she always provides the reader with a whole world to wander about in. And I like that she doesn't (in Josephine Tey's words) "write forsoothly;" her characters converse in modern English, with just the occasional soupcon of antiquity.

Unlike other Renault protagonists, Simonides is straight, not gay; I find that Renault is more skilled at creating romantic tension with her gay or bisexual characters. Still, Simonides' relationship with the beautiful hetaera Lyra is handled with grace and tenderness, and in any case, it is clear from the get-go that the poet's driving force is not love, but the quest for immortality through his art. A lovely novel. ( )

An account of a turbulent period in Greek history, told from the viewpoint of one of the last Greek poets in the Homeric tradition. Mary Renault weaves a story that feels real and as if we are observing history as it happens. I first read this shortly after it was first published and it was one of those books that left me wanting to know more about the time in which it was set. Coming back to it thirty years later it still makes me feel the same way. ( )

It's been years since I read Mary Renault. It was actually joining LT that made me realize I hadn't read this one. I needed to finish all her Greek books, so I went right out and found it.

Was I let down because it's been so long? Have I changed a lot in the last few years? Or is this really as dull as it seemed to me?

This is one of those books where I kept expecting something big to happen and it never did. Simonides is an appealing character who has a difficult childhood and becomes successful in the profession he was born for: lyric poetry (he's a Homeric bard).

Now this seemed like a great topic for Renault to tackle. But I guess I wanted more fighting and intrigue. Simonides sings of the great deeds of the legendary heroes. He refers to them in his narrative and his daily speech. But his own great deeds are pretty pedestrian. He composes poems and music, performs, wins accolades, eats well, sleeps soundly, enjoys his time with women who are desirable, but not too exciting.

Maybe this is Renault's idea of a happy life. Maybe she saw herself as the bard who has been able to achieve her heart's desire. The only thing she didn't have was the interesting times Simonides lived in. ( )

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: In the story of the great lyric poet Simonides, Mary Renault brings alive a time in Greece when tyrants kept an unsteady rule and poetry, music, and royal patronage combined to produce a flowering of the arts.

Born into a stern farming family on the island of Keos, Simonides escapes his harsh childhood through a lucky apprenticeship with a renowned Ionian singer. As they travel through 5th century B.C. Greece, Simonides learns not only how to play the kithara and compose poetry, but also how to navigate the shifting alliances surrounding his rich patrons. He is witness to the Persian invasion of Ionia, to the decadent reign of the Samian pirate king Polykrates, and to the fall of the Pisistratids in the Athenian court. Along the way, he encounters artists, statesmen, athletes, thinkers, and lovers, including the likes of Pythagoras and Aischylos. Using the singer's unique perspective, Renault combines her vibrant imagination and her formidable knowledge of history to establish a sweeping, resilient vision of a golden century.

My Review: This book was a re-read, I feel sure, since I was hooked on her stuff in the Seventies...yet I felt curiously unfamiliar with the book. I recalled some scenes, such as Simonides returning from home to rejoin his master Kleobis in their Samian exile; I found a lot of the book to be less clear in my mind than most I've read before and choose to re-read.

I put this down to the fact that as I was reading it in 1978 or 1979, I was disappointed that the main character wasn't gay and wasn't even very excitingly drawn. (Can you tell I was a youth who loved the Alexander novels, The Bull from the Sea, The King Must Die, The Persian Boy? Especially The Persian Boy, quite salacious!)

But, in the end, as a fifty-year-old who's tastes have matured (ha), I liked this book quite a lot. It was a lovely tale of how the world has always judged others by their looks and not their deeds or talents. It presents itself as a harmless historical novel, and examines human nature minutely, unsparingly, and with what can only be called a jaundiced eye. Renault was clearly irritated at the follies of mankind. It shows in such lines as this, spoken by Simonides in his old age: "I have never desired young maids, preferrinig ripe fruit to green; maybe it is because I feared their laughter when I was a boy." (p262, Pantheon hardcover edition 1978)

Still scared of the masses. Still subject to the fears and foibles of youth. Wiser? Renault is too good a writer to make you take her view. She tells her story, and leaves you to take her meanings.

Sheer pleasure, friends, and all too seldom met, when a storyteller trusts you to read, and read again, and reach your own conclusions. Read it and conclude, and you won't be sorry.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. ( )

A fictionalised account of the life of the poet Simonides, and his observations of the fall of the Peisistratids, The Praise Singer is a vivid, solid read. While not the best of Renault's books, and perhaps of most interest to those who are students of Greek history and who know in advance the story of Harmodios and Aristogeiton, I still found the directness of story-telling to be very engaging. Renault has the knack of making a compelling and human story out of the twists and turns of Classical Greek politics, and if this is the kind of historical fiction you're interested in, it's well worth the read. ( )

Simonides, growing up as the ugly second son of a strict father on austere Keos, makes songs to amuse himself and begins to dream about an escape. It arrives in the form of a travelling bard who takes Simonides as his pupil. Little by little, Simonides learns more, witnesses tyranny in Samos, settles in Euboia and gains favour in Athens with Pisistratos and his sons, Hippias and Hipparchos.

As Renault points out in her afterword, we don't know that much about Simonides but this first-person account feels fresh and alive. ( )