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Educating Alexander
THE GOLDEN MEAN
ANNABEL LYON
*****
Robert Colbeck
ANNABEL Lyon's prize-winning debut novel has winged its way here from Canada garlanded with acclaim.
And, I am delighted to say, every single word of praise is completely justified.
The Golden Mean is an extraordinary achievement, bringing two of history's greatest characters triumphantly to life.
Set in ancient Macedonia, it explores the relationship between the young Alexander, son of Philip of Macedon, and Aristotle, the man chosen by Philip to be Alexander's tutor.
We meet the 37-year-old Aristotle as he and his entourage are entering the Macedon capital Pella. Already he is dreaming of returning to Athens, perhaps even taking over from the now-dead Plato as head of the Athenian Academy.
Philip, however, has other ideas. He wants Aristotle to be the tutor to his 13-year-old son Alexander – a request Aristotle is unable to refuse. He remains in Pella for five years, at the end of which time Alexander is a battle-hardened general fighting at his father's side.
Lyon portrays the relationship between Aristotle and Alexander with great subtlety, carefully investing their characters with perfectly judged light and shade.
Aristotle, unsurprisingly, is possessed of insatiable curiosity. He is a true polymath, observing and seeking to understand everything from the movement of the stars to the workings of the human body.
Even when drafted in to join the medical teams on the battlefield he is unable to stop himself from dissecting some of the corpses, furiously recording his observations on tablets.
He is also highly emotional, is given to weeping uncontrollably and has violent mood swings (nowadays, he would undoubtedly be diagnosed as suffering from bipolar disorder).
He is also an inspired and patient teacher – when first introduced to Alexander's slow-witted, drooling half-brother Arrhidaeus, he does not ignore him, as do others. Instead, he takes the time to talk to him and devise ways of improving him. This, in itself, is an important lesson for Alexander, who slowly comes to accept Aristotle not just as a teacher, but as a friend.
The fact that we know Alexander will eventually conquer almost all of the known world makes Lyon's portrait of his late childhood all the more fascinating. We see hesitancy and indecision slowly being forged into resolve and conviction, but we also see the flaws that will not go away. Flaws such as the blackout-like loss of control on the battlefield that will descend and then disappear, leaving him with no memory of his actions.
The Golden Mean is a an extraordinarily accomplished first novel.
With her sensuous prose, rich imagery and meticulous attention to detail, Lyon has brushed the cobwebs of ages from two of history's most charismatic characters and brought them gloriously to life.
robert.colbeck@ypn.co.uk
ATLANTIC BOOKS, 14.99
Precious: A True Story
Precious Williams
First commissioned in 2006 this story bears no relation to its titular American movie counterpart.
In this case, Precious is the story of Precious Williams – a black child left with middle-aged white foster parents in West Sussex. She receives sporadic attention from her natural mother and struggles to deal with domestic upheaval and conflicting racial identities.
Keeping up with the various comings and goings of Precious and the people in her life – and the relationships between them – is confusing enough, which gives some insight into the bewilderment she experienced in her early years as she is torn between cultures and families, dragged away, left behind, cherished one minute, abused the next.
While it's heartening to see her path to triumph despite adversity – Oxford University, the glamorous journalistic career and so on – the fact that her daughter ended up being brought up by her foster sister, and her account of a bitter exchange between them in later years, hints at a continuation of the cycle of abandonment. Despite aiming to inspire hope, the story of her success is tinged with regret and unease.
Bloomsbury, 14.9
Review by Waterstone's
THE CHALICE OF BLOOD
PETER TREMAYNE
***
LOVERS of historical crime mysterious know they are always in good company with Sister Fidelma.
The seventh-century Irish religieuse and lawyer created by Peter Tremayne even has her own international appreciation society. She makes her 21st appearance in The Chalice of Blood, and is immediately plunged into yet another seemingly-impossible riddle.
An eminent scholar is found murdered in his abbey cell, but with his door fastened from then inside and no apparent way out, how did the killer escape? And what was so important about the manuscripts which were stolen from his room?
The Abbot wants some answers and Fidelma and her companion Brother Eadulf duly answer his summons, but find their own lives threatened even before they reach the scene of the crime.
It's classic Tremayne story-telling, but it is a mark of his skill that even with 20 books under his belt he can still find new facets of character to explore. The Chalice of Blood is no exception, revealing new tensions that are threatening the relationship between Fidelma and Eadulf. RC
HEADLINE, 19.99
Dark side of a sporting prodigy
PAPERBACKS
Open
Andre Agassi
He is one of the most gifted men ever to step on to a tennis court – but from early childhood Andre Agassi hated the game. Coaxed to swing a racket while still in the crib, forced to hit hundreds of balls a day while still in grade school, Agassi resented the constant pressure even as he drove himself to become a prodigy, an inner conflict that would define him. Now, in his beautiful, haunting autobiography, Agassi tells the story of a life framed by such conflicts. Alongside vivid portraits of rivals, Agassi gives unstinting accounts of his brief time with Barbra Streisand and his doomed marriage to Brooke Shields. He reveals the depression that shatters his confidence, and the mistake that nearly costs him everything. Finally, he recounts his spectacular resurrection and his march to become the oldest man ever ranked number one.
Harpercollins 8.99
A Zombie Ate My Cupcake
Lily Vanilli
After being banished for so long to the land of the pretty and identical, the domestic and the twee, cupcakes are biting back. Here, Lily Vanilli shows how you can take inspiration from anywhere - insects, roadkill, zombies - and recreate it in cake, but always with a delicious result. Give guests a shock with revoltingly realistic Marzipan Beetles, or add a crunch to your desserts with Morbid Meringue Bones, dipped in raspberry blood sauce. If Ozzy Osbourne made cupcakes, these are the ones he'd want to eat!
The Year of the Flood
Margaret Atwood
The sun brightens in the east, reddening the blue-grey haze that marks the distant ocean. The vultures roosting on the hydro poles fan out their wings to dry them. The air smells faintly of burning. The waterless flood has ended the world. But two young women have survived: Ren, a young dancer trapped where she worked, in an upmarket sex club (the cleanest dirty girls in town); and Toby, who watches and waits from her rooftop garden. Is anyone else out there?
Virago Press 7.99
EP 21/8/10
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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