Name: The Last of the Wine
Rating: 3.85 (10 reviews)

M. Renault

E. Challans

The Last of the Wine

Mary Renault

The last of the wine

« what is honour? in athens it is one thing, in sparta another; and among the medes it is something else again. but go where you will, there is no land where the dead return across the river. »

no author writes about ancient greece the way mary renault does. i have always sung the praises of her alexander the great books, which is what got me into her writing in the first place, but her other novels deserve just as much praise.

this was a reread and once again, what strikes me most with renault's works is how immersive it immediately feels. i wasn't here, i was in 5th century bc athens. with it's qualities and its many flaws. this does not feel like any other greek historical novel or retelling, there's truly something special about her writing that you do not get anywhere else. i both loved and loathed alexias, suffered alongside him and at times felt like throwing him from the pnyx. 

florine

« what is honour? in athens it is one thing, in sparta another; and among the medes it is something else again. but go where you will, there is no land where the dead return across the river. »

no author writes about ancient greece the way mary renault does. i have always sung the praises of her alexander the great books, which is what got me into her writing in the first place, but her other novels deserve just as much praise.

this was a reread and once again, what strikes me most with renault's works is how immersive it immediately feels. i wasn't here, i was in 5th century bc athens. with it's qualities and its many flaws. this does not feel like any other greek historical novel or retelling, there's truly something special about her writing that you do not get anywhere else. i both loved and loathed alexias, suffered alongside him and at times felt like throwing him from the pnyx. 

The Last of the Wine

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