Named one of Our Culture's “10 Books We're Excited to Read in March 2024”
“A stunning (and stunningly fun) meditation on companionship, humanity and the role of performance in keeping us all afloat. . . . In a contemporary moment of war, Lennon’s sharp eye for the barbarism that can accompany society’s theatrical coping mechanisms feels almost too relevant . . . [A] thrilling and heartbreaking debut novel.”
—Talya Zax, The Washington Post
“If the googly eyes on the cover didn’t make it apparent, Ferdia Lennon’s knockout debut novel Glorious Exploits is hilarious. In fact, it’s loaded with dark humor literally from page one. Never before has history been such a riot, and so indelibly endearing.”
—Donna Edwards, Associated Press
“Charming . . . . [A] breezy, winning debut.”
—Annalisa Quinn, The New York Times Book Review
“Blackly funny and totally original.”
—Emma Alpern, New York Magazine
“‘Let’s put on a show!’ takes on a darkly funny meaning in this debut novel . . . . Outlandishly anachronistic Irish-inflected dialogue (the author is from Dublin) proves a deep comedic well.”
—Emily Donaldson, The Globe and Mail
“Lennon’s debut . . . sparkles with humor.”
—Farrah Penn, Reader’s Digest
“Both deeply moving and humorous. Lennon shows us that, in the midst of despair there is hope, and through art, there is connection.”
—Kelly Roark, Newcity
“Heartfelt, deeply researched, and great fun, Ferdia Lennon’s wholly original debut is as much of a history lesson as it is a meditation on art, memory, and culture.”
—Sam Franzini, Our Culture
“Irish-born Lennon’s distinctly modern voice adds levity and wit to this highly recommended narrative about the tragic aftermath of war and the tragic beauty of the human condition.”
―Library Journal (starred review)
“Lennon brings ancient Sicily to life with humor and pathos in his stunning debut. . . . [this] vital tale captivates.”
―Publishers Weekly (boxed, starred review)
“An entertaining and impressive debut...Exploring themes of friendship, loyalty, and the toll of war, Lennon evokes a time when it was common to relish and revere the art of Homer’s poetry and Euripides’ drama. Those with that appetite today are fortunate to have Madeline Miller, Emily Wilson, Pat Barker, and recently James Hynes’ Sparrow. And Lennon.”
―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Lennon’s unique voice sparkles with a darkly comic undertone in this quirkily uplifting commentary on war, art and the surprisingly resilient spirit of humanity.”
–Thane Tierney, BookPage
“Laugh-out-loud funny . . . this superb novel builds to a page-turning crescendo that evokes the great tragedy the men stage.”
—Booklist
“Bold and totally unexpected, I loved this book. A brilliant novel about friendship, the healing power of art, and why we must fight for our dreams. I was hooked from the first page.”
—Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain
"I loved this book. Fierce, funny, fast-paced. Glorious Exploits brings the ancient world roaring to life in a brilliantly non-stuffy way—as if the figures on a Greek vase turned round, offered you wine, and started chatting. Thoroughly enjoyable, occasionally brutal, and shot through with insight, pathos and hope. Reminiscent of Kevin Barry and George Saunders, but wholly original—an unforgettable debut."
—Joanna Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Whalebone Theatre
“Glorious Exploits is as madly ambitious as a production of Euripides in a prison quarry, and succeeds thanks to Ferdia Lennon's ability to conjure up the past as vividly as Mary Renault, with all the blunt humanity of Roddy Doyle. Cathartic like all great tragedy, but shockingly funny too, this outstandingly original debut is just glorious.”
—Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of The Wonder
“Glorious Exploits stinks of misery, despair, love, war, poetry, reckless ambition, terrible failure, and glorious triumph. It’s a novel thick with the stuff of the Classics, in other words. A delicious treat of a read. I loved it.”
—Jon McGregor, author of Reservoir 13
“In At Swims-Two-Birds, Flann O'Brien gave us cowboys riding through Dublin. Now, Ferdia Lennon gives us modern-day Dubliners living among the ancient Greeks. This is a very special, very clever, very entertaining novel.”
—Roddy Doyle, Booker Prize-winning author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha
“Glorious Exploits is exuberant, funny, lyrical and profoundly moving. It is, quite simply, a rare beauty.”
—Sarah Winman, author of Still Life
“Sublime. Pitch-perfect dialogue, a fast-moving story that is both dark and lyrically beautiful, tragic and funny in equal measure. Glorious Exploits is an astonishingly original and gripping story of brotherhood, war and art. Ferdia Lennon is a fierce new talent.”
—Rebecca Stott, author of Dark Earth
★ 01/01/2024
DEBUT After a disastrous defeat during the Peloponnesian War, thousands of Athenians are imprisoned in the quarries outside of Syracuse on the island of Sicily. Lampo, an unemployed Syracusan potter with a club foot, narrates the story. He and his friend Gelon, fueled by their love of the theater, enlist the captive starving Athenians in staging two tragic plays by the famed contemporary Athenian playwright Euripides. It is an outrageous plan, as the local Syracusan populace nurses a particular hatred for the Athenians. A mysterious benefactor comes to Lampo and Gelon's aid to fund the production, which also includes feeding the malnourished actors. Many Syracusans attend the performance's opening night, and the plays are a success, but then an angry local crowd storms the stage, killing most of the Athenian actors; Lampo and Gelon barely escape with their lives. VERDICT Irish-born Lennon's distinctly modern voice adds levity and wit to this highly recommended narrative about the tragic aftermath of war and the tragic beauty of the human condition.—Henry Bankhead
★ 2024-01-05
A lightly historical novel about two friends and a quixotic theatrical project.
Lampo is 30, unemployed, living with his mom, hanging with his best friend, Gelon, and frequently torn between self-pity and self-indulgence. He’d work well in a buddy film, except that Lampo lives in the town of Syracuse on the island of Sicily some 400 years before the dawn of the Christian Era. For his debut, Dublin-born Lennon taps a few lines from The History of the Peloponnesian War, in which Thucydides writes of how defeated Athenian soldiers were imprisoned in Syracuse’s quarries. As Lampo narrates the tale, Gelon, who’s “mad for Euripides,” proposes to stage his Medea in one of the quarries, using the prisoners as actors. The obstacles aren’t small. The Athenians are purposely underfed and close to starvation. Lampo and Gelon are low on drachmae for costumes and backdrops, not to mention food and drink to keep their cast from that final exit. And attendance is doubtful since most Syracusans hate the invaders from Athens. Lennon initially dwells on the humor in these production struggles (Lampo’s squandering of food money on clothes, coiffure, and general showing off is a delightful episode). He traces Lampo’s growth in self-awareness while moving what seems at first to be a frivolous tale into ever darker waters. He’s economical with period detail and doesn’t shy from anachronisms, like “wreck the buzz.” His subplots bring pointed complications, including Lampo’s love for a barmaid and the usefulness of a wealthy trader. Exploring themes of friendship, loyalty, and the toll of war, Lennon evokes a time when it was common to relish and revere the art of Homer’s poetry and Euripides’ drama. Those with that appetite today are fortunate to have Madeline Miller, Emily Wilson, Pat Barker, and recently James Hynes’ Sparrow. And Lennon.
An entertaining and impressive debut.
