‘One of the most original and brilliant debuts in years’ Irish Times
An exhilarating and fiercely original story of brotherhood, war and art, set in ancient Sicily
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?
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
Publication date: 23/04/2025
Glorious Exploits
by Ferida Lennon
Review by Josh
An absolutely rip-roaring tale full of laughter, joy, tragedy, and at its centre, two drunken potters fumbling their way through it all. The world as seen through Lampo and Gelon is full of humour and tragedy and, in an appropriately Greek fashion, the book swirls its way around both with deft precision. Written in a modern, Irish-inspired, conversational style, the book flows beautifully from moment to moment. A story you won’t soon forget, full of life and whimsy.
