Review of The Fox
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Talliah De Waal
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Review of The Fox
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Fox" by M. N. J. Butler.]
Themes such as friendship, greed, loyalty and politics are brilliantly explored in M.N.J. Butler's book The Fox. The story is a memoir of the deposed Spartan Prince Leotychides, who often finds himself pitted against his power-hungry uncle Agisilaos, the Eurypontid King. We follow Leotychides' memories as a boy to a soldier as he recalls new and old relationships and events that lead to the slow descent of a once-great city.
There are plenty of emotions expressed by the main character as he narrates his story; one can't help but feel those strong emotions yourself. The author is quite skilled at enforcing these emotions into the reader as well. I can recall the number of times I got annoyed with Agisilaos and felt just as frustrated as Kleombrotos when Agisilaos wanted war. With Leotychides narrating his life with such raw vulnerability, you start to feel close to the character and the characters he meets and further form a bond with.
I love how stereotyping is addressed in the book. Stereotyping is everywhere in the world and we all at some point fall into the silent trap; this is shown by how each of the different cities referred to the people they encountered and judged them based on where they are from, or that a cause for certain behaviour is the result of them being Athenian or Spartan. In the prologue, the conversation between Leotychides and Philippos is the perfect example of two people using their stereotypical views as a reason for hating a group of people."If Thebans spoke less and Athenians scribbled less. Sparta would be better known".
There is not much I do not like about the book concept-wise. It has an amazing plot and the fact that it surrounds actual historical events is beyond thrilling. However there are parts, especially at the beginning of the book, that gets a little confusing. Occasionally I got confused with some of the names of the characters (Some are very similar, such as Agisilaos and Agesipolis.) and at times which of the characters were speaking. I have to say these do not take away the overall quality of the story, and they are only minor distraction.
If it were not for the few missing headings to indicate a new chapter and the missing apostrophe at the beginning of a dialogue, I would have given it a 4-star rating, sadly I can only give it 3 out of 4 stars for the few mistakes that I noticed. I would recommend this book to readers who love Greek history and to those who enjoyed the films 300 and Troy.
******
The Fox
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Themes such as friendship, greed, loyalty and politics are brilliantly explored in M.N.J. Butler's book The Fox. The story is a memoir of the deposed Spartan Prince Leotychides, who often finds himself pitted against his power-hungry uncle Agisilaos, the Eurypontid King. We follow Leotychides' memories as a boy to a soldier as he recalls new and old relationships and events that lead to the slow descent of a once-great city.
There are plenty of emotions expressed by the main character as he narrates his story; one can't help but feel those strong emotions yourself. The author is quite skilled at enforcing these emotions into the reader as well. I can recall the number of times I got annoyed with Agisilaos and felt just as frustrated as Kleombrotos when Agisilaos wanted war. With Leotychides narrating his life with such raw vulnerability, you start to feel close to the character and the characters he meets and further form a bond with.
I love how stereotyping is addressed in the book. Stereotyping is everywhere in the world and we all at some point fall into the silent trap; this is shown by how each of the different cities referred to the people they encountered and judged them based on where they are from, or that a cause for certain behaviour is the result of them being Athenian or Spartan. In the prologue, the conversation between Leotychides and Philippos is the perfect example of two people using their stereotypical views as a reason for hating a group of people."If Thebans spoke less and Athenians scribbled less. Sparta would be better known".
There is not much I do not like about the book concept-wise. It has an amazing plot and the fact that it surrounds actual historical events is beyond thrilling. However there are parts, especially at the beginning of the book, that gets a little confusing. Occasionally I got confused with some of the names of the characters (Some are very similar, such as Agisilaos and Agesipolis.) and at times which of the characters were speaking. I have to say these do not take away the overall quality of the story, and they are only minor distraction.
If it were not for the few missing headings to indicate a new chapter and the missing apostrophe at the beginning of a dialogue, I would have given it a 4-star rating, sadly I can only give it 3 out of 4 stars for the few mistakes that I noticed. I would recommend this book to readers who love Greek history and to those who enjoyed the films 300 and Troy.
******
The Fox
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Legacy by Sean T. Smith
