Review by YJ9+ -- The Fox by M. N. J. Butler
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Review by YJ9+ -- The Fox by M. N. J. Butler
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Fox" by M. N. J. Butler.]
M.N.J. Butler’s, The Fox is set in Sparta after the Peloponnesian War. It all began from the recollection of an old man in the court of King Philip II of Macedonia. He wrote an account about his life as a Spartan, revealing how his identity played a major role in his life and how he overcame its shadow by living according to the Law of Lycurgus by spirit. He is an heir to the throne in one of the Spartan royal families but he chose not to fight for his right. He chose the role of an observer in the novel although he had his fair share of experiences when he was in his flock with his flock brothers, when he fought in wars with them and became a general, and when eventually friendships were lost either to betrayal or death. The law of Lycurgus is a discipline taught to Spartans from a young age. Throughout the novel notable characters are observed to live by this law, hiding their own fox.
I haven’t recognized any grammatical error and misspelled word as far as my knowledge goes. One thing that I have observed though is that from the first Chapter, I was attacked by a barrage of unfamiliar words such as demagogue, apothegm, apposite, brevity, etc. The life of the protagonist is told through his own story telling style which consisted of detailed descriptions of what is happening around him, the reactions of his audience, his own remarks within his head, and a lot of digressions. However, these digressions led to the dialogues of his youth in Sparta, the discovery of his blood father, the anger within him towards his name father, and the process of how he claimed his real identity as an individual confidently.I appreciate the novel's closeness to historical accuracy which is merged with the novelist’s imagination. What I liked the most is the detailed description of how a soldier defended his king until his last breath with his already heavily wounded body which made me cry. Nevertheless, the novelist made sure to keep you magnetized on the book expectant of the next events.
Subjectively, I am a fan of honorable protagonists and our main character did not disappoint me. Adventure, poetry, philosophy, raw emotions of a son to his father, detailed description of the soldiers in action in the battlefield, death, courtship, and love are all seasonings to this well written novel. I am satisfied for it actually made me feel like I was back in time and in Sparta. I loved how each character showed his personality which could be humorous, temperament, wise, or cunning. The concept about the Spartan principle of hiding their fox is very relevant to me.The phrase 'hiding a fox' is a metaphor based on a story of the boy and and the fox which pertains to keeping to one's self whatever it is that holds one's affections and pain.
I disliked that the relationship of Doreius and Leo confused me. Because of the stereotype of Spartan masculinity I did not expect or cannot conclude surely that Doreius is in a romantic relationship with Leo. As the plot unfolds, homosexuality during the historical times is shown to be seen in a different light by Greeks compared to how people see it today.
There are no errors in the manuscript and there is no profanity, nor is there any direct form of erotica. Although there were green jokes and mention of sexual relations, they are not graphically described and are considered to be subtle in form. I recommend this book to young adults and I rate the book four out of four stars because it is a novel capable of taking its reader to the lands of Spartan heritage to witness the war and politics firsthand.
******
The Fox
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
M.N.J. Butler’s, The Fox is set in Sparta after the Peloponnesian War. It all began from the recollection of an old man in the court of King Philip II of Macedonia. He wrote an account about his life as a Spartan, revealing how his identity played a major role in his life and how he overcame its shadow by living according to the Law of Lycurgus by spirit. He is an heir to the throne in one of the Spartan royal families but he chose not to fight for his right. He chose the role of an observer in the novel although he had his fair share of experiences when he was in his flock with his flock brothers, when he fought in wars with them and became a general, and when eventually friendships were lost either to betrayal or death. The law of Lycurgus is a discipline taught to Spartans from a young age. Throughout the novel notable characters are observed to live by this law, hiding their own fox.
I haven’t recognized any grammatical error and misspelled word as far as my knowledge goes. One thing that I have observed though is that from the first Chapter, I was attacked by a barrage of unfamiliar words such as demagogue, apothegm, apposite, brevity, etc. The life of the protagonist is told through his own story telling style which consisted of detailed descriptions of what is happening around him, the reactions of his audience, his own remarks within his head, and a lot of digressions. However, these digressions led to the dialogues of his youth in Sparta, the discovery of his blood father, the anger within him towards his name father, and the process of how he claimed his real identity as an individual confidently.I appreciate the novel's closeness to historical accuracy which is merged with the novelist’s imagination. What I liked the most is the detailed description of how a soldier defended his king until his last breath with his already heavily wounded body which made me cry. Nevertheless, the novelist made sure to keep you magnetized on the book expectant of the next events.
Subjectively, I am a fan of honorable protagonists and our main character did not disappoint me. Adventure, poetry, philosophy, raw emotions of a son to his father, detailed description of the soldiers in action in the battlefield, death, courtship, and love are all seasonings to this well written novel. I am satisfied for it actually made me feel like I was back in time and in Sparta. I loved how each character showed his personality which could be humorous, temperament, wise, or cunning. The concept about the Spartan principle of hiding their fox is very relevant to me.The phrase 'hiding a fox' is a metaphor based on a story of the boy and and the fox which pertains to keeping to one's self whatever it is that holds one's affections and pain.
I disliked that the relationship of Doreius and Leo confused me. Because of the stereotype of Spartan masculinity I did not expect or cannot conclude surely that Doreius is in a romantic relationship with Leo. As the plot unfolds, homosexuality during the historical times is shown to be seen in a different light by Greeks compared to how people see it today.
There are no errors in the manuscript and there is no profanity, nor is there any direct form of erotica. Although there were green jokes and mention of sexual relations, they are not graphically described and are considered to be subtle in form. I recommend this book to young adults and I rate the book four out of four stars because it is a novel capable of taking its reader to the lands of Spartan heritage to witness the war and politics firsthand.
******
The Fox
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: We are Voulhire: Someone Else's End by Matthew Tysz
