Review of The Fox
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Katarina Radovcic
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Review of The Fox
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Fox" by M. N. J. Butler.]
There is an old Greek legend about a boy who stole a fox and instead of being accused of theft, he hid the fox beneath his cloak. The fox then ripped his flesh, but he rather suffered through pain than admitting what he'd done. Leotychides knew of this legend, he even saw the statue. He also carried a fox.
He was a Spartan warrior, Royal Heraklid, Games Winner, illegitimate son, a narrator of this story about a boy who didn't let go of the fox. He started telling his story while at the Court of King Philippos of Macedon because the people wanted to know the story of Mantinea, and there was no one better to tell it than Leotychides, but the story should start at the beginning.
Leotychides was the only son of King Agis of Eurypontids, one of two royal houses of Sparta. His father being constantly absent, Leotychides' uncle King Pausanios of Agiads took the role of a father figure. As a child, Leotychides was always fascinated by the stories of various heroes and strived to be one of them. He wanted to be a true Spartan, proud, brave and obedient. Later when he found out that he wasn't his father's son, he lost the chance to build that image. It was his gnawing fox. He tried constantly to justify his name, be the best to make up for his origin. On his dying bed, King Agis did give Leotychides his blessing in ascending the throne as his son, but later his uncle Agisilaos took the throne from him. All the enemies Leotychides encountered in his life never compared to his uncle.
In this beautiful book by M.N.J. Butler called The Fox, the protagonist Leotychidas introduces himself when he sets off to write a story to get away from the noise at the Macedonian Court. I loved that the story was written in the first person and sort of in form of a chronicle because it gave the whole story a more intimate and somewhat serene flow. It was slow-paced, but I think that that precise rhythm contributed to the beauty of the story. The deaths and losses for example that the protagonist deals with and we get to see don't come as a shock and surprise to the reader, but every individual loss was written as a peaceful farewell and a memory the protagonist reconciled with. Throughout the whole story we also get to see the Spartan people, architecture, the way of living, the customs, the hierarchy, The Games, the trainings, the battles, the diplomacy, the relations with other cities and nations. We get to meet a lot of interesting characters that had their significant places in the story, like Leotychides' best friend Doreius, his mother Queen Timaia, which was such an interesting character, I loved and I hated her, then Leotychides' cousins and in their time kings Agesipolis and Kleombrotos and Leotychides' flock brothers. There wasn't one main story that everything revolved around but instead the storyline was Leotychides' lifeline. Everything that was written was there for a reason, like Leotychides said: I rarely note things not intended for me: in Sparta it is considered bad manners. The relations with characters seemed realistic and accurately written for the historical period they belong to. At first I thought to myself why some characters' stories aren't developed further, but now having read the whole book, I realize it just wouldn't be necessary to overly describe it as it would ruin the magic. This way, it made it more mature and appropriate, it gave that epic, historic, and almost solemn overall note. I liked the book at the beginning and I loved it at the end.
The version I read did have quite a few typos and the text would often break and skip to another page so that's why I can't give this book four stars, which I definitely would otherwise. I give this book 3 out of 4 stars. Like I said, these were editorial issues, nothing related to the lacking of the story in itself. I would absolutely recommend it to everyone who likes Greek history or just historical fiction in general. I also have to say that it won't be a quick read, it's not light and although I really can't think of a single thing I personally would change, I really didn't mind that rhythm at all, some might not like that pace.
******
The Fox
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
There is an old Greek legend about a boy who stole a fox and instead of being accused of theft, he hid the fox beneath his cloak. The fox then ripped his flesh, but he rather suffered through pain than admitting what he'd done. Leotychides knew of this legend, he even saw the statue. He also carried a fox.
He was a Spartan warrior, Royal Heraklid, Games Winner, illegitimate son, a narrator of this story about a boy who didn't let go of the fox. He started telling his story while at the Court of King Philippos of Macedon because the people wanted to know the story of Mantinea, and there was no one better to tell it than Leotychides, but the story should start at the beginning.
Leotychides was the only son of King Agis of Eurypontids, one of two royal houses of Sparta. His father being constantly absent, Leotychides' uncle King Pausanios of Agiads took the role of a father figure. As a child, Leotychides was always fascinated by the stories of various heroes and strived to be one of them. He wanted to be a true Spartan, proud, brave and obedient. Later when he found out that he wasn't his father's son, he lost the chance to build that image. It was his gnawing fox. He tried constantly to justify his name, be the best to make up for his origin. On his dying bed, King Agis did give Leotychides his blessing in ascending the throne as his son, but later his uncle Agisilaos took the throne from him. All the enemies Leotychides encountered in his life never compared to his uncle.
In this beautiful book by M.N.J. Butler called The Fox, the protagonist Leotychidas introduces himself when he sets off to write a story to get away from the noise at the Macedonian Court. I loved that the story was written in the first person and sort of in form of a chronicle because it gave the whole story a more intimate and somewhat serene flow. It was slow-paced, but I think that that precise rhythm contributed to the beauty of the story. The deaths and losses for example that the protagonist deals with and we get to see don't come as a shock and surprise to the reader, but every individual loss was written as a peaceful farewell and a memory the protagonist reconciled with. Throughout the whole story we also get to see the Spartan people, architecture, the way of living, the customs, the hierarchy, The Games, the trainings, the battles, the diplomacy, the relations with other cities and nations. We get to meet a lot of interesting characters that had their significant places in the story, like Leotychides' best friend Doreius, his mother Queen Timaia, which was such an interesting character, I loved and I hated her, then Leotychides' cousins and in their time kings Agesipolis and Kleombrotos and Leotychides' flock brothers. There wasn't one main story that everything revolved around but instead the storyline was Leotychides' lifeline. Everything that was written was there for a reason, like Leotychides said: I rarely note things not intended for me: in Sparta it is considered bad manners. The relations with characters seemed realistic and accurately written for the historical period they belong to. At first I thought to myself why some characters' stories aren't developed further, but now having read the whole book, I realize it just wouldn't be necessary to overly describe it as it would ruin the magic. This way, it made it more mature and appropriate, it gave that epic, historic, and almost solemn overall note. I liked the book at the beginning and I loved it at the end.
The version I read did have quite a few typos and the text would often break and skip to another page so that's why I can't give this book four stars, which I definitely would otherwise. I give this book 3 out of 4 stars. Like I said, these were editorial issues, nothing related to the lacking of the story in itself. I would absolutely recommend it to everyone who likes Greek history or just historical fiction in general. I also have to say that it won't be a quick read, it's not light and although I really can't think of a single thing I personally would change, I really didn't mind that rhythm at all, some might not like that pace.
******
The Fox
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Scorn of Secrets by B. Truly
