The Persian Boy (Alexander the Great, #2)

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The Persian Boy (Alexander the Great #2)

4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 · rating details · 3,097 ratings · 207 reviews

“It takes skill to depict, as Miss Renault has done, this half-man, half Courtesan who is so deeply in love with the warrior.”–The Atlantic Monthly

The Persian Boy traces the last years of Alexander’s life through the eyes of his lover, Bagoas. Abducted and gelded as a boy, Bagoas was sold as a courtesan to King Darius of Persia, but found freedom with Alexander after the M...more

Paperback, 432 pages

Published February 12th 1988 by Vintage (first published 1972)

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Mar 19, 2013 Diana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, classics, broke-my-heart, historical-fiction

After thinking about this book more I had to change the rating.

The lack of my perfect Hephaistion ruined the book for me. He was the most important person in Alexander’s life, for goodness' sake! It doesn’t matter if they were actually lovers or not. He was the only person who loved Alexander as a person. And that’s why Alexander valued his opinion the most. Hephaistion never lied to Alexander, if he thought that the king was wrong, he said it. He was a very brave man, capable of doing amazing...more After thinking about this book more I had to change the rating.

The lack of my perfect Hephaistion ruined the book for me. He was the most important person in Alexander’s life, for goodness' sake! It doesn’t matter if they were actually lovers or not. He was the only person who loved Alexander as a person. And that’s why Alexander valued his opinion the most. Hephaistion never lied to Alexander, if he thought that the king was wrong, he said it. He was a very brave man, capable of doing amazing things. People envied and hated him because of Alexander’s love and trust for him. Even though the nature of their relationship has never been confirmed, I believe that the fact that they did truly visit the tomb of Patroclus and Achilles makes the matter quite clear. Mary Renault compared them to these two in this novel, which is another reason why I can’t understand why Hephaistion was so heartbreakingly (at least for me) absent in this book.

And Bagoas… I HATED HIM. I hated him so much that even though the book was well written, I just wanted to finish it as quickly as possible. He was an annoying, whiny, useless, false, lying crybaby (I wish I could use Polish swear words to describe him, they’re so strong:P). He was just a pretty boy, nothing more. I didn’t believe in his “love” for Alexander. In my opinion he was just grateful for being treated so well by his master, whom he admired (who wouldn't?) but that would be all. I think I’m going to remove this book from my m/m shelf because I didn’t feel the romance at all. Bagoas’ POV was obviously very limited, so there were very few moments between the king and Hephaistion and they were the only ones that felt romantic to me. To be quite honest, Alexander (with Colin Farrell) was more romantic. Seriously, I was about 11-12 when I watched it and I knew that something was going on between the two. “All I know is I trust only you in this world. I’ve missed you. I need you. It is you I love, Hephaistion. No other.” - this line perfectly shows the truth – Hephaistion was Alexander’s beloved.

Unfortunately, there weren’t many moments in The Persian Boy worth mentioning. And you have no idea how sad it makes me. This was the most disappointing book I have ever read. Not just because of the absence of Hephaistion, but also because I didn't learn anything I hadn't known before:/

But I’m going to read Fire from Heaven (why didn’t I read it first? ugh) and I hope that I’ll like it more than The Persian Boy because if not, I’ll never read anything by Mary Renault again.

(I didn’t say anything good about this book, did I? Oops! I’m just angry and so, so disappointed. Also, why does historical fiction always make me so depressed?;_;)

(less)

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Feb 08, 2009 xebec rated it 3 of 5 stars

Part of me really disliked this book; part of me couldn't help but like it. The language gets a little flowery sometimes, esp when she starts talking about love and (always cleverly elided) sex. The close adherence to history made parts of it read less-than-exciting. (i.e. "Great, now Alexander is going to preside over more games.... when is he going to drop dead alreadygjkfgjkdfg?!") I like Alexander but clearly not as much as the deadly combination of Renault-through-Bagoas does. Alexander com...more

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Oct 11, 2011 Jane rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who wants to know more about Alexander and his loves

Recommended to Jane by: booklist on Amazon

An excellent well-written story of how an ex-prince became a eunuch and fulfilled his destiny in the arms of Alexander the Great!

His early years as a boy and his training as a court eunuch seemed to prepare him for his greatest love ....a love he did not think he would find.

He was Alexander's eromenus for the last eight years of Alexander's life. As great and devoted as he was he was jealous of Hephaestion's special love and place in Alexander's life. In fact it was reported that a Queen mistake...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Denise rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gay-historicals, castrati-and-eunuchs, klassics, made-me-cry

I had to sit with this book and digest it for a few days after finishing before I could even start to put together coherent thoughts about it.

The writing style is a lot simpler from the first book, where you chase around Alexander's thoughts in a limited-third-person. This book is a relatively straight forward first-person told by Bagoas, and you spend most of your mental effort on the themes instead of the prose, which is appreciated.

The fundamental theme of the book, to my read, is that of u...more I had to sit with this book and digest it for a few days after finishing before I could even start to put together coherent thoughts about it.

The writing style is a lot simpler from the first book, where you chase around Alexander's thoughts in a limited-third-person. This book is a relatively straight forward first-person told by Bagoas, and you spend most of your mental effort on the themes instead of the prose, which is appreciated.

The fundamental theme of the book, to my read, is that of unequal love. Bagoas loves Alexander obsessively, caring for him like a fretting nursemaid, sleeping with him whenever he needs or wants it with little thought to his own pleasure, and in the heartbreaking final scene (view spoiler) Bagoas is Alexander's slave, in the literal sense of course, but he is also completely and utterly mentally enslaved to him.

Alexander, however, loves Bagoas only because Bagoas loves him. He does not seem particularly interested in Bagoas as a person (even though the character Bagoas is a bright and engaging young man, with an inborn knack for politics and picking up new languages). He does make gestures of presents to Bagoas, including a very sad scene where (view spoiler), but you get the sense that this is Alexander being polite. Alexander likes having Bagoas around and being taken care of, and he likes sleeping with him, but when he has 'serious' emotional needs he invariably turns to Hephaestion, because he doesn't respect Bagoas as an equal. Whether this is because Bagoas is a eunuch, or perhaps a natural side effect of the accepted man/boy Greek dynamic of the time, I could not decide.

The question the book presented to me was: is this unequal yet not unrequited love (a type of love we do not see often in literature) a valid form of love? If one party in a relationship is slavishly devoted while the other is merely fond, and they both accept this, is it okay? (less)

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Oct 30, 2012 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Rachel by: Christin

Shelves: boys, historical-fiction

Okay, I definitely liked this book. I didn't read the first in the series, and from the sounds of things, I'll be avoiding the last in the series due to sadness, but this one is good.

I'm not a big historical fiction kind of person, mostly because I hate getting a history lesson when I read, but this isn't like that. (Thank goodness Christin told me this or else I probably wouldn't have even tried it.) This just a re-telling of a story that happened a long time ago, from the point of view of som...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Erik Graff rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone

Recommended to Erik by: no one

Shelves: literature

This is the second of Mary Renault's Alexander trilogy. The first, Fire from Heaven, deals with his childhood until the death of the king of Macedon, his father. The third deals with events following upon his death. The Persian Boy details his conquests from the perspective of one of his lovers, a eunuch based on an actual historical personage.

It was at about this time, while in the midst of a Mary Renault binge, that I came upon one of her contemporary novels at a bookstore near Columbia Univer...more

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Jun 12, 2007 Sotoleon rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who like historical fiction

This book is up there with "I, Claudius" and "Claudius the God," as well as "In the Name of the Rose," as far as Historical fiction goes. I aim to read her "Mask of Apollo" in which a greek actor recounts his adventures in the theatre of the Old World (think of it: you get aristophanes, Sophocles, and other tragedians and their plays set against an Athenian world that includes a living Plato, I believe; in one scene, I'm told, the protaganist has a dream about a future play that can only be Macb...more

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Feb 26, 2009 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: couldn-t-or-didn-t-want-to-finish

This book started out really well and I found it really interesting... But then it just dried out... I had like 80 pages left and I didn't even care what happened. I just wanted to put it down. Is that horrible of me?

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May 17, 2011 Christin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, greeks-and-romans-too, m-m, i-want-to-write-the-script, the-end-will-rip-your-heart-out, mary-renault, alexander

Every time I pick this book up to read just a passage I find myself getting sucked in again. This is my desert island book, if I could just bring one with me. Every time I read it I could just turn it over and start from the beginning again. It's epic and then again, it's about a boy's first love. There's the sweep of history, and then there's very personal humor and heartbreak. Seriously, Bagoas will rip your heart out. The last line makes me cry.

I will probably never be able to read Funeral G...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Scrittevolmente rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ho iniziato a leggere questo libro con estremo interesse, sapete perché? Perché io ho adorato il film Alexander diretto da Oliver Stone (mea culpa) quindi come potevo sottrarmi a questa storia che racconta le vicende storiograficamente documentate di Alessandro il Grande? Non potevo!
Mary Renault (pseudonimo di Eileen Mary Challans) ha dato prova di un grande sforzo per intessere una storia che comprendesse il maggior numero di eventi che hanno segnato l’esistenza di Alessandro. Il ragazzo persia...more Ho iniziato a leggere questo libro con estremo interesse, sapete perché? Perché io ho adorato il film Alexander diretto da Oliver Stone (mea culpa) quindi come potevo sottrarmi a questa storia che racconta le vicende storiograficamente documentate di Alessandro il Grande? Non potevo!
Mary Renault (pseudonimo di Eileen Mary Challans) ha dato prova di un grande sforzo per intessere una storia che comprendesse il maggior numero di eventi che hanno segnato l’esistenza di Alessandro. Il ragazzo persiano infatti è il secondo libro di una trilogia; il precedente narra di come Alessandro divenne re della Macedonia, mentre il terzo racconta di come l’impero si disgregò dopo la sua morte. Questi due non sono mai stati tradotti in lingua italiana.
Voce narrante è Bagoa (vi ricorda qualcuno?), figlio di un nobile che venne tradito e reso eunuco per poter essere venduto nelle grandi corti persiane, che entra a far parte del seguito del grande re Dario e dopo, stabilmente, come amante di Alessandro. Attraverso i suoi occhi veniamo messi al corrente non solo degli usi e dei costumi delle diverse popolazioni dell’Asia, ma anche degli aspetti più dettagliati e secondari di quell’epoca. Le differenze di cultura, i sottili giochi di potere, le reazioni che variavano a seconda di quale uomo le dimostrasse, e allo stesso modo facciamo conoscenza coi personaggi che hanno fatto la storia, i loro caratteri, il loro modo di comportarsi non solo in battaglia ma anche nelle tende o a contatto con gli eserciti e negli scontri coi nemici.
Si tratta di un’intensa opera di ricerca e fusione, dalle numerosi fonti autentiche l’autrice ha cercato di romanzare un’epopea alimentandola con tutte le personalità che ne hanno fatto parte, definendo i loro caratteri in base alle ricostruzioni o in base alle parole più obiettive che avesse trovato, aggiungendo la passione, l’amore e la ricerca della grandezza per addolcire gli angoli del romanzo che a volte si fanno un po’ troppo meccanici.
Devo dire che avrei preferito uno stile meno rigido.

Per leggere la recensione per intero: QUI (less)

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Dec 31, 2012 Nerine Dorman rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Very few novels have moved me to tears in the end, but this was one of them. Mary Renault succeeds in capturing the depth and breadth of Bagoas’s abiding devotion to Alexander, and brings history to life.

Slow-moving as this story is, it nevertheless succeeded in capturing my imagination despite the fact that I knew more or less how the tale was supposed to go, and that there was no happy ending. And big-ass disclaimer: I don’t think this story is going to be to everyone’s taste. Perhaps what ma...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Nan rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the second Renault title I've read, and I might like it even better than the Mask of Apollo. I remembered only a few generalities about Alexander the Great. I certainly didn't know about his devoted eunuch Bagoas, and how fascinatingly detailed and human a king's story told through a loving servant's eyes can be. I'll never think of eunuchs the same way again--or Alexander, for that matter. This is a love story, and a most moving one.

Things that stood out: the well-deserved love and resp...more

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Jul 06, 2012 Alex Roque rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Originally posted on Chicks With Crossbows

I was extremely sad when I discovered that writer Mary Renault had passed away many years ago, though she had lived a long life, and I wouldn’t have been able to read her books when they were being first published. XD Since reading The Persian Boy last December, I have been in love with her writing style and stories. She wrote from the first person, but always spoke from the time period that she was writing from, really transporting the reader to the era...more Originally posted on Chicks With Crossbows

I was extremely sad when I discovered that writer Mary Renault had passed away many years ago, though she had lived a long life, and I wouldn’t have been able to read her books when they were being first published. XD Since reading The Persian Boy last December, I have been in love with her writing style and stories. She wrote from the first person, but always spoke from the time period that she was writing from, really transporting the reader to the era she was writing in. This had me hooked, and I don’t usually enjoy reading first person.

Also, she was writing about m/m relationships set in a historical period, and I just can’t ignore that awesomeness. And not to mention that she had been writing stories with gay/lesbian relationships since the 1940s. I wish I could have met a woman who was strong about her beliefs during that time period. Though she did have to move to South Africa in order to live her life and write what she wanted to, but dammit, she made it so that she could do it, and that probably took guts.

The story of The Persian Boy isn’t that far off from what history already claims, and it’s not over the top and keeps the romantic relationship realistic to the time period. It follows the life of Bagoas, a son of a wealthy family who is captured and made to be a eunich, sold to King Darius III and eventually falls into the hands [or bed] of Alexander the Great. From there, Mary takes the reader on a journey of Alexander’s conquests through the eyes of Bagoas, and we see how they grow closer together as his army travels. Even though I knew how the story of Alexander ends, I was still brought to tears [and not little tears, I'm talking bawling here] at the end of the book, and one of my other friends who was reading it couldn’t even finish it. The connection between Bagoas and Alexander is believable and strong, and I was totally drawn into the story and couldn’t put the book down.

The Persian Boy is one of two fictional books that Mary writes about Alexander, the other one being Fire From Heaven, from Alexander’s point of view from childhood up to his father’s death. I will definitely be picking up that book, as well as reading her other historical fiction! If you enjoy Greek history, then I definitely think you will enjoy this book, and her others as well!(less)

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Aug 22, 2011 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, hubris-and-arete, lgbt

It is possible - though somewhat distressing - that my love affair with Mary Renault is beginning to draw to a close. It began about eight years ago, when I first read The King Must Die and The Bull from the Sea surrounding a passionate, pilgrimage-like trip to Greece. I was amazed that Renault possessed the same respect, reverence even for the Greeks and the Greek culture that I did. The care and seriousness with which she endowed her historical novels impressed me - here, I thought, is another...more

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Mar 21, 2011 Tocotin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-literature, historical-fiction, i-can-has-slash, my-own-books, will-read-again, romance

This is a book I often reread, but it is not without its faults, namely: a) lofty, pompous style, b) lack of humor, c) not very likable narrator/main character, d) heavy idealization of Alexander the Great at the expense of about everyone, e) misogyny.

Yes, the language is wonderful and even, and the narration suitable to the grand affairs and great personages the main character is observing; still, it would not hurt him to ease up a little bit and try another kind of tune. For Bagoas the eunuch...more This is a book I often reread, but it is not without its faults, namely: a) lofty, pompous style, b) lack of humor, c) not very likable narrator/main character, d) heavy idealization of Alexander the Great at the expense of about everyone, e) misogyny.

Yes, the language is wonderful and even, and the narration suitable to the grand affairs and great personages the main character is observing; still, it would not hurt him to ease up a little bit and try another kind of tune. For Bagoas the eunuch everything is more or less a cause for lament, if not for an outright whine. I understand that he has been through some intense stuff in his life, on which he's supposedly looking back, but let's be honest: he didn't get it that bad compared to countless others. He should actually call himself lucky - which he does, but somehow his tone doesn't convince me.

And Alexander the Great, well, whatever he did he was forgiven for, because he was, y'know, great. What he wanted all his life and from everyone was only love. He started warring and conquering because he dreamed to unite all peoples, Greeks with barbarians, and to create one world. That's all fine and good, but still sounds horribly like an excuse from the mouth of a Persian eunuch whose only reason to become Alexander's advocate was, yes you guessed it, the love he received. If all he cared about was Alexander's love, why would he bother to defend his political decisions, and condemn his enemies not simply because they were his enemies, but because they supposedly had different ideas? Well, all right, but that was the weakness of Bagoas' point of view.

Women, of course, are of little or no importance, and stupid.

One more thing. This novel, apart from being about Alexander, is about m/m love, and that's why I like to reread it. (This, and the magnificent descriptions of court life and intrigues too, but that's another matter.) But today I just noticed that it's a tad too romantic for my tastes. Yes, understatements, euphemisms, poetic descriptions and fading to black are all good, and I don't need having any genitalia named to enjoy erotic scenes, but... If a sex scene begins and ends with the lovers gazing into each other's eyes and touching each other's silky tresses - and mind, these scenes are not three sentence, but pages long - there is something wrong with it. The very opposite of graphic and vulgar can be about as bad. I can haz the golden mean please?(less)

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Jan 29, 2011 Tancredi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: preferiti, storico, inglesi

"Tu non ti fermerai mai, non è vero, Alessandro?"

Un grande romanzo epico, vivido, intenso, scritto magistralmente.
Potrei chiudere così, ma basterebbe una sola frase?? Di certo non renderei omaggio al grande talento dell'autrice.
Parliamo di Alessandro Magno: una delle più interessanti personalità storiche. Nonché una delle figure più abusate, e mal interpretate. Io amo Alessandro Magno: da storico (quale mi prefiggo essere, presunzione a parte), mi caratterizza un'antipatia diffusa verso tutte le...more "Tu non ti fermerai mai, non è vero, Alessandro?"

Un grande romanzo epico, vivido, intenso, scritto magistralmente.
Potrei chiudere così, ma basterebbe una sola frase?? Di certo non renderei omaggio al grande talento dell'autrice.
Parliamo di Alessandro Magno: una delle più interessanti personalità storiche. Nonché una delle figure più abusate, e mal interpretate. Io amo Alessandro Magno: da storico (quale mi prefiggo essere, presunzione a parte), mi caratterizza un'antipatia diffusa verso tutte le grandi personalità della storia. Lui, Alessandro, è l'unico che abbia suscitato in me qualcosa di più di un semplice interesse: non è un modello, è qualcosa di superiore. Lo sento come mio, assolutamente mio. Per questo motivo, tendo sempre a non approvare i quintali di tomi che sono stati scritti su di lui.
Perché tutta questa premessa-pappardella? Perché questo è l'UNICO libro su di Alessandro Magno che mi sia veramente piaciuto. E il bello è che non è nemmeno il protagonista, anzi.
Ma veniamo al romanzo.
Il protagonista indiscusso è Bagoa, un eunuco tra le cui gambe (sic!) sono passati i grandi della storia di quel tempo. Dal giorno in cui perse l'innocenza, fino al dopo-Alessandro, è sua la narrazione, suo il punto di vista. Diciamolo: è un personaggio che a lungo andare diventa intollerabile. Non che sia un difetto della scrittrice, anzi! E' proprio un suo talento aver creato un personaggio a tutto tondo. Ha scavato nella storia e nel profondo dell'animo umano, la Renault. Con Bagoa, con Alessandro, con tutti quanti.
Ciò che stupisce è infatti la forza della sua narrazione, la grande immaginazione, accompagnata da una totale fedeltà al contesto storico (dipinto con conoscenze da vera studiosa), ed una notevole abilità di regia: tutti quei personaggi, con le loro vite, tutte quelle masse di uomini, gli eserciti, lei riesce a manovrarli perfettamente.
Grandiosa è la figura di Alessandro: e non poteva essere da meno. Alessandro è visto sempre da fuori: noi non conosciamo mai i suoi pensieri diretti. Eppure la caratterizzazione è veramente totale. Mi ha fatto impazzire come è riuscita a scavare dentro il suo animo, facendolo descrivere a Bagoa: Alessandro, così pieno di amore ed orgoglio, amore verso la conoscenza, amore verso gli uomini, amore verso l'amore stesso. Alessandro ama l'amore: ama vederlo negli occhi dei suoi uomini. E', il suo, un ritratto veramente stupefacente.
E insomma, starei qui a parlarne per ore. Aggiungo solo una piccola noticina. Avrei gradito, forse, una maggiore intensità nelle emozioni provate da Bagoa. Sì, è sempre lì che piange e si dispera, e ripiange, e pensa a quanto ama Alessandro, ma la descrizione delle sue emozioni avviene con un certo distacco (giustificato dalla narrazione a posteriori), ed io non sono riuscito a sentirmi particolarmente coinvolto.

E' un romanzo assolutamente da consigliare. Perché, ritratto di Alessandro a parte, è un romanzo che ti lascia dentro qualcosa. Ti insegna ad amare. Ad amare la cultura, ad amare il diverso. In fondo, tutto quello che Alessandro cercava non era altro che questo. Un mondo pieno di amore, in cui Greci e Persiani siedono allo stesso tavolo, rispettosi delle differenze, e assolutamente innamorati di esse.

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May 03, 2013 Kyle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics-in-2013

I used to think I despised love stories. I would wonder what was wrong with me; love stories are supposed to move us, I would think. They're supposed to make us feel things other stories cannot. So I thought. But all the "love stories" I saw were the unbelievable kind: The ridiculous caricatures on display in "romantic" comedies, the happily ever afters we were fed in fairy tales. "Where was the pain?", I would ask. Where was the suffering, and the longing. And perhaps above all, do these charac...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Nev Percy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

Meh.
After liking Fire From Heaven so much, I'm surprised at both Mary Renault and myself that its sequel should have left me so cold.
OK, so the narrator-protagonist is a castrated pretty boy catamite originally belonging to Darius (literally belonging, as a slave) and then becoming Alexander's body servant and -- in due course -- lover. So his scope for 'protagonism' in a man's world of warfare is going to be limited... As a device I think that probably suited MR in sparing her the need to go in...more

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Aug 10, 2012 Shawn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Mary Renault is a master historical novelist. I love the way she showed us Alexander the Great differently than he is often portrayed in the history books and Pressfield novels. I enjoy Pressfield's work as well but to him Alexander was first and foremost a classical Hellenist and warrior. Renault focuses on Alexander the lover how he was viewed by his Persian boy; a eunuch, a slave, but also an influential master of his privy chamber. I was bothered in the beginning by Renault's romanticizing w...more

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Nov 07, 2010 Lishesque rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favebooks

Some favorite parts:

"We had our summer. On the hills with the hounds crying, racing the clouds; in the rose garden with its lotus pools; in the high hall whose columns were sheathed with gold and silver, as I did my Dance of the River to the sound of flutes; in the great Bedchamber where I had been shamed and now was cherished, each day and night, I used to say to myself, I will miss nothing; I will never let my eye or my ear or my soul or my senses sleep, never forget to know that I am happy. F...more

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Oct 23, 2012 Omi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ancient-rome-greece, history-legend, m-m

A dear friend sent this book to me and I can't even begin to express my thanks. If I felt a little confused at the beginning (I admit I only knew what I've seen in movies about the Persian empire), at some point I just grew bedazzled with the intensity of the narration. Bagoas is just loveable, and the portrayal of Alexander as seen through his eyes is captivating. I admit I had a crush of sorts on Alexander from the moment Bagoas had one. I had to suspend my disbelief in the human race as a who...more

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Aug 27, 2011 Karen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, gay-sexuality

Overall a lovely read. However, and this is where I will sound like a petulant child, this read a bit like Alexander/Hephaistion and Alexander/Bagoas fanfic in which Hephaistion could just as well not have been there, but the pairing was put in the header to justify the fic's posting on an Alexander/Hephaistion community. I LOVE Hephaistion and I love him even more with Alexander, but I get the feeling that Mary Renault didn't like him very much and instead drew Bagoas into the light and went li...more

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Apr 18, 2011 Lola rated it 5 of 5 stars

The only historical romance the stole my heart and broke it at the end.....so sad. Bagoas was a young nobleman's son. Through treachery of his father's friend, his own family was killed and him sold into slavery, gelded and sold to a merchant. He was only 12 and he was raped and molested by his master and clients. Later he was sold to the King of Persia and became a dancer and a pleasure slave. When Alexander came, he escaped and was presented to Alexander as a gift. This here begins the romance...more

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Aug 05, 2012 Pat Anderson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-novels

I have read and re-read this story of Bagoas, the eunuch, who was Alexander The Great's lover. It is a great read and gives a good insight into life in the ancient world. The only downside is Renault's obvious hero-worship of Alexander, to the extent that she totally ignores any flaws in his character. Anyone that stands against Alexander is portrayed as envious, petty-minded and greedy. It could be argued that, as the story is told by the clearly besotted Bagoas, such a hagiography is only to b...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fictionalized-history, history, m-m

Before reading this book, I had absolutely no interest in Alexander the Great. I feel differently now. As Renault says in her Author's Notes, "... no other human being has attracted in his lifetime, from so many men, so fervent a devotion."

Although I appreciated the account of Alexander's exploits and his many positive qualities (drive, fairness, generosity), at its heart this story is about his relationship with his eunuch slave-servant Bagoas and, even more, Bagoas' deep and abiding love for A...more

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Feb 20, 2010 Barbara A rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, unforgettable, would-recommend

I read this book, and "The Fire from Heaven" while taking the docent training course at the Museum of Fine Arts. The opportunity to guide visitors through the collections is incredibly satisfying in and of itself, but the benefits to the guides are immeasurable. Being exposed to art from all ages awakens our intelligence and makes us hungry for more, and thus, in learning about our art of the ancient world, I was introduced to Mary Renault.

If not the creator of the genre of historical fiction, R...more

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Oct 11, 2011 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

Mary Renault is one of my favorite historical fiction authors, and this book was one of her best. It is about and narrated by Bagoas, a Persian who becomes a eunuch when his family is murdered and he is enslaved. He eventually becomes a sort of concubine to Darius and then lover to Alexander. His relationship with Alexander is one of real love and friendship, not of master and subject. The bulk of book concerns Bagoas' life with Alexander as he conquers the entirety of the middle east and part o...more Mary Renault is one of my favorite historical fiction authors, and this book was one of her best. It is about and narrated by Bagoas, a Persian who becomes a eunuch when his family is murdered and he is enslaved. He eventually becomes a sort of concubine to Darius and then lover to Alexander. His relationship with Alexander is one of real love and friendship, not of master and subject. The bulk of book concerns Bagoas' life with Alexander as he conquers the entirety of the middle east and part of India.
Renault has an absolutely wonderful talent for bringing the people of the ancient world to life. Figures like Darius and Alexander are warmly portrayed and made into complete, complex people rather than figures moving through a script of historical fact. Alexander himself is extremely vivid, both larger than life and very human. I always felt like I was reading about a real person, not a legend. Bagoas is also a very interesting character. I admired his ability to take the tragedy and humiliation of his early life and work with what it made him and where it placed him to build a satisfying and worthwhile life. I found his combination of sophistication and quasi-innocence really interesting, too. Despite Bagoas' experience with the Persian court, his relationship with Alexander countered any turn to jadedness or cynicism he might otherwise have had. Although at times, I did find it a little irritating how his love for Alexander never quite shed some adolescent qualities.
I very much liked the way Renault keeps the narrative focused on Alexander's relationships with individuals (Bagoas, various military leaders) and groups (his troops, the peoples he brings into his empire), rather than on battles and conquests. Otherwise, the story would have been really repetitive. This focus allows Renault to also look at how Alexander negotiated the cultural differences between the parts of his empire and how he tried to bring Persian, Macedonian, and Greek culture into a harmonious whole. Her choice of Bagoas as narrator really facilitates this, both because of his relationship with Alexander and his status as a eunuch. The fusing of narrative voice and thematic aims is extremely effective.(less)

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Mar 23, 2012 Lichen Craig rated it 4 of 5 stars

I first read this book at about 14, and it was my introduction to the idea that some men had sexual relationships with one another, and that some civilizations accepted it. At the time I was deeply into Alexander the Great, and this book added to my hunger for information and perspective on the life of this amazing man. Now, some 36 years later, I have to wonder if Mary Renault used the device of telling the story through the eyes of a slave boy - removed from Alexander and his lover - because s...more

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Sep 08, 2007 Tiger Baby rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

I think this may be my all time favorite book. I loved the story (about Alexander the Great) I loved all the amazing detail, the plot and the history. I thought Mary Renault had the ability to make you really feel like you were there.

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Nov 17, 2012 Klara Woodson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Questo è probabilmente uno dei miei libri preferiti in assoluto, per di più scritto da una grande donna che ammiro e adoro per le tematiche che propone e lo stile con cui le descrive. 'Il Ragazzo Persiano' è uno dei suoi libri più famosi (l'unico che sono riuscita a trovare in Italiano, ma posso assicurare a tutti che vale assolutamente la pena di leggere le opere di questa autrice in l'inglese, la sua lingua originale, poiché ha uno stile incredibile ed una proprietà di linguaggio veramente ecc...more

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About Mary Renault

Mary Renault
AKA Eileen Mary Challans

Born: 4-Sep-1905
Birthplace: London, England
Died: 13-Dec-1983
Location of death: Cape Town, South Africa

Father: Frank Challans (physician)
Mother: Clementine Newsome Baxter
Sister: Joyce
Girlfriend: Julie Mullard (life-long companion)

High School: Clifton Girls School, Bristol, England
University: BA, St. Hugh's College, Oxford University (1928)
Medical School: Radcl...more

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Fire from Heaven (Alexander the Great, #1)

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“It is better to believe in men too rashly, and regret, than believe too meanly. Men could be more than they are, if they would try for it. He has shown them that.” — 11 people liked it

“I thought, There goes my lord, whom I was born to follow. I have found a King.
And, I said to myself, looking after him as he walked away, I will have him, if I die for it.” — 9 people liked it

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The Persian Boy (Alexander the Great #2)

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