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343rd out of 688 books
—
222 voters
The Praise Singer
by
Mary Renault
In the story of the great lyric poet Simonides, Mary Renault brings alive a time in Greece when tyrants kept an unsteady rule and poetry, music, and royal patronage combined to produce a flowering of the arts.
Born into a stern farming family on the island of Keos, Simonides escapes his harsh childhood through a lucky apprenticeship with a renowned Ionian singer. As they t...more
Born into a stern farming family on the island of Keos, Simonides escapes his harsh childhood through a lucky apprenticeship with a renowned Ionian singer. As they t...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
April 8th 2003
by Vintage
(first published 1978)
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3.5 – 4 stars
Mary Renault’s _The Praise Singer_ is another highly enjoyable visit to the world of ancient Greece. This time we have left the heroic age of her consummate Theseus series (The King Must Die and The Bull from the Sea) and entered the early classical period of Athens during the reigns of the tyrant Pisistratos and his heirs as seen through the eyes of the poet Simonides. This turns out to be something of a golden age for Athens and the arts, at least according to Simonides, which lie...more
Mary Renault’s _The Praise Singer_ is another highly enjoyable visit to the world of ancient Greece. This time we have left the heroic age of her consummate Theseus series (The King Must Die and The Bull from the Sea) and entered the early classical period of Athens during the reigns of the tyrant Pisistratos and his heirs as seen through the eyes of the poet Simonides. This turns out to be something of a golden age for Athens and the arts, at least according to Simonides, which lie...more
Rating: 4* of five
This book was a re-read, I feel sure, since I was hooked on her stuff in the Seventies...yet I felt curiously unfamiliar with the book. I recalled some scenes, such as Simonides returning from home to rejoin his master Kleobis in their Samian exile; I found a lot of the book to be less clear in my mind than most I've read before and choose to re-read.
I put this down to the fact that as I was reading it in 1978 or 1979, I was disappointed that the main character wasn't gay and w...more
This book was a re-read, I feel sure, since I was hooked on her stuff in the Seventies...yet I felt curiously unfamiliar with the book. I recalled some scenes, such as Simonides returning from home to rejoin his master Kleobis in their Samian exile; I found a lot of the book to be less clear in my mind than most I've read before and choose to re-read.
I put this down to the fact that as I was reading it in 1978 or 1979, I was disappointed that the main character wasn't gay and w...more
Just began today. I love Mary Renault's books and have read three others. This book takes place before the Peloponnesian war. "The Mask of Apollo" takes place on the other side. Socrates is born during the life span of Simonedes and dies before "The Mask..." begins.
Day Two... And we're off as Simonedes follows Apollo's guidance and seeks his "career" as a musician and singer. A similar plot outline to other of her books. The hero chooses a "special" path that carries him out into the world so th...more
Day Two... And we're off as Simonedes follows Apollo's guidance and seeks his "career" as a musician and singer. A similar plot outline to other of her books. The hero chooses a "special" path that carries him out into the world so th...more
The story of Simonides the poet, but more importantly the story of the last Tyrants of Greece, told through his eyes. For me the book suffered by being more a history than a story, so things didn't hang together narratively as much as one might want, and Sim wasn't as important a character in actual happenings--more of an observer. Also, not that this is Renault's fault, but my knowledge of the historical events he observed was very weak, so when certain characters first appeared they were annou...more
THE PRAISE SINGER (1978) by Mary Renault is historical fiction based on the long life of Simonides, the Greek bard. The story opens in sixth-century BCE Keos, the Archaic era before the Golden Age of Athens. A teen-aged Simonides prefers to compose and sing poems than to be a shepherd on his father's prosperous farm. At a wedding he is introduced to Kleobis, a master singer. After Kleobis persuades Simonides's parents to let the boy go, Simonides takes off to learn the trade, traveling through I...more
Renault remains one of my favorite historical fiction authors. She does and amazing job of evoking the ancient Greek world. This novel concerns the great poet Simonides, and is told from his point of view. As with The Last of the Wine, she gracefully weaves together historical events with personal incidents. This book was particularly interesting to me because Simonides is a musician (poets of this period were essentially composer-singers), and his story thus provides a good look at the musical...more
Dec 15, 2010
Ben
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
i-own,
historical-fiction
A fun and interesting read, especially for the first half of the book. To be honest, past that point, I got a little tired of the style in which she was writing. Everything always seemed to be coming up daisies, regardless of the situation, and Simonides was just too blase; as were a number of the relationships between characters. By the second half of the book, all of the characters had done what minimal growth and development they could muster, and through the rest of it none of them matured,...more
Renault follows the life of poet (and real historical figure) Simonides of Ceos, as he lives through the reign of the Samian pirate king Polykrates and the fall of the Pisistratid dynasty in Athens. I didn't find this as enthralling as The Mask of Apollo, though I liked it. I felt that she didn't spend enough time spent with each character, so some of the famous historical figures (Aischylos and Pythagoras, for example) felt like cameos, there for the sake of being there. Renault's eye for histo...more
1 like · like · see review
About four years ago, I participated in our library's adult winter reading program. It's a fun and easy contest that was started to complement the children's summer reading program that had been going on for years (at least as long as I had been taking my son to the library...and I'm sure it was well-established then). During the winter months (Jan-Feb), all one has to do is submit entries for every book read--name of book, author, and a simple rating. They hold a drawing every week of the progr...more
This is not my absolute favorite Mary Renault - that would be The Persian Boy OF COURSE - but I give it five stars nonetheless because the worst book by Mary Renault is better than the best book of most writers. And The Praise Singer is definitely in the top tier of Renault's novels of ancient Greece.
Renault's imagined life of the poet Simonides begins with young Sim's wretched early days as little better than a slave in his harsh father's house. When Sim gathers enough courage to beg a travelin...more
Renault's imagined life of the poet Simonides begins with young Sim's wretched early days as little better than a slave in his harsh father's house. When Sim gathers enough courage to beg a travelin...more
Wonderful, moving. Only Mary Renault could have written this book. She never disappoints. She brings ancient Greece alive-the people, the environment, the manners. There were passages that broke my heart and some in which I could feel the weather, the topography, and the sea. I want to see Euboia, walk the ground Simonides walked, see ancient Sicily, revisit the little city of Pythagoras and the ruins of the Hera temple on Samos, as well as the history of events and festivals of the time; I want...more
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
I love Mary Renault and the work she had done as an historian and novelist.
We, all of us, grow up within narrow confines of family, culture and class. The study of history and of cultural anthropology is a corrective to the limitations of our upbringing.
Renault was a homosexual living in a time and place when that was not acceptable. She made a career out of writing about another time and place when it was not only acceptable but highly idealized. Beyond that, the intimate investigation of antiq...more
We, all of us, grow up within narrow confines of family, culture and class. The study of history and of cultural anthropology is a corrective to the limitations of our upbringing.
Renault was a homosexual living in a time and place when that was not acceptable. She made a career out of writing about another time and place when it was not only acceptable but highly idealized. Beyond that, the intimate investigation of antiq...more
All Renault novels are fascinating, and her ancient Greece stuff cannot be beat. This one is a free-standing book, which makes it easy to pick up when you do not want to dive deeply into Theseus or Alexander. And she is always great writing about artistic types, having a real understanding of the creative process and drive.
This is a novelization of the life of the Greek poet Simonides, and as an historical overview it works fairly well. As an enthralling story however, it doesn't quite sing. It's obvious Renault knows her subject to an astonishing degree, but she fails to bring Simonides into full detail as a person. The story is told from his perspective, but if this his memoir, he really does not come off as a very interesting guy. And for a poet of his caliber, his story-telling abilities would certainly be bet...more
Loved it. Evocative. Mysterious. Renault has the amazing ability to totally transport the reader to Ancient Greece and make it seem as if you were there. Wonderful writer.
Fantastic story--what Hilary Mantel does now, Mary Renault was doing thirty years ago. Incisive, insightful, imaginative historical ficton fleshing out the contemporary texts.
I love Mary Renault's Ancient Greece books. This was a new one for me. I especially liked how the singer keeps turning up his nose at writing down his songs/poems.
This was a great read, even if it wasn't one of my favorite Renault novels. She always manages to transport me back in time. The section on the Olympics was especially interesting, as was the final downfall of the Tyrants. Fascinating stuff!
A fictionalised account of the life of the poet Simonides, and his observations of the fall of the Peisistratids, The Praise Singer is a vivid, solid read. While not the best of Renault's books, and perhaps of most interest to those who are students of Greek history and who know in advance the story of Harmodios and Aristogeiton, I still found the directness of story-telling to be very engaging. Renault has the knack of making a compelling and human story out of the twists and turns of Classical...more
no one like mary renault for conjuring classic antiquity. this time, the last tyrants of greece from the viewpoint of the wandering bard simonides.
Jan 24, 2011
Susan Alt
added it
Not my favorite of Renault's novels, but a great book.
love Mary Renault's ancient Greece- it breathed life for her when she wrote.
Fantastic Greek historical fiction writer (at least the two books of hers I've read so far).
May 21, 2007
Komadori
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Mary Renault fans, historical fiction fans
It was excellent in the last short bit, but the rest of it was just so boring. Intelligent, yes, of course, and insightful, always - Mme Renault rarely produces characters without value, but it got to the point where I was finishing the book out of a sense of devotion to the author, rather than a sincere interest in the text.
I gave all Mary Renault's books four stars, simply because they are such fun to read. The historical aspect adds to the depth of her books. In this one, set in 5th Century Greece, Simonedes, a poet, comes into contact with enough different types of people to do a demographic survey.
A late Renault, this follows an actual historical character, Simonides, a poet/singer, who preceded playwrighting and plays. Fascinating historical detail, per all of Renault's books, including the period of the Tyrants in Athens. My main quibble? It seemed to end rather abruptly.
One of Renault's lesser-known novels, but still finely-crafted and haunting. Renault presents the career of the poet Simonides and then takes us to early Athens for the story of Harmodios and Aristogeiton. Love, art, politics, and a critique of all three.
A good Greek potboiler, and a must-read for every ethnomusicologist who wrote her master's thesis on the praise singer tradition.
Nov 04, 2008
Alisha
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who are interested in Ancient Greece.
Lovely book, rich, delicate prose. But not as good as her books about Theseus (The King Must Die & The Bull from the Sea).
La poesía como era en la antigua Grecia.
http://arellanos.blogspot.com/2006/12...
http://arellanos.blogspot.com/2006/12...
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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
More about 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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One of the scenes th...more
Apr 30, 2010 06:58pm