The Persian Boy: A Novel of Alexander the Great

Deeply moving, and unfailingly historically accurate, this story of the young castrated lover of Alexander the Great is surprisingly educational in today's world because it talks about East and West. Through the eyes of "the Persian boy," we come to understand a gulf between mindsets that has not been bridged even to the present time. But you don't think about these things when you're reading Mary Renault's smooth and beautiful prose. You're swept up in the story and above all else, in her fully realized characters. Alexander the Great and his youthful brashness become completely real to you. You imbibe the history. That's how Mary Renault wanted it and she was marvelously accomplished at her task. You take away with you an emotional experience of this incalculably important period of time -- when Alexander through sheer will and conviction brought Hellenism, that is Greek philosophy and ideas to foreign territories all along the Mediterranean coast laying the ground for a way of life which we are still to this day enjoying -- and your comprehension of the sequence of events is forever deepened. Renault's The Last of the Wine brings to life ancient Athens in the same rich and unforgettable manner. Both are sad novels in a way, but sadness with Renault can be very sweet and very rewarding. Highly recommended. The best seller lists of today seldom include such literate and substantial and enduring novels.

If you are looking for an exciting story, you can't go wrong with Alexander biographies and stories. Whether he is portrayed evil or good, his life was full of energy and events that simply amaze you. But of all the books I've read about him, this book is the one that captured my mind the most.First, she starts out with Bagoas's boyhood. Doing so she is successful in educating her reader about Persian people and their culture/customs, the environment and the way it was back then, to prepare us for deeper understanding of the future events. The first one-third of the book is about Bagoas's boyhood, mostly about his court life, which tells what had happened inside the Persian Empire before Alexander actually came into scene. This is a very smart start, because by the time Darius was killed, and his murderer Bessus was arrested by Alexander and executed, with nose and ears cut off, the reader is well prepared to understand why it had to be done that way. She also explains well the reason why Alexander became so Persianized, which created resentments and mutinies and lots of problems. Mary Renaults does the best job in making the reader understand this crucial point which cast shadow over him until he died.As for homosexuality and the love scenes, it is not as disturbing, since it is not graphic at all. Transparent, clean, and good taste.She also brings other characters to life. All that she mentions by their names, the reader will know what kind of person he/she was. Whether her portrayal of Alexander and the way she used the well-known events to develop the characters and story are factual or not, she will convince you effortlessly. Remarkable work, well-studied, well-reasoned, well-developed. You will not be able to put it down once you open the first page.

I'm not a big fan of Bagoas, but I really enjoyed reading this novel about the personal life of Alexander the Great from his triumphal entrance into Babylon until his death. The historical Alexander did indeed have a personal magnetism that inspired love in so many people. This novel fully explores that. Page 179 describes Alexander reading the Iliad to Bagoas and describing the love between Achilles and Patroklos, and Bagoas says, "He [Alexander] did not tell it with art, like the taletellers in the market, but as if he had been there and remembered everything. At last I knew where my rival [Hephaestion] stood, grafted into his spirit, deeper than any memories of the flesh.". Pages 328-329 describe what could have happened on the crossing of the Gredosian desert, when Hephaestion goes back to save Bagoas from death and asks Bagoas to look after Alexander. When Bagoas tells Alexander about it, the King says, "That is Hephaestion; it always has been."; and it was as if he closed again the curtain guarding a shrine." Pages 383 and 384 describe Alexander's grief after Hephaestion's death. "I [Bagoas] thought, He [Alexander] has rebuilt the legend in everlasting bronze. He will keep faith with it, if he lives to threescore and ten. Hephaestion's regiment is always to bear his name whoever may command it, just so he will be forever Alexander's lover; no one else will ever hear, "I love you best." "The Persian Boy" also describes the love and respect that Bagoas felt for Alexander, and that is very touching. I don't read many novels, but this one is worth the time and money.

Mary Renault tells the bittersweet story of Alexander the Great's last years as experienced by Bagoas, Alexander's beloved Persian boy. A touching love story and a portrait of a visionary multinational empire-builder. It is the sequel to Renault's Fire from Heaven about Alexander's early years but can be read independently.

Libro stupendo! Incuriosita su Bagoas dopo aver visto Alexander (sia all'uscita del film nei cinema anni fa, e di recente rivisto come Ultimate Cut dove Bagoas è più presente) ho deciso di cercare qualcosa di più su questo personaggio, scoprendo così questo libro. Devo dire che è davvero bello! Bagoas è un personaggio particolare e interessante, peccato che a livello storico non ci siano molte informazioni al riguardo. Appena avrò la possibilità recupererò anche gli altri libri della trilogia di Alessandro.

Um clássico da literatura lgbt, narra a vida de um eunuco em primeira pessoa.

Very rarely do I read books that are for mature audience. I prefer children's fantasy. But this book has changed everything for me. Fantasy is like the moon: beautiful, magestic, yet we only ever see one side of it. Mary Renault explores the other side. In her interpretation, our love of heroism becomes what Sigmund Freud called Penis Envy. Read this trilogy only if you are willing to give up your innocent fascination with fantasy. I had no idea this would happen. But I am okay with it. It was an experience of a lifetime.

Such a grand depiction of Alexander's adult life perceived from the perspective of a close friend and lover - thrilling. You will not be able to stop reading! Absolutely great.

There has never been a better telling of the life of Alexander the Great. Mary Renault draws you into the life of the warrior king, as seen through the eyes of his servant and lover, Bagoas, so deeply that returning to the 21st Century is a horrible shock.