The bench mark by which I will compare all the rest of this year’s books . Utterly original , very funny and profoundly moving . Absolutely first class writing .

This book is so evocative - I read it in one day, laughing and crying by turns. It takes a historical event and through it examines mankind’s potential for kindness and cruelty but does so with a light, humorous touch.

This was such a refreshing read, with so much character-driven humour. The conceit is very original and well executed, but the characters truly bring it to life. The story is told from Lampo's perspective, who is brilliantly contrasted with his friend, Gelon. Gelon is an archetypal hero, and the driving force for the first 2/3rds of the book. He is emotional, intelligent, driven, and other characters recognise this in him. He is the obvious image of a ‘main character’. Lampo, by contrast, is none of those things. Yet the story is told from his perspective, and so many of the strengths of the story follow from his reactions to events. He has so much heart and brilliantly grounds the story, by being incredibly humanised and presenting a character who would be recognisable in the modern day as well as 412bc Syracuse. I found myself always rooting for him. The relationship between him and Lydia is (complicated, but) lovely as it burgeons, and his soliloquy as he pours his heart out to her is beautiful and moving. The first ending is pitch perfect, and the second ending is hopeful and sweet. What a great, and hilarious book.

I'll be honest, I didn't really expect to enjoy a book about two potters in 412 BC staging a perfomance of Medea using captured Athenian soldiers, but this was recommended to me and I'm so glad it was because I LOVED this! It wasn't at all what I expected - It's really brutal in places, and sad, but it's also funny and hopeful and about the importance of following your dreams. I was totally engrossed in this story. It's unlike anything I've read before and I've been recommending it to everyone I know!

Glorious Exploits a historical romp set in 412 BC Syracuse, Sicily, after a failed Athenian invasion leads to the captives being incarcerated in the town's limestone quarry. Narrated in utterly hilarious modern Irish vernacular, the novel's voice is a hapless but lovable potter Lampo and his best friend Gelon who is deeply passionate about Euripedes. They both end up using the Athenian prisoners to stage their own full scale production of Medea and the Women of Troy- plays about the brutality of love and war. Helping them financially is a mysterious and richer-than-Croesus merchant of near-mythological origins and powers who decides he likes the hapless duo and agrees to fund their venture... It is in essence a story about the lengths we go to preserve art and storytelling, something that we can all resonate with as booksellers. It also explores themes of conquest, war, poverty and the grey areas in between and will have you both giggling and shedding tears. It was honestly so original and refreshing and had a message I can fully get behind - that storytelling is an art worth preserving no matter what.