Athenian soldiers attacked ancient Syracuse (Sicily) in 414 BCE, expecting a quick victory. They lost. Athenian soldiers were captured and held in a quarry on starvation rations. Two wine-swilling, Irish-slanged friends and gabbers since childhood decide they are going to use Athenian prisoners to stage two of Euripides plays. Gelon and the irreverent and irrepressible Lampo smuggle food into the quarry and offer morsels in exchange for any prisoners that can recall Euripides’ lines. An epic quest ensues, both hilarious and painful, to hold auditions, practice scenes, acquire costumes, learn dances and songs, and enlist an audience. Gelon and Lampo, who now consider themselves Directors. The Athenians lucky enough to recall Euripides’ plays try not to starve to death.
Ferdia Lennon’s decision to trade-in stilted ancient look-alike language for the cheeky gab of an Irish bar is brilliant. The two friends decide to stage the two plays back to back–The Trojan Women begins immediately after Madea. Similarly, Lennon’s book has two unrelated components: the twin performances and a mad escape with smuggled prisoners across Sicily. The book cannot quite decide whether it is a comedy or tragedy, and Lennon ‘s indecisiveness puts a gentle damper on the outcome. I suppose Lennon might be saying that life, like great theater, is both tragedy and comedy. Glorious Exploits is a first novel. A good one, but not quite a great one.