lathany

...The Athenian Murders by Jose Carlos Somoza. Lent to me by

frax.

This is a difficult book to review without giving major spoilers, but I'm going to try.

What I will say is that the book is part murder mystery, part historical novel and part philosophy. It is set in Athens during the time of Plato but includes notes from the modern-day translator which become more detailed as the book goes on. One thread involves the main text protagonist (Heracles Pontor) trying to solve a murder (which becomes more and more complex), the other thread shows the narrator trying to find eidesis (which both

verlaine and

ealuscerwen can probably define accurately but I understood to mean a set of hidden ideas or meanings within the text) and consequently realising that the book is starting to affect his own life.

Both the main thread and the footnotes (which become pagenotes) are interesting to follow in their own right and the interaction between them is fascinating. Additionally, I'm not an expert on Plato, but the book also contains characters presenting his ideas (and their objections to them) and generally recreating the atmosphere of his academy.

The overall effect is an excellent book. There's plenty to entertain from the old fashioned sleuthing (who killed Tramachus ?), to the "spot the hidden meanings" game along with just generally following the characters around (I was initially put off Heracles, but he became my favourite character). To my somewhat untrained eye, the author "knows his stuff" and has done a nice job with the background.

Objections-wise, I have two mild quibbles. The first is that I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it as much had I not studied "Fifth Century Athens" with the Open University (a half-year course). The second is that I find all the female characters rather stereotypical (although, being ancient Greece, this hardly matters).

My final word on the subject - well worth a look.