The Last King of Lydia
by Tim Leach.
A lovely evening again and a book much enjoyed by all.
It reminded most of us of a child’s book of myths and legends.
Although it was indeed a very turbulent period of history, (What isn’t?) the descriptions of the battles were not in the least blood thirsty and very matter of fact.
At the end of the book, Isocrates and Croesus “returned to the palace to serve their king and wait for the next war to come.”
There is a feeling of inevitability about war.
There was an interesting melange between factual, or what we believe to be factual, and fiction.
All were interested in the historical setting of the book and felt that the fictional part of the book, the hypothesis as to what Croesus’s life may well have been like as a slave, was very compelling.
The rigid life of a slave and the lack of choice was compared to that of a soldier. Both blindly followed orders.
For some, the life of a slave as an advisor, seemed a little more sanitised than it might have been. Although it was clear, that the life and death of a slave depended on the master.
The style of the writing was very much praised by all and we felt that it was an “easy read”.
There was a very dramatic start and the writing “pulled you in”; a well written page turner.
Most, although not all, emphasised with the characters.
(How did we manage to empathise with Kings who caused the death of thousands?) Isocrates was a particular favourite.
Most liked the description of the relationship between Croesus and Isocrates, but for some it was not very credible.
The lack of female characters was seemed to be a failing by some and Maia and Croesus’s wife seen as rather non-entities.
All felt that Gyges’s final chance of happiness at the end with the nomads provided a note of optimism.
Solon’s part proved of interest, saying that a man could never properly be considered happy until the day he died, citing the stories of Tellus and the Argive brothers Cleobis and Biton.
It was this that inspired Croesus to consider committing suicide on the day that he was happy.
As it was, he walked off with Isocrates to face the next war.
An ending felt appropriate by some, but weak by others.
Jan Capel
3½ stars.
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