The Last of the Wine (Paperback)

by Mary Renault (Author)

5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Product Details

Paperback
Publisher: New English Library Ltd; New edition edition (April 1 1980)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0450022927
ISBN-13: 978-0450022920
Shipping Weight: 223 g

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #339,461 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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#9 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( R ) > Renault, Mary

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Product Description

Book Description

Alexis, a young Athenian of good family, reaches manhood during the last phases of the Peloponnesian war. He meets Lysis, a youth influenced by Socrates, and their relationship develops.

From the Back Cover

“Not since Robert Graves’ I, Claudius has there been such an exciting, living image of the ancient world on this grand a scale.”–The New York Times Book Review

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5.0 out of 5 stars Mary Renault's Best Novel., May 28 2004

By A Customer

Mary Renault has always been my favorite author ever since I read "The Persian Boy" as a teenager.However, it was "The Last Of The Wine" that demonstrated to me the sheer magic of Reanault's words, how she effortlessly can weave a few historical tidbits into a full-fledged epic novel.
The Last of the Wine, as are many of Mary Renault's greek novels is a homosexual-themed story of friendship,love and ultimately courage and sacrifice.It traces the story of 2 lovers,the handsome youth Alexias and his older friend Lysis.The story depicts in startlingly vivid images the Athenian siege by the army of Sparta and the plague epidemic that nearly devastated the cultural beacon that was Athens.How Alexias survived the siege is one of Mary Renault's finest moments of historical suspense.
The book has also some extremely explicit allusions to subjects considered taboo in the 1950's from latent Oedipus complex (Alexias and his step-mother) to gay love.
As a gay man, I also found this novel to be Mary Renault's most erotic.Gay sex is never once mentioned overtly but is alluded to many times in a way I found to be very sensual.The eroticism between Alexias and Lysis in a scene taking place on the seashore (where Lysis washed Alexias's feet)remains in my mind one of the most powerful depictions of gay love in any novel.Mary Renault knows more about what triggers a gay man than most gay male authors!
Alexias,the handsome young man and Lysis his heartbreakingly ruggedly masculine and loyal lover remain for me Mary Renault's favorite characters.Throughout the novel,these two men sacrifice for each other in a way that I found romantically ideal.A superb novel all the way.

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