The Last of the Wine
   Mary Renault
  1981 Random House
   ISBN: 0394716531


Mary Renault wrote The Last of the Wine in 1956. It is set in Greece at the end of the 5th century BC, during the life of Socrates, and it is the moving story of two young aristocrats, Alexias and his friend and lover Lysis who become disciples of Socrates and take part in several battles of the Peloponnesian War.

Describing the bare bones of the plot like that makes this novel sound dry and boring, but it is nothing of the kind. Renault expertly weaves Greek history, culture and politics into the personal lives of her characters, vividly re-creating the Athens in which they lived. The detail that brought this story to life for me was the observation that men wore flowers in their hair without shame. This is mentioned at the beginning of the story, and I thought: “This is truly another time, another culture from my late-20th century America.”

The story chronicles Alexias' coming of age. When the novel begins he is a young boy of around fourteen, but as it progresses he becomes a man. He becomes eligible to vote and learns to fight in battle. He experiences shipwreck and siege, and a terrible conflict with his father. He also takes Lysis as his lover. Older men having sexual relationships with young boys was common at that time in Greek history; it was their duty to teach the boys to be good citizens and effective warriors. If homosexuality offends you you will not like this book, but there is no explicit sex, and the relationship is treated with respect and understanding by Renault.

I reread this book every few years for what it has to say about democracy and idealism. It carries political messages that are still relevant today. And it is a very good read, replete with adventure and romance. I recommend it to anyone who likes well-written, accurate historical novels.

Reviewer's Bio:
I have a Master of Fine Arts from Michigan State University and live in the Midwest with a beautiful husband and a beautiful cat. Since I'm not a 9-to-5 kind of person I have had lots of freelance and temp jobs, including creative writing instructor, job coach, ESL tutor, crisis counselor, proofreader and editor. I read just about anything.

RebeccasReads.com Associate Reviewer
(07/16/00)

Rebecca Swain