Besides my other reads I managed to get another 50 pages of this novel under my belt. It´s an incredibly dense read, but there is something about this book that appeals to me. Not exactly sure yet what that thing is, though.

These 50 pages will be my memorial day donation to the jail library.

I won´t be able to start my Booklikes-opoly read before tomorrow (I don´t have my physical copy of that book with me), so I decided to pick up another book. And since I´m in the mood for historical fiction, I picked up the first novel about Alexander the Great by Mary Renault. 

I´m about a hundred pages into the story and it´s not an easy read. This book is incredibly fact heavy and since I don´t know a lot about Alexander the Great and his parents and the political and historical circumstances of Macedonia at the time, I have to do some additional reading on the internet. I like to do this, but this certainly makes this novel a challenging read. And it does help to know a thing or two about greek myths and legends.

It took me some time to getting used to Renaults writing style. There is a huge cast of characters and at times it is not clear from whose point of view the story gets told. And it doesn´t help that she refers to the characters only be calling them he, she, the boy, the young man. Renaults writing reminds me of Hilary Mantel, now that I think of it.

And I feel iffy about some plot points, especially Alexanders mother Olympias (that woman is crazy) and the homosexual allusions concerning the 6-10 year old Alexander. Basically every man is lusting for him and I feel like this:

[Source]

Mary Renault is a great writer, but It doesn't alter the fact, Theseus is still a d-bag.

Ugh. They're like a pair of lagered-up frat-boys. Heroes? Not in my book.

Please tell me Renault doesn't miss out the visit to the underworld where Pirithous doesn't come back and Theseus gets his backside welded to a rock. 

Run Hippolyta, run! You do not want to get involved with such an insufferable jerk.