Review # 6: "The Golden Mean" by Annabel Lyon

Last week, I finished my 6th book of the summer, Annabel Lyon's The Golden Mean.  The Golden Mean was published in 2009 and has since won several major Canadian fiction awards, in addition to becoming a national best-seller.

Try as I might, my words cannot do justice to this fantastic novel.  Set in ancient Greece, The Golden Mean gives a fictional-historical account of the life of the philosopher Aristotle and his tutelage of the young Prince Alexander of Macedon (later, Alexander the Great).  Out of all of the historical novels I have read, The Golden Mean is the best proof that historical novels can be just as engaging, alive and colourful as a novel with fictional characters and settings.  Here, ancient Greece is not romanticized, but feels rough and visceral, and the characters are set upon a background that is bursting with evidence of Lyon's research.  I learned so much about the culture of ancient Greece from this novel, but without feeling like I was in a classroom, taking notes.

As a character, Aristotle is fascinating.  From all that has been written about him, he seems like a very daunting choice for a main character--especially one that tells the story in first person--but Lyon does a wonderful job of peeling back the layer of mystery that will always proceed Aristotle (and Alexander) and examining the mind behind the name.  Part philosopher, part scientist, Aristotle seems to simultaneously transcend his own time and be entrenched in it.  Like his tutor Plato, he has an imagination that extends beyond the physical realm, but also focuses a lot of his energy on revealing the secrets of physical bodies and minds.  The many depictions of early medicine and surgical practices in this book were particularly interesting to me (though fairly gruesome) as well as discussions of mental illness.  I should note that this novel doesn't focus so much on the work of Aristotle, but rather the mindset and circumstances that may have led to his writings and his influence on the court of Macedonia.  However, it has inspired me to read more historical texts about the lives and achievements of both Aristotle and Alexander the Great.    

Overall, The Golden Mean is a beautiful and haunting novel that is at times poignant and bitterly humorous.  I highly recommend it, and will be on the look out for any upcoming novels from Lyon.

Genre:  Historical Fiction
Recommended to:  Anyone interested in the writings/life of Aristotle or Alexander the Great; ancient history or philosophy students; general audience.
Rating: 10/10
Favourite Quote: "I accept that the greatest happiness comes to those capable of the greatest things.  That's where we leave my brother behind.  That's where you and I walk away from the rest of the world.  You and I can appreciate the glory of things.  We walk to the very edge of things as everyone else knows and understands and experiences them, and then we walk the next step.  We go places no one has ever been.  That's who we are.  That's who you've taught me to be."