The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon
Historical fiction is really not my thing, but this book doesn’t read like historical fiction. Despite being set 2300 years ago, it has a contemporary feel. It’s strong, smart and sensual. The Golden Mean explores the relationship between Aristotle and his student, the young Alexander the Great. Lyon did a mountain of research before writing the novel and it shows. However, she resists the temptation to show off everything she knows about the period, for the sake of the narrative (in her acknowledgements she apologizes to scholars who will “turn purple” for some of her decisions and omissions). But I am grateful for her restraint, and I think she gives us the perfect combination of history and storytelling.
One part of her research that Lyon does include, which I find fascinating, is some of the medical practices of the period (an interesting use of garlic to determine a woman’s fertility immediately comes to mind). I’m also very interested in the character of Arrhidaeus (Alexander’s mentally challenged half-brother) and his treatment (Lyon has a mentally challenged sibling herself). But what stands out is how fully realized Lyon’s Aristotle is. She brings him to life in his brilliance, intense curiosity and voraciousness without ignoring his faults—his arrogance, beliefs towards women, his treatment of slaves.
The book left me wanting more. Luckily, Lyon has said she’s thinking about writing a sequel to the novel, about the last weeks of Aristotle’s life from the perspective of his daughter, Pythias, who would be sixteen at that time. I hope she does, and I hope she doesn’t keep us waiting long.
The Golden Mean was a finalist for the Giller Prize, the GG and it's the well-deserved winner of the 2009 Writer’s Trust Fiction Prize. For further reading, here are some links that I pulled together for the book club (I highly recommend the National Post live chat transcript).
Annabel Lyon’s BlogWalrus Magazine InterviewGlobe and Mail ReviewNational Post ReviewNational Post CanLit Round-TableMore Links and Review Quotes
