The Golden Mean

Word on the Street Vancouver

2011-09-22T06:11:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, September 25 I'll be taking part in Word on the Street!

4:40 :: Annabel Lyon’s The Golden Mean

read by France Perras

En 342 av. J.-C., le philosophe Aristote s’arrête à Pella. Le roi Philippe le convainc de rester quelques années afin d’être le précepteur de son fils, le prince Alexandre. Aristote sera le témoin privilégié de la transformation d’Alexandre le Grand. Annabel Lyon a étudié la musique, la philosophie et le droit avant d’écrire à temps plein. «Le Juste milieu», son premier roman, paraît en 2009 et est finaliste à trois prix prestigieux: Giller, Gouverneur général et Rogers. France Perras travaille en anglais et en français dans le milieu du théâtre, de la TV/film, des dessins animés, des publicités radio, ainsi qu’avec des jeunes en improvisation.
France Perras will read from the French translation of Annabel Lyon’sThe Golden Mean, who will also be present to answer questions.
(Éditions Alto)

Fall for the Book

2011-09-17T12:04:00.000-07:00

I'm so pleased to be taking part in this year's Fall for the Book Festival in Fairfax, VA. I'll be in Research I 163, George Mason University on Thursday, September 22 at 4:30PM to discuss The Golden Mean.

Aristote, Alexandre, et Annabel

2011-09-12T20:45:00.000-07:00

"Qu'est-ce qui a bien pu motiver une auteure de nouvelles et de livres pour enfants, jeune mère de deux bambins d'âge préscolaire, à publier une brique de presque 500 pages recréant sous forme de fiction le rapport entre Aristote et son élève Alexandre le Grand? «J'adore la Grèce antique», confie Annabel Lyon, dans un salon de thé de la rue Saint-Denis."

To read Sylvie St-Jacques's article on cyberpresse.ca (en francais, naturellement!), please click here.

Welcome, French Readers!

2011-08-30T14:50:00.000-07:00

Le juste milieu is now available in Quebec from Editions Alto and in France from Editions la Table Ronde. Bienvenue aux lecteurs francophones!

New Republic Review

2011-07-19T20:11:00.000-07:00

"This deeply pondered and very beautiful book provokes much reflection from its reader. Lyon’s own densely metaphorical, present-tense narrative invites us to realize the importance of observation, and of looking before we think, before we delve in with the scalpels and the knives."

To read Emily Wilson's full review for The New Republic, please click here.

Galiano Literary Festival

2011-02-22T16:27:00.000-08:00

I'm so pleased to be taking part in the Galiano Literary Festival at the Galiano Oceanfront Inn and Spa on Saturday, February 26. For more information, please click here.

"Magazine" Interview (Spain)

2011-02-21T21:34:00.000-08:00

"A Alejandro hoy lo llamaríamos un niño soldado."

To read my interview with Pedro Vallín (in Spanish), please click here.

PEN Anthology

2011-02-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

"I wanted to write a novel about Aristotle, not Alexander-- at first, the boy was just along for the ride. In early drafts he was a supporting actor, no more. My real passion, or so I thought, was the philosopher who was his tutor. Here was a subtle, adult mind; a once-in-a-thousand-years genius-- a character of Wagnerian scope. All I knew about the kid was that I wanted him to be annoying."

To read "Alexander", my contribution to the brand-new PEN anthology Finding the Words (edited by Jared Bland), please click here.

Genrified

2011-01-10T19:06:00.000-08:00

The Golden Mean has been shortlisted for the American Library Association's 2011 RUSA (Reference and User Services Association) Reading List in the category of Historical Fiction. According to the ALA website, "The Reading List annually recognizes the best books in eight genres: adrenaline (including suspense, thriller and adventure), fantasy, historical fiction, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction and women’s fiction. This year’s list includes novels that will please die-hard fans, as well as introduce new readers to the pleasures of genre fiction." To see a complete list of all the shortlisted titles, please click here.

Welcome, Taiwanese Readers!

2011-01-03T08:39:00.000-08:00

The Golden Mean is now available in Taiwan from Ye-Ren. Welcome, Taiwanese readers!

"Beer and Books" in Madrid

2010-12-22T16:32:00.000-08:00

New Yorker Review

2010-11-23T11:27:00.000-08:00

A “vivid imagining of the encounter between Aristotle and the young Alexander the Great…. Lyon’s evocation of the ancient world is earthy and immediate.”

If you have a New Yorker subscription, you can see the complete review online by clicking here. Otherwise, you can read the review in the November 29rd issue.

Books of the Year for Christmas

2010-11-19T20:33:00.000-08:00

"Annabel Lyon won prizes in her native Canada for her note-perfect historical novel The Golden Mean (Atlantic, £14.99), but here [in the UK] it has not had the attention it deserves. It tells the story of Aristotle and the young Alexander; her interpretation of their relationship and their world is luminous and deeply intelligent." --Hilary Mantel

To read the full article in The Telegraph, with more gift suggestions from Mantel, Colm Toibin, Simon Schama, Lydia Davis and others, please click here.

Bad Sex Shortlist!

2010-11-18T16:12:00.000-08:00

I am deeply honoured to announce that The Golden Mean has made the shortlist for the Literary Review's Bad Sex in Fiction Award for 2010. The competition includes Jonathan Franzen and Christos Tsiolkas, amongst others. To read the whole sweaty, red-faced list, please click here.

Fabulous Fiction: Sitka Books and Art

2010-11-17T11:19:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, November 24 at 7:30PM, I'm honoured to be reading from The Golden Mean alongside Lee Kvern (The Matter of Sylvie) and Chris Ewart (Miss Lamp). For more information, please click here.

IMPAC Dublin Longlist

2010-11-15T12:24:00.000-08:00

The Golden Mean has made the IMPAC Dublin longlist! To see the full list, please click here.

Welcome, Brazilian Readers!

2010-11-04T10:32:00.000-07:00

The Golden Mean is now available in Brazil from Leya under the title O Filosofo + O Imperador. For more information, please click here.

Robson Reading Series II

2010-11-03T19:44:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, November 4th at 1:00PM, I'll be reading at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, Parliament Room 155, at 1:00PM. The reading is free and open to the public. For more information, please click here.

Welcome, Portugese Readers!

2010-10-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

The Golden Mean is now available in Portugese under the title Aristoteles e Alexandre from D.Quixote. For more information, please click www.dquixote.pt.

BC's Top 100 Influential Women

2010-10-30T20:50:00.000-07:00

According to the Vancouver Sun, I'm one of BC's Top 100 Influential Women. Now, if only someone would tell my kids. To read the full article, please click here.

The Daily Beast

2010-10-29T16:13:00.000-07:00

"And while The Golden Mean is beautifully written, its compressed prose both fleet and rhythmic, the novel’s pleasures are closer to those of Robert Graves’ I, Claudius, or even the historical pot boilers of Ken Follett."

To read Taylor Antrim's full review for The Daily Beast, please click here.

University College's 2010 Stubbs Lecture

2010-10-29T16:02:00.000-07:00

"The talk by the Rogers Trust Writers’ Fiction Prize-winning author was wide-ranging, opening with the Greek myth of Philoctetes, a famed archer, and touching on depression, gender roles and creating a historical character that rings true to one’s readers. Lively and intelligent, her lecture was thought-provoking for both readers and writers."

To read Elaine Smith's full article for News@The University of Toronto, please click here.

Welcome, Spanish Readers!

2010-10-12T20:17:00.000-07:00

The Golden Mean is now available in Spain under the title El Maestro de Alejandro. To purchase a copy of the Spanish edition, please click here.

Hello, Portland!

2010-10-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, October 9th at 2:00PM I'll be in Portland, OR at the Wordstock Festival, on-stage with Tatjana Soli. This event will take place on the Wieden + Kennedy Stage in the Oregon Convention Centre.

Boston Globe Part Two

2010-10-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

"Through Aristotle’s eyes, Lyon presents a remote world in such vivid and intimate detail that this alien terrain becomes uncannily familiar."

To read my interview with the Boston Globe's Anna Mundow, please click here.

The Golden Mean in Los Angeles

2010-09-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

To hear my interview with Kari Moran for KFWB Los Angeles on Sunday, October 3rd at 3:00PM Pacific time, please click here and then click Listen Live.

Love Those Libraries

2010-09-30T09:57:00.000-07:00

On Monday, October 4 at 7:00PM, I'll be reading at the Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library, in the Alma VanDusen Room. Then on Tuesday, October 5 at 7:00PM, I'll be reading at the Richmond Public Library at the Brighouse Performance Hall. Both events are free and open to the public.

The Guardian Top 10

2010-09-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

"Annabel Lyon's top 10 books on the ancient world: From Plato to John Updike and Robert Graves to Sappho, the novelist chooses books that 'subvert, surprise, challenge and please'."

To read my full list for The Guardian, please click here.

Hello Bellingham!

2010-09-28T07:03:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, September 29 at 7:00PM I'll be reading at Village Books in Bellingham, Washington. For more information, please click here.

Hello Seattle!

2010-09-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, September 28 at 7:00PM, I'll be reading at Seattle's Elliott Bay Book Company. For more information, please click here.

Boston Globe Review

2010-09-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

"[H]ere we have a novel that is brave enough to raise the universal questions about how a man should live his life; that describes with amazing authority the flaws and growth of one of our greatest philosophers as well as his famous student, who, literally, seems to “swallow the world” before his death at age 32; and that, with luck, may send some of us back to the original texts that still shine with so much intelligence and wisdom."

To read Roberta Silman's full review for the Boston Globe, please click here.

Reading at Douglas College

2010-09-25T20:06:00.000-07:00

On Monday, September 27th at 2:00PM, I'll be reading from The Golden Mean at Douglas College, Room 3406, New Westminster campus. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, please click here.

Also Rhymes With Aristotle

2010-09-21T18:16:00.001-07:00

Rhymes With Aristotle

2010-09-20T20:40:00.001-07:00

The opening lines of "The Holy Office", a 1904 poem by James Joyce:

Myself unto myself will give
This name, Katharsis-Purgative.
I, who dishevelled ways forsook
To hold the poets’ grammar-book,
Bringing to tavern and to brothel
The mind of witty Aristotle,
Lest bards in the attempt should err
Must here be my interpreter:
Wherefore receive now from my lip
Peripatetic scholarship....

Word of the Day

2010-09-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

The Greek term "eudaimonia" is occasionally translated as "happiness", though a more Aristotelian understanding of the term would be "human flourishing", or a complete human life. In Upheavals of Thought: The Intelligence of Emotions, the American scholar Martha Nussbaum points out that in English the word has tended to associate the supreme good with happiness or pleasure, whereas the ancient Greek concept is "compatible with as many distinct conceptions of what that good is as one cares to propose". Further, "A conception of eudaimonia is taken to be inclusive of all to which the agent ascribes intrinsic value: if one can show someone that she has omitted something without which she would not think her life complete, then that is a sufficient argument for the addition of the item in question" (32-33).

According to Wikipedia, "A moral theory which links virtue (arete) and happiness (eudaimonia) specifying the relation between these two concepts is one of the central preoccupations of ancient ethics, and a subject of much disagreement. As a result there are many varieties of eudaimonism. Two of the most influential forms are those of Aristotle[1] and the Stoics. Aristotle takes virtue and its exercise to be the most important constituent in eudaimonia but does acknowledge the importance of external goods such as health, wealth, and beauty. By contrast, the Stoics make virtue necessary and sufficient for eudaimonia and thus deny the necessity of external goods."

This image is of Eros and Eudaimonia.

Ancient Tombs Discovered Near Pella

2010-09-18T20:12:00.000-07:00

According to Yahoo!, Greek archeologists have uncovered 37 tombs dating back to the iron age near the ancient city of Pella. "The tombs contain iron swords, spears and daggers, plus vases, pottery and jewellery made of gold, silver and iron." This bronze helmet and gold mouth protector were amongst the finds. To read the full article, please click here.

Robson Reading Series

2010-09-14T08:58:00.001-07:00

On Thursday, September 16 at 7:00PM, it's my privilege to be taking part in the Robson Reading Series with Naomi Beth Wakan (Book Ends: A Year Between The Covers). Free admission! Refreshments! Book purchase and signing! For more information, please click here.

Dream Team

2010-09-12T19:05:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else do this? Sometimes when I get stuck writing, I imagine my book is a movie and cast it; then I imagine creating the character for the particular actor I've chosen. My dream team for The Golden Mean :

Aristotle: David Thewlis
Pythias: Sarah Polley
Herpyllis: Catherine Keener
Philip: John Malkovich
Olympias: Julianne Moore or Zoe Wannamaker
Callisthenes: Gael Garcia Bernal
Carolus: Christopher Plummer
Alexander: hmmm....

The Scotsman - Review

2010-09-11T17:22:00.001-07:00

"This is an outstanding novel, admirably structured, economical and evocative, keenly intelligent, amusing and sad – a book in which imagination and intellect are yoked in harmony."

To read Allan Massie's full review for The Scotsman, please click here.

Hot in Kentucky

2010-09-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

Under the headline What's Hot: The Golden Mean: "Lyon draws the curtain back on the smoke-filled huts and palace chambers that shaped the lives of these two great men, whose mutual admiration and intellect transformed civilization. It's historical fiction at its finest."

To read Juliet Disparte's review in the Louisville Courier-Journal, please click here.

Largehearted Boy: Book Notes

2010-09-08T12:26:00.000-07:00

"The music I returned to again and again while writing the novel (with one or two blessed exceptions) tended to reflect back the harshness and fear and loneliness I was writing about. Bleak beauty; vibrant darkness. And a bit of Beach Boys."

I'm thrilled to have contributed a playlist to the website Largehearted Boy, which features authors and the music they listen to. Mine includes Yo-Yo Ma, The Clash, Melismos, and more. To read the whole article, please click here.

The Kalash

2010-09-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

The Kalash are an indigenous people of the Hindu Kush mountain range, possibly descendants of Alexander the Great's army (though some geneticists dispute this). They speak a language distantly related to Greek and practice a polytheistic religion that to this day involves seasonal festivals celebrating the three main gods protecting the herds--Sorizan, Goshidai, and Balimain--and animal sacrifice, particularly of goats.

Kalash customs differ drastically from those of the Muslim population surrounding them: men and women mix freely, women don't cover their faces, marriage by elopement is common, and women can change husbands if the new husband is willing to pay twice the dowry of the old one. Girls and women are sequestered during menstruation and childbirth, however, until they regain their "purity".

According to Wikipedia, the Kalash population stands at about 6000 and UNESCO considers the Kalasha language critically endangered.

Booklist Review

2010-09-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

"Ancient Greece, in all its gusto, gore, and glory, springs vividly to life in Lyon's pitch-perfect paean to Aristotle and Alexander the Great."

To read Margaret Flanagan's full review for the American Library's Association's trade magazine Booklist, subscribers can check back on September 15th and click here.

The Golden Mean in India

2010-09-07T15:42:00.000-07:00

"The best books are not necessarily those with dazzling prose or mind-numbing theories. The best books are those that steal up on you, and lead you gently into a world made real, not by an abundance of detail, but by honestly rendered characters that, from the very first page, so completely captivate that before you know it, you’ve read half the book and there are but a few hours until dawn. That is, the best books understand the allure – our insatisfiable longing to compare and contrast our minds with others – of interesting characters. Annabel Lyon’s The Golden Mean is such a book, and her accomplishment – the surprising irresistibility of her story – is all the more incredible when you consider that she’s chosen to focus on rather prosaic moments in a great man’s life."

To find a link to Devon Shepherd's lovely review on indiatimes.com, please click here.

Welcome, US Readers!

2010-09-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

The Golden Mean is now available in the United States from Knopf. Welcome, American readers! Please check back from time to time for information on my upcoming readings (including at the Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle, Village Books in Bellingham, and the Wordstock Festival in Portland) as well as information on the writing of the novel, research tidbits, and more.

The Thinking Woman's Crumpet?

2010-09-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

In 1997, the boyish English historian Michael Wood, dubbed the "thinking woman's crumpet" by the British media, made a TV documentary called In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great. (There's an accompanying book by the same name). I'm not sure about the crumpet part, but the four-part series is a fascinating recreation of Alexander's epic Eastward journey, from Macedonia to Persia, Egypt, Babylon, Afghanistan, India, and part-way home. Wood wades chest-deep through the sea to get around rocky headlands where Alexander's troops would have done the same, chats with locals as though Alexander passed through the day before yesterday, compares ancient and modern military maps, and encounters in country after country variations on the rumour that Alexander had horns (and killed all his barbers to keep the secret). Utterly entertaining and not hard to find (I borrowed it from the Vancouver Public Library).

Better Book Titles: The Golden Mean

2010-09-06T08:05:00.001-07:00

The honour, the honour! Dan Wilbur gives The Golden Mean the "better book title" treatment. You can visit the whole site by clicking here.

Aristotle's Lantern

2010-09-04T07:51:00.001-07:00

Aristotle must have been an avid marine biologist; his History of Animals includes numerous descriptions of fish and shellfish, including the urchin, whose digestive system has become known as Aristotle's Lantern after this passage:

"…the urchin has what we mainly call its head and mouth down below,and a place for the issue of the residuum up above. The urchin has, also, five hollow teeth inside, and in the middle of these teeth a fleshy substance serving the office of a tongue. Next to this comes the esophagus, and then the stomach, divided into five parts, and filled with excretion, all the five parts uniting at the anal vent, where the shell is perforated for an outlet... In reality the mouth-apparatus of the urchin is continuous from one end to the other, but to outward appearance it is not so, but looks like a horn lantern with the panes of horn left out." (Aristotle, History of Animals, Tr. D'Arcy Thompson, courtesy of Wikipedia).

Guardian Review

2010-09-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

"The 4th century BC and the youth of Alexander the Great are marvellously reimagined in Lyon's justifiably garlanded novel. Aristotle returns from Athens at the request of Philip II to Macedonia, where he becomes tutor to the king's son Alexander, presented here as a hotheaded, inquisitive young prince already showing signs of the limitless ambition and tactical genius that would make him one of the greatest empire-builders in history. The daily intrigues of the court, the visceral aspects of battle, philosophical discussion and Aristotle's household are all evoked in measured, burnished prose, which combines thrilling immediacy with a stately timelessness. Aristotle's black moods and Alexander's probable latent psychosis in particular are fascinatingly drawn."

To read Catherine Taylor's full article for The Guardian, please click here.

Yorkshire Evening Post Review

2010-09-03T14:50:00.000-07:00

"With her sensuous prose, rich imagery and meticulous attention to detail, Lyon has brushed the cobwebs of ages from two of history's most charismatic characters and brought them gloriously to life."

To read Robert Colbeck's full review of The Golden Mean for the Yorkshire Evening Post, please click here.

More US Reviews

2010-09-02T15:02:00.001-07:00

"Lyon hits all the notes, from elegant to funky, to immerse us in places so foreign and so distant in time".

To read John McFarland's full review for Shelf Awareness, please click here.

"An intelligent and carefully written novel, I would recommend The Golden Mean and look forward to future works by Annabel Lyon."

To read Mary Simmon's full review for BookPleasures.com, please click here.

Amazon.com Best of the Month

2010-09-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

I'm so pleased that The Golden Mean has made Amazon.com's Best of the Month list for September 2010. For more information, please click here.

Kirkus Starred Review

2010-09-01T09:24:00.001-07:00

"As authoritative and compelling as Mary Renault’s renowned novels set in the ancient world. One hopes we may learn more about Lyon’s immeasurably brilliant, unflappably human Aristotle."

If you are an online subscriber to Kirkus Reviews, you can read the full review of The Golden Mean by clicking here.

Praise from Hilary Mantel

2010-08-31T19:23:00.000-07:00

"This quietly ambitious and beautifully achieved novel is one of the most convincing historical novels I have ever read. Lyon makes her reader avid for every detail of this strange world, whether domestic or medical or military, and she has steeped herself in the thinking of the time. She makes her characters entirely solid and real, while respecting their otherness, the distance between us. That is what characterised Mary Renault’s novels, and I think that she would have deeply admired this book. [Lyon’s] judgment is sound and true, and the reader trusts her voice from the first paragraph."

--Hilary Mantel, author of the Man Booker Prize-winning Wolf Hall

Irani Irony

2010-08-29T13:47:00.000-07:00

The Iranian Book News Agency has picked up the BC Ferries / The Golden Mean bare bum story. To read the full article, please click here. According to the website, "The agency's main goal is dissemination of national and international news on books and at the same time covering all other issues such as publication, edition, distribution, etc. of books." They cover more than just the issues, judging by the doctored author photo that appears alongside the article (pictured here).

The Golden Mean in South Africa

2010-08-29T11:57:00.000-07:00

The Golden Mean / BC Ferries debate reaches South Africa, courtesy of Agence-France Presse. To read the full article in the Johannesburg Star, please click here.

Passages: BC Ferries Gift Shop

2010-08-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

"If you're looking for something specific that isn't shown here, just get in touch with us and we'll do our best to track it down for you."

From the BC Ferries gift shop website.

No Comment

2010-08-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

Xtra Gets It

2010-08-28T18:35:00.000-07:00

"We need to get rid of this shame around the human body. Children are not going to be scarred by seeing a human body." NDP Arts Critic Spencer Chandra Herbert

"Censorship is always silly. It's embarrassing for BC." Jim Deva, co-owner of Little Sister's Book & Art Emporium

To read Jeremy Hainsworth's article for Xtra on the BC Ferries/bare bum furore, please click here.

Viral Bums

2010-08-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry, couldn't resist that title! It seems that London's The Guardian newspaper has picked up the "no bums on BC Ferries" story, under the headline "Alexander the Great Novel Gets Bum Rap in Canada". To read Alison Flood's article for The Guardian, please click here.

"Banned Book Bummer": The New Yorker Blog

2010-08-23T23:03:00.000-07:00

"Censorship, to our way of thinking, is generally bad news. Is there ever a good reason to ban a book? Maybe not, but the cause for a recent Canadian ban on Annabel Lyon’s “The Golden Mean” strikes us as particularly silly. BC Ferries, a maritime transportation service in British Columbia, has removed Lyon’s novel from its bookshops—not because the author penned a controversial scene or racy bit of dialogue, but because the paperback’s cover art features a naked man’s rear-end!"

To read Eileen Reynolds's full blog entry for The New Yorker, please click here.

Thanks to Damian Inwood of The Province for first publicizing the story; to read his article, please click here.

aka Plato's Symposium

2010-08-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

For more "better book titles", check out Dan Wilbur's website.

Herodotus and PTSD

2010-08-18T23:12:00.000-07:00

In The Golden Mean, I imagine Alexander suffering post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of being trained as a child soldier. Such mental trauma is as old as soldiering; witness this passage from Herodotus describing the aftermath of the Battle of Marathon:

"It happened that an amazing event took place there, when Epizelus son of Cuphagoras, an Athenian who was fighting in the battle and proving himself to be a noble and courageous warrior, was stricken with blindness, though he had not been struck or hit on any part of his body. But from this time on and for the rest of his life, he continued to be blind. I have heard that the story he told about it went something like this: he thought he saw a huge hoplite [heavily-armed foot soldier] whose beard overshadowed his entire shield and who was standing opposite him; but this phantom passed by Epizelus and killed the man standing next to him."

from The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories, Robert B. Strassler, ed., translated by Andrea L. Purvis

Financial Times Review

2010-08-17T10:24:00.000-07:00

"The style as a whole posesses an often eerie earthiness... This is a novel that stands firmly on its own feet." To read Philip Womack's full review for the Financial Times, please click here.

The Golden Mean on YouTube

2010-08-15T12:24:00.000-07:00

Edinburgh International Book Festival

2010-08-13T19:40:00.000-07:00

I'm so pleased to be taking part in three events at the Edinburgh International Book Festival: on Tuesday, August 17 at 5:30PM I'll be reading from the work of Afghan writer Nadia Anjuman as part of the "Amnesty International Imprisoned Writers Series: Violence Against Women"; on Thursday, August 19 at 10:00AM I'll be reading in the "Ten at Ten" event; and later that day, at 6:45PM, I'll be doing a joint event with historical novelist SJ Parris. I'm also immensely honoured to be nominated for the inaugural Edinburgh International Book Festival Readers' First Book Award. For more information, please click here.

Tyee Interview

2010-08-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

"Though the novel is based firmly in history, Lyon makes departures that bring Aristotle's life into focus for modern readers. Her thoughtful, flowing prose links facts and carefully constructed fiction, and brings to life the corporeal, intellectual, and intangible aspects of life in the ancient world. The result is a novel that begs to be discussed."

To read Shannon Smart's full article for The Tyee, please click here.

Times Profile

2010-08-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

"On the day that I am to interview Lyon, an e-mail slips into my inbox from none other than the Booker prizewinner Hilary Mantel. It is full of praise for The Golden Mean, calling it a “quietly ambitious and beautifully achieved novel” that is “one of the most convincing historical novels I have ever read”."

To read Jake Wallis Simons' entire article for The Times, please click here.

Hello Again, Sechelt!

2010-08-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, August 14 at 7:00PM I'll be speaking at the Sunshine Coast Festival for the Written Arts. For more information, please click here.

Word of the Day

2010-08-05T20:01:00.000-07:00

I'm often asked about my use of profanity in The Golden Mean, especially the word "fuck". Now (say sceptics, hands on their hips, smiling doubtfully), the ancients didn't really speak that way, did they? Did they? Surely my use of that term is anachronistic at best, terminally vulgar at worst?

"Bineo" responded the ancient Greek linguistics specialist whom I consulted about the ancient use of profanity, vulgarity, and basically every word your mother didn't raise you to use, young lady, thank you very much. That's the ancient Greek equivalent of "fuck", with all its modern connotations. For those who remain sceptical, I recommend Jeffrey Henderson's The Maculate Muse: Obscene Language in Attic Comedy. Thorough, serious, and scholarly, this book also features one of the most eye-popping academic indices you will ever enjoy. Entries include Crepitation, sound effects for; Exhibitionism in Iambic Poetry; Horsemanship as metaphor; Nautical metaphors; Perversion; Piercing; Satyr-drama; Scatology in Sicilian comedy; Scatophagy; Urination as theme; and my personal favourite: Obscenity, scholarly neglect of.

The Golden Mean on NPR

2010-07-30T15:41:00.001-07:00

'Golden Mean': Everyday Liveliness in Ancient Greece': to hear Alan Cheuse's review for NPR's All Things Considered, please click here.

Welcome, UK Readers!

2010-07-30T08:34:00.001-07:00

The Golden Mean is now available in the United Kingdom from Atlantic Books. Welcome, British readers! Please check back from time to time for information on my upcoming readings (including the Edinburgh Festival) as well as information on the writing of the novel, research tidbits, and more.

The Golden Mean - Audio Book

2010-06-23T17:18:00.000-07:00

The Golden Mean is now available as an audio book. For more information, please click here.

CAA Literary Awards Shortlist

2010-06-08T12:07:00.000-07:00

I'm so pleased that The Golden Mean is on the Canadian Authors Association Literary Awards shortlist. It's in stellar company, alongside Michael Crummey's Galore and Ian Weir's Daniel O'Thunder. The winner will be announced on June 26, 2010 at the CAA Literary Awards banquet, held at the Harbour Towers Hotel in Victoria, BC. For more information, please click here.

Aristotle and...football?

2010-05-22T16:36:00.000-07:00

See a Canlit novel get quoted by a sports commentator! This made my day:

"Talented, ambitious and good looking, [Jose Mourinho] has all the intangibles that persuaded the world to bow at Alexander's feet. But he also has an appreciation for balance, and an open ear. And when he addressed a throng of reporters in the run-up to today's Champions League final, he might just as easily have been reciting one of Aristotle's lessons.

To read Jerrad Peter's article for the Winnipeg Free Press, please click here.

Hello, Yellowknife!

2010-05-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

I'm so pleased to be taking part in the Northwords Writers Festival, June 3-6, 2010 in Yellowknife, NWT, alongside Sharon Butala, Ivan E. Coyote, Cathleen With, Richard Van Camp, and others. To see the program, please click here.

Toro Interview

2010-05-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

"And that’s the genius of Lyon’s book – every minute detail is celebrated with the same fluid prose as a sweaty sexual experience."

To read the full interview with Stephen Smysnuik, please click here.

Just Because...

2010-04-29T21:29:00.001-07:00

Taxi!

2010-04-24T17:40:00.000-07:00

I'm so pleased to be taking part in an evening of readings and performances celebrating the 35th anniversary of the publication of Helen Potrebenko's great Vancouver novel Taxi! Organized by the inimitable Anakana Schofield, this free event will take place on Thursday, April 29th at 7:30PM at the Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch. For more information, please click here.

Hello, New Brunswick!

2010-04-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

From April 22-24 I'll be in Moncton, New Brunswick for the Frye Festival. A roundtable discussion; an evening of CanLit with Linden MacIntyre, Noah Richler, and Nino Ricci; Brunch and Books; the Frye Jam.... It should be a lot of fun. For more information, please click here.

Hello! Canada Women of the Year

2010-04-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

I'm so honoured to be one of Hello! Canada's 2009 Women of the Year (alongside Olympic figure skater Joannie Rochette, astronaut Julie Payette, and Betty Fox). Check out the 26 April 2010 issue (with Shania Twain on the cover) to see the full list, plus Toronto photographer George (The Genius) Whiteside's lovely photo.

North Shore Writers Festival

2010-04-16T08:07:00.000-07:00

On Monday, April 19 at 7:30PM, I'll be reading at the West Vancouver Memorial Library as part of the North Shore Writers Festival. The event is free but seating is limited. For more information, please click here.

Darwin's Bastards Launch

2010-04-08T20:36:00.000-07:00

How do you follow up a novel about ancient Greece? With a short story about an alien, of course: rocket ship, robes, exoskeleton and all. I'm so pleased to have my short story "Remote Control" (first published in Geist magazine in 2000) in the brand new collection Darwin's Bastards: Astounding Tales from Tomorrow, published by Douglas and MacIntyre. The launch will be on Friday, April 16 at the Wise Hall and will feature readings / performances by Laura Trunkey, Anosh Irani, Jay Brown, Paul Carlucci, Oliver Kellhammer, Lee Henderson, Adam Lewis Schroeder, Timothy Taylor, Zsuzsi Gartner (mistress of ceremonies), and me. Costumes encouraged (not by me, particularly; I'm just repeating what I'm told). For more information about the launch, please click here. See you there!

UBC Bookstore Videos

2010-04-07T16:47:00.001-07:00

Bobbi Macdonald and Treena Chambers discuss The Golden Mean.

I think the one on the right stole my hair.

Hello, Sechelt!

2010-04-07T10:58:00.001-07:00

I'm so pleased to be reading at the Sechelt Arts Centre on Saturday, April 10 at 8:00PM. The reading is sponsored in part by the Sunshine Coast Arts Council. For more information, please click here.

BC Book Prizes Soiree

2010-04-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

Come one, come all to the BC Book Prizes Soiree on Wednesday, April 7 from 7:00PM to 9:00PM at the Listel Hotel. Door prizes, book signing, a silent auction, light refreshments...free!

CBA Libris Awards Shortlist

2010-04-01T09:51:00.001-07:00

The Golden Mean has been shortlisted for the Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award for Fiction Book of the Year. The other nominees are Linden MacIntyre for The Bishop's Man and Michael Crummey for Galore. Good company! Also, I'm tremendously honoured to be nominated for Author of the Year, alongside Linden MacIntyre and Alice Munro. And, best of all, my marvellous editor at Random House, Anne Collins, has been nominated for Editor of the Year. Winners will be announced May 29, 2010.

For more information, please click here.

Hello Surrey!

2010-03-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, April 3rd at 2:00PM I'll be signing at Black Bond Books, 1-15562 24th Avenue in Surrey. For more information, please click here.

Mary Renault on the Lost Man Booker Shortlist!

2010-03-26T04:31:00.000-07:00

Hurrah! Mary Renault's Fire from Heaven has been shortlisted for the so-called Lost Man Booker prize. The 1970 novel looks at the first twenty years of the life of Alexander the Great from the boy's own point of view.

From the Man Booker website: "The Lost Man Booker is the brainchild of Peter Straus, the honorary archivist to The Booker Prize Foundation. He realised that in 1971, just two years after it began, the Booker Prize ceased to be awarded retrospectively and became - as it is today - a prize for the best novel of the year of publication. At the same time the award moved from April to November and, as a result, a wealth of fiction published for much of 1970 fell through the net and was never considered for the prize."

To see the full list of contenders and vote for your favourite, please click here.

The Paperbacks Are Coming! The Paperbacks Are Coming!

2010-03-23T07:06:00.000-07:00

The trade paperback edition of The Golden Mean is in stores now. Available from amazon.ca, chapters.indigo.ca, Black Bond Books, and lots of other places too. (Though not BC Ferries, since the trade paperback still features a bare bum on the cover. Oh, BC Ferries. You have one too, you know you do!)

Hello, Ontario!

2010-03-20T14:52:00.001-07:00

I'll be reading at a number of events in and around Toronto to coincide with the paperback release of The Golden Mean:

On Monday, March 22 at 7:30PM, I'll be reading at the Grimsby Authors Series with Alan Bradley (The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie). For more information, please click here.

On Tuesday, March 23, I'll be reading at the PEN Authors Series at the Toronto Badminton and Racquet Club. For more information, please click here.

On Wednesday, March 24 at 7:00PM and Thursday, March 25 at 12:30PM, I'll be reading at the Toronto Public Library's Eh List Author Series, 170 Memorial Park Avenue. For more information, please click here.

On Thursday, March 25 at 8:00PM, I'll be at the Roselawn Reading Series in Port Colborne. For more information, please click here.

CNQ Review

2010-03-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

"How refreshing to find fiction – and Canadian fiction, at that! – unafraid to make demands on its readers’ intelligence, unafraid to tackle a deeply unfashionable subject, unafraid to eschew postmodernism’s stale devices of fracture and discontinuity. How refreshing to find a woman writer who assumes, as she should, that access to the world is her right, and who boldly proceeds to slip into the skin of a third-century BCE Greek intellectual – and not just any intellectual, but the ancient world’s most famous philosopher. Combine all that with the dense economy of the prose, the utterly contemporary voice of its protagonist, and the result is rich, fresh, strange, and deeply original."

To read Patricia Robertson's full review for Canadian Notes and Queries, please click here.

Words on the Water

2010-03-14T09:12:00.001-07:00

On Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20, I'm so pleased to be taking part in Words on the Water, aka the Campbell River Writers' Festival. For more information, please click here.

BC Book Prizes

2010-03-11T14:27:00.001-08:00

Woo-hoo! The Golden Mean has been nominated for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. The other nominees are:

Michael Turner, 8 x 10
Ian Weir, Daniel O'Thunder
Cathleen With, Having Faith in the Polar Girls' Prison
Deborah Willis, Vanishing and Other Stories

Winners will be announced April 24, 2010 in Victoria. For more information, and for lists of nominees in all the categories, please click here.

Spindle-Shanked

2010-03-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

Anyone interested in further reading on Aristotle could start with Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction, by Jonathan Barnes (brother of Julian, of Flaubert's Parrot fame). Here's a taste:

"Of Aristotle's character and personality little is known. He came from a rich family. He was allegedly a dandy, wearing rings on his fingers and cutting his hair fashionably short. He suffered from poor digestion, and is said to have been spindle-shanked. He was a good speaker, lucid in his lectures, persuasive in conversation; and he had a mordant wit. His enemies, who were numerous, accused him of arrogance. His will, which has survived, is a generous document. His philosophical writings are impersonal; but they suggest that he prized both friendship and self-sufficiency, and that, while conscious of his place in an honourable tradition, he was properly proud of his own attainments. As a man, he was, perhaps, admirable rather than amiable."

To learn more about Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction, please click here.

Amazon.ca First Novel Award Short-List

2010-03-03T12:16:00.000-08:00

I'm so pleased that The Golden Mean has been short-listed for the 34th Annual Amazon.ca First Novel Award. The other nominees are:

Diana Fitzgerald Bryden, No Place Strange
Jessica Grant, Come, Thou Tortoise
Damian Tarnopolsky, Goya's Dog
Dragan Todorovic, Diary of Interrupted Days
Ian Weir, Daniel O'Thunder

For more information, please click here or read the National Post's coverage here or Quill and Quire's coverage here or cbc.ca's coverage here.

North Island College Reading

2010-03-03T07:46:00.000-08:00

On Monday, March 8th I'll be reading from The Golden Mean at North Island College (Comox Valley campus), at 7:00PM in the Stan Hagen Theatre. For more information, please phone 250-334-5001 or click here.

New Westminster Public Library Reading

2010-02-23T12:23:00.000-08:00

I'm so pleased to be reading from The Golden Mean at the New Westminster Public Library on Tuesday, March 2 from 7:00-9:00PM. Please pre-register by phoning 604-527-4667. There will be books for sale on-site courtesy of Black Bond Books. For more information, please click here.

Commonwealth Writers' Prize

2010-02-16T12:44:00.000-08:00

Hurray! The Golden Mean has been short listed for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book in the Caribbean and Canada region. The other short listed titles are:

The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels (Canada)
February by Lisa Moore (Canada)
Euphoria by Connie Gault (Canada)
Goya's Dog by Damian Tarnopolsky (Canada)
Galore by Michael Crummey (Canada)

The Golden Mean will now go through to the next phase of the competition, where the Caribbean and Canada region regional judging panel will meet to decide the two regional Commonwealth winners for Best Book and Best First Book. The regional winners will be announced at an event on 11 March in Granada, West Indies. The overall winners will be announced in Delhi, India, on April 12.

For more information, please click here.

bookbuffet.com

2010-02-12T21:32:00.000-08:00

Find a link to a podcast of my recent book club visit in Whistler at bookbuffet.com.

•PART I: I give a synopsis of Aristotle's life and read from The Golden Mean
•PART II: I discuss my hypotheses that Aristotle was bipolar and Alexander suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome
•PART III: I talk about my upcoming book-the sequel to The Golden Mean