Glorious Exploits

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. The guide links this tragicomic style to Irish authors like Roddy Doyle, who wrote A Star Called Henry, and Paul Murray, who wrote Skippy Dies. Did this modern, vernacular voice in an ancient setting make the story more immediate and relatable for you? How did the novel’s unique blend of dark humor and tragedy strike you?

2. The story concludes with Lampo’s personal loss, the successful rescue of Paches, and an epilogue that validates the entire artistic effort. What was your emotional reaction to this layered ending? Did you find it ultimately hopeful, tragic, or something in between?

3. What did you think of the central premise of staging a play in a prison quarry? How effectively do you feel the novel executed this concept, balancing the brutal reality of the prisoners’ suffering with the idealism of the theatrical project?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Gelon turns to the tragedies of Euripides for solace and meaning after experiencing deep personal loss. Have you ever turned to a specific book, film, or piece of music to help you navigate a difficult time in your life? What is it about art that can provide comfort or understanding?

2. Lampo’s journey from a cynical, marginalized potter to a compassionate and determined leader suggests that purpose can be found in unexpected places. Have you ever had an experience where a project or a responsibility changed your perception of yourself? How might you relate this to Lampo’s journey?

3. The friendship between the pragmatic Lampo and the idealistic Gelon is the heart of the story. Think about your own important friendships. Do you find you’re drawn to people who are similar to you or those who have very different perspectives and personalities?

4. In what ways does the novel’s theme of Art as a Catalyst for Human Connection resonate with you? Can you recall a time when creating or experiencing art with others helped build a bridge between people from different backgrounds or with opposing views?

5. The novel is framed as the story Lampo dictates in his old age, ensuring the events are not forgotten. Have you ever participated in this process in your own life, whether telling or receiving the stories from someone in your own family or community? Why do you think we have such a deep need to have our stories told and remembered?

6. Throughout the book, characters like Lampo and Lyra use stories to shape their identities and survive. Lampo invents a heroic past, while Lyra sings songs of her homeland. Have you ever used storytelling, even in a small way, to present a certain version of yourself or to root yourself to a sense of identity?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Why do you think the author chose to write the dialogue in a contemporary, working-class Irish dialect? How did this anachronistic choice shape your understanding of the characters and the power dynamics at play, especially regarding the history of empires and colonization?

2. The novel contrasts Biton’s personal, grief-fueled rage with the state’s cold, bureaucratic decision to cut the prisoners’ rations. What does the story suggest about the different forms that vengeance can take? Where do you see similar cycles of retribution playing out in the world today, either on a personal or a societal level?

3. Tuireann represents the commodification of suffering, collecting artifacts of pain and producing a play that draws its power from real trauma. In what ways do you see genuine human experience or tragedy being packaged for consumption in our own culture?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Lampo and Gelon function as classic foils, one a cynical pragmatist and the other a grieving idealist. How does their contrasting partnership propel the plot forward and deepen the novel’s exploration of art and reality?

2. How do the two plays staged in the quarry, Medea and The Trojan Women, serve different purposes within the novel? What does the focus on female suffering in both tragedies reveal about the story’s broader themes of war and loss?

3. The stone quarries are a central symbol in the novel. How does their meaning shift throughout the story? In what ways does the space represent both the depths of human cruelty and the potential for creative transcendence?

4. What is the significance of eyes throughout the novel? How does this focus reinforce the challenge of truly “seeing” another person’s humanity?

5. Is Tuireann ultimately a patron or a parasite? What does his ambiguous character, a survivor who now collects the artifacts of others’ suffering, suggest about the complex relationship between art, trauma, and power?

6. The narrative is framed as Lampo’s oral history, dictated years later. How does knowing this from the end of the book change your perspective on the story you’ve just read? What does it say about the theme of storytelling that our illiterate narrator is the one whose voice ultimately preserves these events?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Imagine you are adapting Glorious Exploits for the stage. Which scene would you find most difficult to translate into a live performance, and what creative solutions might you use to capture its emotional impact?

2. If you could write a final scene for Lyra, what would it be? Where do you imagine she ended up after being sold to Tuireann, and how might her intelligence and resilience have shaped her fate?

3. Picture yourself as a member of the Syracusan audience watching the performance in the quarry. What would be going through your mind during the play’s most powerful moments, like Numa’s portrayal of Medea or Strabo’s fall as Astyanax? How might you have reacted to Biton’s violent interruption?