I give this book three stars not because it is mediocre, but because I found it alternately brilliant and dull. I don't want to discourage the reader too much: I am sure that many will like this. Part of the problem may be that the author was reaching for a comic effect that fell flat with me, but I'm not noted for my sense of humor.

Athens is wonderfully pictured; the sense of being in another time and place is extremely strong, and the era is brought vividly to life, That's the brilliant part. On the other hand, I just wasn't that enthralled with the character and his memoirs. As he notes himself, he is inclined to stray off-point, and I found this a bit tiresome. He is almost ludicrously unattractive, and I don't think that the entire story of his relationship with his wife worked very well until the end.

If one is at all interested in the era, or is a devotee of historical novels, I think it is worth a try. ( )