I really wanted to love this because I love romances set in Ancient Greece. However, the story was very slow-paced, and I really struggled with this novel. I really wanted to love Pericles and Aspasia, but they I could not connect with them. They seemed emotionally distant and one-dimensional. Thus, this novel had potential but was not executed well. It was a very flat novel. Still, I really like the historical details in the novel, and it was meticulously researched! I recommend this for those interested in Ancient Greece!

Pericles and Aspasia was so much better than I had imagined. I have tried many times to enjoy the classics but have always found classical Greek literature boring and unrelatable. As someone who was born in Athens, I wanted to learn more about the Golden Age of Greece, so I studied (very briefly) Ancient Greek. I took courses in Greek history and classics. I visited Greece a dozen times, and yet never enjoyed any of it. This is the first time I have read anything dealing with Ancient Greece that has been enjoyable, entertaining and has inspired me to learn more. I couldn’t put this book down, and it took me a long time to finish because I continually stopped to Google, research, and read the background of EVERYTHING that was touched upon in this novel.

There was a tremendous amount of important historical events that occurred during the lifetime of Pericles and Aspasia, but Yvonne Korshak’s beautiful writing integrated these events so seamlessly that the characters involved became real to me. Their love story—far from being mushy—was that of two people who loved and respected each other. I could feel their angst and disappointments for what was happening at the time, but I could also feel the love and dedication they had for each other. Their alluding to each other as Odysseus and Nausicaa was a beautiful allegory that described their relationship.

It is obvious that the author knows her history. She writes with intelligence and authority, but she does not insult the reader’s intelligence using the strategy, As You Know, Bob (This cheap trope dumps a lot of background information into the dialogue when it is obvious that the characters already know something.) When I started the book, I thought I would not be able to follow the events and characters so it would be over my head. It was not. I quickly was able to understand and follow the characters and events. There is a glossary in the back of the book for reference.

I loved YK’s descriptions. I could visualize the backdrop. Descriptions such as the Panathenaic Procession, during the arrival of the gold and ivory statue were described so well, that the I could see it as if he was there. I could feel the heat, smell the roasting meats, hear the sound made by the nervous animals and clank and rattle of armor, even sense the emotions of the various participants during that historic day.

This was a very well written, intelligent book, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has the desire to learn and be entertained.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#PericlesandAspasia #NetGalley

Pericles and Aspasia is truly a remarkable book of great interest to anyone who appreciates the expansive time of Pericles. Yvonne Korshak is a brilliant scholar of Classical Greece, specifically creating every aspect of the time of the venerated general and leader of the Athenians, Pericles. Aspasia, his wife, specifically his second wife, is an amazing non-citizen (formerly a hetaira), and the two of them have infinite respect and admiration for each other and have a son together, Little Pericles.

Korshak has done exhaustive research on the impressive accomplishments of Classical Greece. Although Pericles and Aspasia is a novel, it incorporates every vestige of acclaim from the period. We meet philosophers, sculptors, orators (Pericles being the most notable, articulate, and incisive thinker of all). We are privy to debates, especially when Phidias, the brilliant sculptor, painter, and architect of the Parthenon is accused by some of stealing gold from the statue of Athena at the Parthenon. Phidias was also the architect of the statue of Zeus at Olympia, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Pericles occasionally appears to be somewhat diffident, but when he decides to speak, his eloquence and reason are stunning.

In Pericles and Aspasia, we also see Pericles' cunning when, over a lengthy period of time he convinces the Samians (from Samos) to join the Athenians instead of maintaining their oligarchs' hold over the island. We are also treated to discussion of Sophocles' play Antigone. There are other debates about culture, art, democracy, and the reason for building the Acropolis and Parthenon. To this reader, the delicate and almost poetic description of the frieze and metopes of the Parthenon are arresting in their beauty. The slightest change in the descriptions of Athena's peplos, for instance, are astonishing, and of course Athena's importance to the people as a symbol of everything that is of value to the Ancient Greeks is invaluable.

Korshak's unlimited knowledge about Classical Greece and its focus on Pericles as the man who made this time in history of inestimable value makes this book by far the best I have read on this topic. Any student, or anyone who is interested in the topic will not find a better-written, more comprehensive, and more sympathetic account. This book is most highly recommended.

Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book.