Ferdia Lennon, 36, was born and raised in Dublin. His first novel, Superb Exploits, set in historic Sicily, was the winner of this 12 months’s Waterstones debut fiction prize. It follows two jobless potters who determine to co-direct a play carried out by Athenian prisoners of battle. The New York Instances referred to as it “a comic book riff on Greek tragedy, with an Irish accent”; for Roddy Doyle, it’s a story of “modern-day Dubliners residing amongst historic Greeks”. Lennon spoke from his house in Norwich.
Inform us the place this novel started.
I’ve been fascinated by historic Greece since I used to be a child. Then I learn Historical past of the Peloponnesian Battle by Thucydides, a chronicle of the 27-year battle between Athens and Sparta, which spilled out throughout the Mediterranean world. Athens launched this unprovoked invasion of Sicily, primarily in opposition to Syracuse, the principle energy. They thought: “We’ll be finished in a couple of months and it’ll assist us win in Greece.” It finally ends up with 1000’s of Athenian prisoners being flung right into a quarry outdoors town of Syracuse. I knew I wished to jot down about that, however didn’t but know my angle. Then a few years later, I used to be studying Plutarch’s Lifetime of Nicias, the place he describes how a few of these defeated Athenians survived by quoting strains from Euripides, the most well-liked dramatist amongst the Sicilians. I assumed, OK, that’s my story: who have been these Syracusans who left Athenian prisoners to die on this open-air pit, but have been so fascinated by their drama that they’re prepared to avoid wasting them in alternate for these treasured strains?
What led you to centre the motion on two unemployed associates?
A few of my favorite books and movies are about friendship: Don Quixote, Withnail & I… Ravenous Athenians in a quarry in 412BCE is totally past the pale of what persons are conversant in, however you possibly can floor it in a friendship that individuals will perceive. Most individuals have skilled that sense of their life not essentially going fairly the best way that they’d hoped, some unrealised or unfulfilled ambitions.
Why did you write it in a Dublin voice?
Why not? I’m not going to jot down in an historic Greek or fifth-century BC Syracusan dialect. There’s all the time a choice about which model of English to make use of. At first I used to be considering: that is popping out fairly Irish, do I pull again or double down? For me, it made sense to double down. I used to be uninterested in historic Greek or Roman characters sounding as in the event that they’ve stepped out of a Service provider Ivory manufacturing. Sicily had been colonised by mainland Greece: it made sense to me that the Greek they communicate could be a bit totally different, the best way Hiberno-English is a bit totally different. And Syracuse is the most important metropolis in Sicily, so the Dublin voice made sense. The Greek world wasn’t a monoculture: you’ve obtained totally different dialects, totally different courses, immigration, a large slave commerce. The language was a technique to attempt to seize a few of that distinction.
Have you ever ever been concerned in theatre?
No, my solely efficiency has been as Frankenstein in a London Dungeon knock-off – I lasted about a few hours! I lived in Paris for some time and had associates who ran an novice theatre group. I’d watch their rehearsals however by no means truly acted myself. I like cinema, although. As a child my older brother was actually into movies, so we simply had publicity to stuff you wouldn’t usually see at a younger age: Kubrick, Kurosawa, Sergio Leone, who I like. Watching spaghetti westerns helped me not directly with this guide.
How did you first get excited by historical past?
I feel I simply favored good tales. Early on at college we had this textbook referred to as Footprints and the fascinating factor was that the early sections have been variations of Irish myths after which because it went on it grew to become straight-up historical past. It didn’t differentiate between them: like, chapter one was about Cú Chulainn, who’s one of many key Irish mythic heroes, then chapter 10 was about Kennedy! However possibly at some stage that made a hyperlink between fantasy and narrative and historical past.
How do you clarify the present wave of profitable Irish novelists?
I keep in mind that once I was a pupil, James Joyce’s home was 5 minutes up the street: simply seeing that plaque, there’s one thing good about having that literary historical past celebrated round you. On a sensible stage, the constructions in Eire make it simpler for writers. An Arts Council grant helped me write this guide. I wasn’t in any means established, however you could possibly submit a piece in progress to a panel of your friends and when you’re fortunate, you may get cash that will provide you with a couple of months that may very well be the break. I really feel a part of the burgeoning second in Irish literature has to do with the monetary crash. A complete era was devastated, in Eire possibly greater than most. There have been no jobs, so that you felt freer to do what you wished, even when it made no cash; I began writing in Granada [in Spain] whereas unemployed.
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