The Charioteer

The prose style is way too florid and you have to wade through it.

Reading this book as a heterosexual female, I can't say that I identified with any of the characters; but Mary Renault has written a remarkable book that explores the issue of love from various sides and gives us an in-depth view of a people coming to terms with their own sexuality and what it will mean for them in the world at large. The time is 1940 and the place is England just after the retreat from Dunkirk; in the memorable words of Winston Churchill, it was their finest hour. At the center of the book is Laurie Odell, wounded in action, waking up in a military hospital to the fact that he will be crippled for life. The problem for Laurie is that he fears being emotionally crippled as well. Laurie is a graduate of a rigid British prep school where the head boy, Ralph Lanyon, was the object of his hero worship; Ralph is kicked out in a sensational scandal involving a hysterical accusation of homosexual activity with another boy in the school. Laurie is sexually attracted to Ralph and when Ralph is expelled, he realizes that the attraction was mutual, but that Ralph never approached him because he knew better than Laurie himself did that Laurie hadn't awakened to his own sexual orientation yet, and Ralph was not about to take that responsibility for him. While recuperating in the hospital, Laurie meets Andrew, a young conscientious objector who looks up to him as Laurie had looked up to Ralph. Andrew, however, is a total innocent, and his uncompromising religious views would make him look upon homosexual love as an abomination, even while he is attracted to Laurie. While on leave from the hospital, Laurie runs into Ralph, whom he hadn't seen since he was expelled from prep school seven years earlier, and learns that it was Ralph who piloted the navy boat that rescued him from Dunkirk. Ralph has been wounded as well, however, having had half his hand shot off, so the two of them are basically free and unfettered to start a relationship. Ralph has grown hard and cynical after seven years of searching for love with increasingly superficial partners, and he has hit rock bottom with his current partner, whose sole attraction is his dazzling good looks. The attraction between Ralph and Laurie is immediate and compelling, and throws Laurie into a dilemma: he can hook up with Ralph and face up to the fact of his homosexuality which he has been hiding from everyone, including himself; or he can remain on a platonic basis with Andrew and remain sexually frustrated. At the core of his problem is trying to resolve how one can be gay and maintain his integrity at the same time. After meeting some of Ralph's associates, he isn't so sure. Laurie doesn't want to be dragged into the gay milieu, and Ralph sees Laurie as his means of escape from that milieu, and the bottom line for them both is, are they homosexual men, or are they men who happen to be homosexual. Things get complicated when Laurie tells Ralph about Andrew (one of the things that at

The complicated romances of closeted gay men in England at the height of World War II seems an unlikely subject, but Renault endows The Charioteer with such depth of perception that virtually any reader will be fascinated by her story of three young men who strive to reconcile the frequently opposing forces of sex, love, and personal integrity in their lives and relationships. Considerably more than just a "gay love story," Renault's novel examines what it means to be completely honest and completely fair in even the most difficult of relationships at even the most difficult moments of life.Written with both on-the-surface (as in the myth of the Charioteer) and covert (it is no accident that many of the characters are in some way physically damaged, or that the story is set during England's darkest hours of the war) symbolism, Renault's novel encourages the reader to take time over it. Although sometimes demanding, the book casts a spell; I can honestly say that I did not want it to end, but I wanted to know more about what the future held for the characters. It is a book to which readers will return again and again.

"The Charioteer" is one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever read, I hadn't felt such intense emotions reading a book since my adolescence. Before and much more than being a gay story, this is first of all a novel about love, showing in a most powerful way how all life is a struggle to love and to be loved, because only by giving and receving love one can feel alive and life is meaningful and worth being lived.The three main characters, each of them absolutely fascinating and superbly portrayed, discover and are confronted with their own true nature when falling in love, but they also have to make choices and take on responsibilities which often seem unbearable. Love is shown through all its sweetness and romance but also in all its terribly dramatic implications: love always means suffering and none of the characters is spared his share of pain and defeat. But the force of life triumphs despite everyone's conflicts, limitations and mistakes, which must be coped with and accepted in mutual respect and forgiveness. The young protagonists are brought to life in an amazingly effective way and they are so vivid and forceful that they outlive the end of the book itself. The reader can share their most intimate thoughts and the decisive turns of their lives and is therefore bound to feel strong compassion. I am not surprised that a lot of readers wish there had a been a sequel of the novel, but I believe the author did the right thing not writing one. The end of the story leaves very open prospects and, especially considering the circular structure the novel acquires at its conclusion, all the characters are liable to being again together in their maturity and it is better to let the reader imagine possible evolutions.The narrative scheme is very solid and well balanced, all parts of the book contribute to light up the whole plot; the text flows slowly but continuously and once you adapt yourself to the inner rhythm of the story you are fully involved and almost become a part of it, each line adding a relevant detail or setting the suitable atmosphere to lead you deeper into the characters' inner thoughts and feelings; the language is rich though never mannered and the style is often very poetic but never in a cheap way."The Charioteer" certainly stands also as a great gay story and is very effective in demonstrating the universality of love, which transcends lovers' genders and social barriers. Its explict homosexual theme is all the more surprising if one thinks the book was written almost fifty years ago, when to state that love between two men has the same dignity as heterosexual love was certainly a hard challenge, and that it was written by a woman, as the protagonists are absolutely and coherently credible and masculine in their appearance and psychology. Needless to say a wonderful film would come out of this book. I do wish a talented director could see to this undertaking. I find Matt Damon (especially after being Mr Ripley) would m

I read this book before ever indulging in Mary Renault's ancient Greek fiction, although this story is every bit as entertaining, even set in World War II.The two main characters, Laurie and Ralph, struggle with their love for one another as well as their devotion and dedication to their relationship, and their friendship as well.This book is every bit as timeless as the ancient Greece novels, yet a bit dated of a read amidst modern day views and sensibilities about homosexual relationships. It does, however, send readers back to a time where more value was placed upon the root of a relationship and of love. It transcends the need for graphic sexual display, yet does not hide the nature of the involvement between the two men.Of all the homosexual themed novels I have read, this is far and away my favorite. Even though it was written over forty years ago, it stands the test of time in its message of understanding the value of love, regardless of gender.

I have been a firm Mary Renault fan ever since I read her first historical romance -- The Persian Boy Until I came across the Charioteer, I had always thought that she specialised in writing hsitorical works, I had no idea that she started out writing novels set in contemporary times I live in a Muslim country where homosexuality is not tolerated Although I'm not a Muslim and am a hextro sexual, I too was very biased against homosexuality I never saw gays as being normal -- they were an abomination I thought Two books were instrumental in me changing the way I looked at homosexuality. One was the Persian Boy also by Ms Renault and the other, The Charioteer This book made me realise that in the end, all people are the same regardless of their sexual orientation. Ms Renault portrayed the characters beautifully and showed very positive images of gay men and the conflict that they go through. Although in most western countries the climate is very free for gay men to come out, here in the east, especially a conservative country like mine, the situation is still like what it is described in the book For me personally, I have never been able to get the two main characters, Ralph and Laurie out of my head. My only regret is that Ms Renault never furnished a sequel for the novel because it ends rather abruptly. Although it is implied in the novel that Laurie will forgive Ralph, I am dying to know what happens to them say, five years down the road. For all those homophobics out there, this is one book which you must read. Ms Renault is proof that the msot intense emotions and love can still be explained without having to resort to graphic sex scenes which are so prevalent in today's books.