This is a delightful short novel that kindly pokes fun at old Greek myths--as well as at old writers of novels. Other than one talking poet-turned-jackass, there is no magic or fantasy in the book, though one meets characters that, in repeated retellings, could become Odysseus, satyrs, the Trojan horse, and so on and on.
I once again feel he really knows how to write about a boy and girl falling in love. This is surprising since he did not really devote many sentences to it, and one thinks it a little unlikely that the main couple in this book spend rather little time together before eagerly marrying. Nevertheless it is not a "no way could that happen" surprise, it is more like a "hey, that can't be the whole story" surprise, and at least from a man's perspective, he gets the whole atmosphere and mystery of it right. In that regard Mr. Alexander's approach reminds me of my reaction to the boy-meets-girl story of the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy.
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