From the Realm of Morpheus

I don't remember where, exactly, I found this book, but I'm delighted I did. It was used, and I was intrigued by the title and the Elizabethan dandy on the cover, so I bought it. The editorial review above pretty much nails it--a picaresque and philosophical musing on love, art, and identity, full of wordplay and allusions, with intermissions courtesy of faux Elizabethan and minor deity Morpheus, god of dreams. Morpheus is rather obnoxious at times, and the narrator himself is a blank. It deserves a rating of 4 1/2 instead of a 4, because its major failing is only that it is not a novel. It's a series of tales loosely strung together. I have no idea whether that is what the author intended, or whether it was his first attempt at a novel and born from short stories.

Wow, bad news - this book is out of print and I'm the first reviewer in years! The story is a wonderful literary fantasy inspired by the works of Jorge Luis Borges. On a hot summer afternoon the narrator turns away from the lazy day and stumbles into the realm of Morpheus, a pseudo-Elizabethan gallant with many a tale to tell and a strange realm of dreams to explore. The marvellous library is my favorite conceit! A great book for the bookish.