Literary Fiction · LightThree linked novellas that retell Scheherazade's story and the myths of Perseus and Bellerophon
Chimera
by John Barth
Three novellas that return to the stories of Scheherazade, Perseus and Bellerophon
Random House published it on November 1, 1972. Dunyazadiad retells the framing story of One Thousand and One Nights from the point of view of Scheherazade's sister Dunyazade, with an author-figure from the future who helps devise the plan of nightly interrupted stories. Perseid follows the aging Perseus as he reflects on his life and pursuit of immortality. Bellerophoniad, the longest part, follows the middle-aged Bellerophon and is narrated with interruptions from other narrators.
More about this book
Who
Dunyazade, Perseus and Bellerophon.
World
The world of One Thousand and One Nights and ancient Greek myth.
What makes it different
The three novellas are loosely connected, and in the third one other narrators interrupt.
Feel
Playful and demanding. It shared the 1973 National Book Award for Fiction with John Williams's Augustus.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- ChimeraWikipedia