Book summary

This set of connected stories is the first work by Argentinian writer Angelica Gorodischer to be translated into English. The translator is noted American SF writer Ursula K. Le Guin. A series of storytellers recount episodes from the history of a vast empire and its variously brave, cowardly, clever, foolish, sane, and mad rulers and subjects. Taken together, the stories suggest that while the actions of one or many may have an effect--good or bad--for a few generations, everyone's deeds are crushed beneath the vast weight of history in the end, leaving a blank slate for the future. Only the storytellers, who maintain the empire's oral tradition, understand that one must know history in order to avoid repeating it. However, most people don't heed that wisdom, and end up making the same mistakes.

Media reviews

"Le Guin's translation, which ranges from blunt to elegant to oracular, seems like the ideal medium for...[the book's] grim if inescapable message."