A retelling of Jason and the Argonauts mashed together with other Nordic and Greek mythology in the backdrop of post World War II. The magic of this short novel is in the juxtaposition of mythology and reality. Valdimar Haraldsson has been invited to sail on a Danish Merchant ship to the Black Sea in 1949. His eccentric ideas about fish and the superiority of Nordic Civilization are quirky. This adds to the general oblivious air of his perception of the world around him. Every evening, the first mate grabs a small splinter of wood, holds it up to his ear, and tells of myth and legends, claiming to be his own. What the reader finds is how close myth matches reality.

Every evening, the first mate recites a tale from the olden days. Mythology slightly altered and too fantastical to believe to be true Caeneus tells the tale of Jason and the Argonauts. He tells not just of the heroic battles, but the dark side of the journey, the times of being stuck, lost, and adrift. It is these stories that are told in the backdrop of post World War II. It turns out there is no glory to war. Everyone knows Jason’s fate with the story of Medea.

Overall, the story is a twisting tale that marries the tale with the everyday. It is faith in believing a story that can help during a difficult time. We need our faith in heroes and myth. These stories stay with us, restoring our faith something beyond.