Cooper's historical storytelling into the mainland onslaught of an ancient Sri Lanka is so well-researched and his detailing and mood-setting so engaging, that I was ready for the story premise from its outset. And, largely, this does not disappoint.

In brief, our poet protagonist is engaged by a conquering tyrant to translate an epic work for the defeated people. He does so (what choice does he have?) but (partially) unwittingly begins to make changes. Certainly translation is difficult, poetry more so, and Cooper gives us just enough of the struggle for us to understand the absurdity of preserving both accuracy and beauty. Along the way, however, we have a tyrant to manage, an illicit love affair to balance, and all the politics in between. Our protagonist is far too fragile to accomplish this--too fragile altogether, in my opinion--and so the results are not entirely in line with his growth (or lack thereof). 

Even so, Cooper is merciless when it comes to his historical realities. When we might expect some narrative justice, some tropish resolution, the book goes elsewhere--both frustrating and refreshing. Still, it makes some elements of the novel's resolution entirely too neat.

Not everything lines up, not all story elements (poem, fictional to quasi-fictional persons, military events, etc.) sync as we might like. But that is the "history" part of historical fiction, and Cooper (creator of the podcast Fall of Civilizations) understands this. The result is a novel fairly unique in its approachability, its characters' anxieties, and its very topic. Worth the read!