If Gwendolyn MacEwen's [King of Egypt, King of Dreams] were a landscape it would be a jungle of startling colours and strange sounds, dense vegetation and humid silence. If it were a fruit it would be over-ripe. If it were a dream it would be haunting and vivid and one would try to rouse oneself from it. As a woman it would be dramatic and demanding, with lips too pale and eye shadow too black, a soft voice and razor-sharp fingernails. A very impressive woman, but not everybody's type.

This is not to deny the novel beauty or significance. It is just to say that King of Egypt, King of Dreams is not an easy and comfortable book to read, and it should probably be taken over a period of time and in small doses. A sip could be delicious, a gulp nauseating. Enjoying Gwendolyn MacEwen's style may...