An interesting, readable fable about life in Java in the 1880s. We read about Ajoks, a musician, resourceful and strong, yet largely innocent, who is called on a journey to sell is prize ox and so comes to learn about the world outside his village. It is a mix of travelogue and mythology, a picture of the culture of Java, yet, it must be remembered, written by a European. Although Fowler spent quite a long time in Java, learning the cultures and customs, before writing this book, his is, after all, the perspective of the outsider. Nevertheless, this book draws you along, and seems to capture the rhythms and flavors of the time and place quiet well, within the metaphoric framework of the fable. ( )