The staging and nesting of the stories makes the reader think about storytelling more broadly - even in translation and retelling, stories have a lasting power in imparting a culture’s morality on the audience. The prose in the early section is strong.

Found the stories themselves to be exhausting after a point. Granted, that’s the idea. They’re staged as something to be endured and puzzled over, or as a kind of monotonous, slow marathon. Sacrifices are repeatedly made not as a test of faith, but in obligation. Lust results in compromise and consequence. Etc.

The King is asked to opine on each - his findings are intended to make us think through our own understanding of each story, even if those findings don’t always hold up to scrutiny. I didn’t get a ton out of it, maybe others will.