This book has been described as “An Oriental Romance”, which takes place on a journey from somewhere in India to somewhere else, and has as its main characters Lalla Rookh, a princess going off to marry some king of some place whom she has never met, and a poet in her entourage who entertains her with, guess what, poems, because nothing makes a tedious journey just fly by than POETRY.  The Droning Voice thinks more parents of young children should employ it as entertainment when taking their young children on road trips.  The tears that inevitably will flow will no doubt be tears of joy.

Oh, and for those of a more, uhm, prurient bent, The Droning Voice carefully raises an eyebrow AND slightly lowers her spectacles while assuring said listeners that the phrase “Oriental Romance” has NOTHING to do with the Kama Sutra in this case.

There is a long preface, much of which (for some ridiculous reason) is written in French, and which, in spite of her lack of education in such matters, The Droning Voice went ahead and read.  The same holds true for the “notes” (which went on for PAGES) at the end of the book. Have great fun at her expense, if you consider yourself a Francophile.  The Droning Voice really doesn’t care.  There are also a lot of names of peoples and places of uncertain pronunciation, at least for The Droning Voice, but she resolutely droned on.  If you want perfect French, move to Paris, because nobody appears to be in agreement on the correct pronunciation of this exceedingly pretentious language, at least in the United States.

This book was considered a classic at one time, and may very well still be, though the persons whom she asked, many of whom finished high school, had never heard of it.  The Droning Voice never read it, devoting her reading time to other classics, such as “Jaws”, and whatever other books were popular amongst high school students at the time, including those being roundly condemned by religious groups.  NOTHING moves a book to the top of the Best Seller list than being roundly condemned by religious groups.

The Droning Voice wasn’t really paying too much attention whilst reading this book, but was able to discern that the princess winds up falling in love with the poet, who, guess what, turns out to be the very King she is going to marry. 

And with that spoiler, pleasant dreams!