The Porpoise

Haddon (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) offers an inspired transformation of the Greek tale of Apollonius of Tyre that effectively blends old and new that begins in the present with a small plane crash. The only survivor is Angelica, a newborn pulled from her dying mother’s womb. Angelica grows up trapped in an incestuous relationship with her wealthy father and tries to escape with the help of a rich playboy named Darius, but she is thwarted. As Darius flees the island, he changes into Pericles, the prince of Tyre, sailing on the ship Porpoise in an ancient setting. Pericles travels to Tarsus, where he rescues the city, then flees to Pentapolis and marries the king’s daughter, Chloe. But tragedy follows Pericles as he’s separated from his wife, whom he believes has died in childbirth, and from his infant daughter. The novel concludes by returning to the present, with Angelica brutally facing her responsibilities as a lightning storm exacts a grisly revenge on her father.