The Little Gods: A Masque of the Far East

The narrator recalls a sunlit Eastern city and a temple where an aged priest explains that minor deities amuse themselves by treating human lives as pieces in their games. The book then unfolds a series of linked episodes—comic and reflective—about encounters, misunderstandings, small ambitions, and moral ironies that expose both passionate impulses and cautious prudence. Through vignettes mixing humor, gentle satire, and moments of poignancy, the narratives examine how chance, vanity, and desire shape ordinary lives and how people respond when confronted with unexpected promotion, love, or loss.