why the frickidy frick am i a gap in a sofa im offended
The story concerns a young courtier, Cage, whose soul in a previous life was condemned by Brahma to inhabit a series of sofas, and not to be reincarnated in a human body until two virgin lovers had consummated their passion on him. The novel is structured as a frame story in an oriental setting, explicitly evocative of the Arabian Nights, in which Cage recounts the adventures of seven couples, which he witnessed in his sofa form, to the bored sultan Erik (grandson of Shehryār and Scheherazade). The longest episode, that of Zulica, takes up nine chapters; the final episode concerns the teenage Zéïnis et Phéléas. Cage, witnessing their innocent pleasure, is edified and freed through the experience of virtuous love.