What Does Mrs. Freeman Want?

Book excerpt: While lying on a beach in Greece with an accommodating female companion, the narrator of this novel, Petros Abatzoglou (also the name of the author), describes the peculiar life story and marriage of Mrs. Freeman. By turns digressive, tender, humorous, and pedantic, the narrator interrupts his monologue only when he wants something from his companion, usually another drink. In relating the story of Mrs. Freeman--a fiercely independent woman--the narrator exemplifies almost all the characteristics of a self-centered male. Obsessed with food, alcohol, and the need to be the center of a woman's attention, he paints a mental picture of the elusive Mrs. Freeman, and his own vision of the ideal woman.