Breakdown: 'Calypso's Guest' by Andrew Sean Greer
A study in narrative poise
Calypso’s Guest (2023) demonstrates remarkable narrative poise. The short story fits stretches of planetary logic inside the body of a legend, drawing emotion from a command over its motions.
Greer’s tale splits from the ancient myth by following an immortal exiled to Calypso, a faraway planet where mechanical servants are bade to follow his every command—save one: to provide a means of escape.
The man’s quiet existence turns deafening only when a survivor crash-lands near his home, setting into motion aches as yet unknown.