Two bereaved people find a box floating in the River Clyde. It opens as Alex plays his lute and then the adventure begins … Think Homer's Odyssey, Joyce's Ulysses or Alice in Wonderland, the Box of Delights or the Mahabharata. Or rather forget the comparisons and wallow in the beauty of the language, and the breathtaking virtuosity of the story. The Joseph of the title is the father of a famous carpenter - which gives nothing away at all.
