Barth is considered a true genius by many critics and fans, and this book is evidence to that effect. The author assumes that the reader has a classical education, at least enough to be already-conversational with epic literary artworks from the past, and upon that shared common ground, Barth establishes a silent argument by providing variations on a theme for those ancient books to which his Chimera alludes. The artist's task is at least in part to invite the reader to consider what aspects of the stories are essentially similar, and which are different.
In the twist on Scheherazade, we meet Dunyazaidiad, the epic storyteller's sister. The main twist of the story is in the climactic moment and character change. Instead of having the climactic moment occur when Scheherazade survives her death, this story brings the story more into Dunyazaidiad's point of view, so that the real climax occurs with the moment she is forgiven and forgives her husband in a moment of gender role reversal. This time, it is not Scheherazade and genie who are staving off murder, but the reformed husband who uses stories to win the heart of a desperate woman.
Together with the other two sections of the book, the reader sees a portrait in pastiche. The three independent piece of glass have a way of implying all the other classic stories of human history, Greek, Arabic, Latin, or otherwise. The silent argument of their juxtaposition is that the book is not about any one of three stories in particular; rather, the meaning of the book is derived from what the Barth re-tellings share in common with the original material, and in the similarities that can be seen among all human stories, which is to say "fate."
