?Hunter?s book is aimed at the specialist, all the more so since he does not provide translations. It succeeds admirably on its own terms, which are to make up for ?the lack of a basic guide to the literary and rhetorical background against which this work was written.? To achieve this objective, Hunter has combined ?information of a kind which is usually found in a continuous commentary with an outline of the various interpretative directions in which that information points.? After surveying scholarly opinions on the title, author and date of D. & C., Hunter turns in ch. 2, to what he calls ?The Constituent Elements.? In keeping with what he sees as the ambiguities and open-endedness of the work, he continues to refrain from expressing dogmatic views on such topics as the legend of Daphnis and the role of the gods, providing instead a sketch of ?some of the background against which any interpretation must be measured? (p.33). (?) Hunter provides a sensitive discussion of the way Longus exploits the idea that the novel is a painting by taking advantage of the ambiguity of ?graphein?, which means both to write and to paint. (?). The last chapter is devoted to the language and style of D. & C.. Here too Hunter is in top form, as he applies ancient rhetorical theory to the elucidation of Longus? skilfully crafted prose.? (GERALD N. SANDY in The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 1985, p.202).