In a surprising bit of synchronicity, I read two great novels recently that both referenced Shakespeare—which is why the quote from Macbeth for this post’s title. Also, because there is a lot of wicked in both these novels. In New Boy, Tracy Chevalier adapts the very grown-up themes of Othello to 1970s elementary school. Then M.L. Rio uses Shakespeare’s plays as the ... Read More...
Fake Plastic Love
After almost five years of writing about books I kind of thought I’d seen it all. Not literally or in every way, but I firmly believed that plot and prose were inextricably intertwined. The best prose couldn’t save a bad plot and vice versa. Today I have to back off that belief because I just read a book that I really liked, but with writing that made me a little nutty. ... Read More...
Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice
In case you weren’t aware or hadn’t noticed the subtitle, Curtis Sittenfeld’s new novel Eligible is a retelling of the Jane Austen classic Pride and Prejudice. If you’re a purist about your classics, then you probably ought to stop reading now, pour yourself a glass of sherry and go back to your needlework by candlelight. If, on the other hand, you’re in the mood for ... Read More...
A Wild Swan: And Other Tales
When I think of Michael Cunningham many things about his writing come to mind: poetic, compelling… so many adjectives, and yet funny is not among them. Not that he is dark or his writing is without joy, but until I read his newest book, a series of short stories called A Wild Swan, he’d never made me laugh out loud. Now he puts a modern spin on eleven fairy tales and does so in ... Read More...
Emma: A Modern Retelling
Alexander McCall Smith takes a turn at adapting Jane Austen in his newest novel, Emma: A Modern Retelling. Don’t call for the smelling salts diehard Austen fans, he does not commit the unpardonable sin of veering too far off course from her classic. Emma is still Emma as are all the other characters right down to their names. What have changed are the times. Now the ... Read More...
Havisham: A Novel
I felt I could hold on to more by staying here. If I’d gone off…I’m not sure I would have known who I was. I would have come apart perhaps. Even if it doesn’t come to you right away, the name Havisham is likely to bring at least a flicker of recognition to a reading brain. It’s the surname of the epitome of love jilted at the altar, Catherine Havisham in Great ... Read More...
