William Shakespeare's The Tempest by Bruce Coville

William Shakespeare's The Tempest by Bruce Coville, 40 page

The Tempest feels like a fairy tale, and this retelling reinforced that feeling. The illustrations look like oil paintings and are a treat for the eyes, giving the story a ddeliciously dreamy texture. 

Currently The Tempest is playing for this season of Shakespeare in the Park. The production is amazing and you should defintely go see it!

 

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet by Bruce Coville

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet by Bruce Coville, 40 pages

Romeo and Juliet is a play for adults about teenagers and this adaptation is for children, but I think Coville did a great job of shaping the story so that a younger audience can still appreciate it. I was curious how the suicides would be handled and while the acts are still present, it feels age-appropriate, or at least presented in a way wherein parents could deftly handle.

 

William Shakespeare's Macbeth by Bruce Coville

William Shakespeare's Macbeth by Bruce Coville, 48 pages

I was impressed with how tastefully all the murder of this play was approached. While still bloody in truth, Coville's adaptation of Macbeth is tempered. My favorite part of this retelling is the witches, but that's my favorite part of the play so take that as you will. 

 

William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream by Bruce Coville

William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream by Bruce Coville, 48 pages

I was actually looking for a completely different book by Bruce Coville when I stumbled upon this truncated children's version of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Now, it must be acknowledged that I am not a Shakespeare scholar by any stretch of the imagination but rather an enthusastic casual admirer. 

However, I thought this adaptation was simply fantastic. The illustrations are captivating, especially those of Puck. The story itself is well told for a younger audience who isn't quite ready to parse the full play; in fact, some of the book was directly quoted from the play, which gave the whole thing a full effect. I was so pleased with this rendition that I ordered a copy of every Coville version of Shakespeare that's available in Missouri Evergreen. 

 

Ophelia by Lisa M. Klein

Ophelia by Lisa M. Klein
352 pages

"In this reimagining of Shakespeare's famous tragedy, it is Ophelia who takes center stage.  A rowdy, motherless girl, she grows up at Elsinore Castle to become the queen's most trusted lady-in-waiting.  Ambitious for knowledge and witty as well as beautiful, Ophelia learns the ways of power in a court where nothing is as it seems.  When she catches the attention of the captivating, dark-haired Prince Hamlet, their love blossoms in secret.  But bloody deeds soon turn Denmark into a place of madness, and Ophelia's  happiness is shattered.  Ultimately, she must choose between her love for Hamlet and her own life.  In desperation, Ophelia devises a treacherous plan to escape from Elsinore forever...with one very dangerous secret."  --from the publisher

I really enjoyed this Hamlet spin-off.  The author does a great job staying true to the original story and capturing its ambiance.  I thought the narrative dragged a bit in the middle, but I loved the ending.  Now for the new movie!

Seducing Shakespeare by Tabitha Ross

Seducing Shakespeare by Tabitha Ross (James Patterson Bookshots), 100 pages

In this quick little romantic read, Marietta must save her brother Nico from the hands of the man he owes money to, Marlowe.  To save her brother, Marietta must steal one of Shakespeare's newest plays by seducing him.  Will Marietta be able to seduce Will without falling for him and be able to save her brother?

Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel

Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel - 352 pages

Arthur Leander is an actor literally dying for his craft on the stage during King Lear, and then the world ends.  Georgia Flu sweeps across the world and wipes out 99% of humanity, leaving the rest scrambling to survive.

The real heart of this book is its cast of characters, all revolving in some way around Arthur.  One man tries to resuscitate him on the stage.  One man is his lifelong friend.  His three ex-wives, his son...all of them connected in some way to Arthur and in smaller ways, to each other.  The most fascinating of these is the girl who was on stage with him for King Lear; in the aftermath of the flu, she joins a travelling symphony and makes her way around the barren Midwest, acting out Shakespeare for the people left along the way.

If you're looking for something heavy on plot, you won't find it here, but what you will find is a deeply engaging, melancholy, regretful, and thoroughly destroyed (in some cases) cast of characters who manage to keep each other alive in memory and deed.

Wyrd Sisters - Terry Pratchett

Wyrd Sisters - Terry Pratchett - 368 pages

Pratchett often called on satire to fuel the roots of his stories, so if you're into Shakespeare, this is definitely one to pick up.  Here we meet the early coven: Esme "Granny" Weatherwax, Gytha "Nanny" Ogg, and Magrat Garlick. on their first escapade together (or, mostly together and hardly ever totally at odds with each other, really).  At stake is the future of a kingdom under the rule of a mad despot and his white hot iron wife, the destiny of a young man born to royalty but given to the stage for safekeeping, and three witches who are determined to hold it all together by very pointedly not interfering in the theatrical nightmare that unfolds.

I love this story because it shows us the beginnings of the friendship between Esme and Gytha, which over the course of the next several books develops past a simple professional rivalry into one of the most insightfully-written, entertaining, and well-developed friendships I've read in any fictional work.  This is a friendship that shakes the Disc in many ways over the course of the next several novels about their adventures, and to see the original conception of that friendship is ridiculously special.

Hamlet's Father by Orson Scott Card

Hamlet's Father by Orson Scott Card -- 96 pages

We all know the story of Hamlet, how his father was murdered and made his son swear to avenge him. This is Orson Scott Card's retelling of the old Shakespeare play. He gives his own account as to why Hamlet acted as he did.

I enjoyed the beginning of this, seeing a bit of Hamlet's childhood and character, but the ending is even worse than the original. I ended up not liking the whole thing very much.

William Shakespeare's Star Wars by Ian Doescher

William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Ian Doescher - 175 pages

This is a retelling of the first Star Wars movie as a Shakespearean play in iambic pentameter.  It was very interesting to read.  It was amazing how well it all worked together.  I think my favorite part though was the asides by R2D2 when he would go on about how stupid the other characters were and how he was the true hero of the piece.