Love It, Like It, or Leave It!

Posted by Jill S.

Have you heard of the Hogarth Shakespeare Project?  Starting in October 2015, well-known authors began taking Shakespeare's works and retelling them.  Here's a short video describing which plays and which authors are participating.

 

Staff Reviews of this Week's New Releases 

 

Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler (release date: June 21)

This book is part of the Hogarth Shakespeare Project. It is a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew.

Goodreads Description:

Kate Battista feels stuck. How did she end up running house and home for her eccentric scientist father and uppity, pretty younger sister Bunny? Plus, she’s always in trouble at work – her pre-school charges adore her, but their parents don’t always appreciate her unusual opinions and forthright manner.

Dr. Battista has other problems. After years out in the academic wilderness, he is on the verge of a breakthrough. His research could help millions. There’s only one problem: his brilliant young lab assistant, Pyotr, is about to be deported. And without Pyotr, all would be lost.

When Dr. Battista cooks up an outrageous plan that will enable Pyotr to stay in the country, he’s relying – as usual – on Kate to help him. Kate is furious: this time he’s really asking too much. But will she be able to resist the two men’s touchingly ludicrous campaign to bring her around?

Jill's Review:

(2.5 out of 5 stars) Kate’s relationships with her father, her sister and her love interest were just not believable for me. Maybe it's too ambitious to expect someone can retell Shakespeare's stories while making them both current and interesting. I'm not sure it succeeded in either the faithful retelling or as being an interesting stand alone story.