Still, there were some pleasant surprises here. The selection of plays itself is very goodβthere are the crowd pleasers as well as a couple of unexpected ones.
Some of these stories are unexpected and brilliant and others fall spectacularly flat. I take umbrage at a modern retelling framing Petruchio as the Reasonable One, but I grudgingly ended up appreciating where this story arrived. This story is also set in outer space for reasons that are of absolutely no consequence?
White actually does a remarkable job at capturing the simultaneous foolishness and lovability of the titular protagonists. This story is told entirely in text speak which admittedly is not my favorite, but it makes for fast, feverish reading, which is probably the effect that White intended.
This story I felt was one of the most successful at transporting the emotional landscape of Shakespeare to a much smaller and more modern setting, and hands down the most effective story in the tragedy section. Cameron Marcus, known by stage name Cory Lanez, is a rapper who was recently stabbed to death; this story tackles family, sexuality, and LA gang violence. Which is kind of fitting for Coriolanus to be fair. Anne Hamlet and Camilla Ophelia team up to take him down. Arguments ensue; Rowan is accused of being selfish, she retaliates that she had the fortitude to escape, etc.
Ample meditation on truth, power, aging, justice, human nature, and cosmic inevitability to draw from and you opt for⦠three sisters with an over-controlling father? Thank you to Netgalley and Flatiron for the advanced copy provided in exchange for an honest review. Like Liked by 1 person. Like Like. Haha I found this review extremely amusing to read! Glad that some of the stories did work.
