Everyone knows the tragic ends of Shakespeare's most famous females, Juliet, Ophelia, Cordelia, and Lavinia. But what if these girls could rewrite their histories? In a room below the stage where their stories first came to fruition, the four girls meet to form a support group of sorts. Each has been wronged by the ones closest to them, has had their bodies, minds, and souls broken beyond measure, and has decided that enough is enough. They decide to take back their narratives and show the world that a woman's story isn't defined by the words of a man but by her own.
Most of us can remember Shakespeare units in high school English class, and I think many would agree that the females in his plays often got the short end of the stick. I was intrigued to see how McCullough would spin their tales and give them a new voice. The concept was interesting, but the execution was lacking. The meshing of modern speech with verse kept taking me out of the story. There was also a lot of bickering between the characters, and it made them come off as catty instead of trying to empower one another. Also, the whole point was to give these girls a chance to reclaim their narratives, so I was hoping to hear Lavinia's story, but that wasn't the case. I felt like keeping her silent defeated the purpose of the story. That said, if you're a Shakespeare fan or enjoyed the musical Six or the book How to Be Eaten, then it's still worth the read.
Most of us can remember Shakespeare units in high school English class, and I think many would agree that the females in his plays often got the short end of the stick. I was intrigued to see how McCullough would spin their tales and give them a new voice. The concept was interesting, but the execution was lacking. The meshing of modern speech with verse kept taking me out of the story. There was also a lot of bickering between the characters, and it made them come off as catty instead of trying to empower one another. Also, the whole point was to give these girls a chance to reclaim their narratives, so I was hoping to hear Lavinia's story, but that wasn't the case. I felt like keeping her silent defeated the purpose of the story. That said, if you're a Shakespeare fan or enjoyed the musical Six or the book How to Be Eaten, then it's still worth the read.