A Wounded Name is another retelling of Hamlet from Ophelia's point of view. I was mostly unimpressed by the prose, but I found some of the characterization and modernization to work in interesting ways.
The novel modernizes Hamlet and places the majority of its plots among the young adults—but not like Falling for Hamlet, which seems imminently inauthentic (for which, q.v.). There's something more convincing—more significant about these teens' struggles.
It's particularly true of Ophelia. We're not entirely sure how reliable she is as a narrator. She doesn't always take her medicine, and when she fails to do so, she sees the ghosts surrounding the area—including that of her departed mother, who keeps urging her to come back to the lake where she (Ophelia's mother—but possibly also Ophelia herself) drowned. Sometimes she takes her meds; sometimes she hides them. We're never sure quite where we are with Ophelia. At one point, she says, "I took my pills, but the pills are like words, they don't always mean anything even when they should" (40).
Here's a quick sample chapter—but remember that I'm not admiring the writing as much as the way the plot plays out and the characters are constructed.
I wasn't expecting much, but I was intrigued enough to keep on reading until the very end. I'm not the target audience, but I think this will appeal to that audience (certainly much more than Falling for Hamlet did).
Click below to purchase the book from amazon.com
(and to support Bardfilm as you do so).
(and to support Bardfilm as you do so).
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