Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Shakespeare

Shakespeare for the modern world: Review of Dunbar by Edward St. Aubyn

I don’t remember much about my reading of King Lear, whenever it was that I read it–college probably–but I do remember it being a convoluted family drama. And since I always appreciate the chance to read a re-telling of a Shakespearean play, I picked up this new one–Dunbar by Edward St. Aubyn.

I was not familiar with this author or the imprint that publishes these retellings but I was impressed by both. Dunbar is the story of a media mogul whose power-hungry daughters abduct him and enlist the help of a doctor to make their father appear crazy enough for institutionalization before an important meeting about the company’s future.

Honestly, I’d love to go back and re-read King Lear now–or watch a filmed stage production of it–to connect the original story with this new one. St. Aubyn’s writing is impressive. I could feel Dunbar’s madness, and there are lines in this book that made me pause and admire the word choices. The story does have elements of crudeness that might be a bit shocking to some readers, but I did not think they were included simply for shock value. A re-read of King Lear would help me confirm my suspicions that Shakespeare wrote these elements into his play and they may have been shocking in his day.

I’m interested in reading more from this author and in checking out other titles in this series.

Author bio: Born in 1960, Edward St Aubyn is the author of four highly praised novels, Never Mind (winner of the Betty Trask Award 1992), Bad News, Some Hopeand On the Edge. He lives in London and France.

Disclosure: I received a copy of the book through the Blogging for Books program. Review reflects my personal opinion.

And now I need to read some Shakespeare: Review of Courting Cate by Leslie Gould

Amish Shakespeare. If this was a game of Apples to Apples, it would be a stretch of a combination. Author Leslie Gould takes a chance on the combination in her new book, Courting Cate.

Loosely based on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, Courting Cate brings together the “prickly” Cate Miller, oldest daughter of a widower, and the persistent Pete Treger, an Amish drifter looking for work at Cate’s father’s business. Theirs is a fiery relationship from the start as they hold fast to their pride, as well as past hurts they’ve both experienced. Cate, who is well-known for her temper and biting tongue can’t believe a man would ever want to court her. So, when Pete asks, she falls hard, only to discover that it might have all been a cruel bet instigated by some other bachelors in the community.

First, a word about the genre. I’ve been burnt out on Amish fiction, but every now and then, a novel comes along that surprises me, and this is one of them. Cate and Pete’s relationship takes place in the confines of an Amish community, but the intensity of their emotions and struggles made me forget I was reading Amish fiction. For me, that’s a good thing, though living near Lancaster County gives me an affection for stories set there. So, being an Amish novel does not detract from the quality of this book. I was so engrossed I fixed my kids lunch with one hand while holding my Kindle in the other! I’m actually looking forward to more books in this series.

I’m a big fan of Shakespeare. I’ve never read The Taming of the Shrew, though, so I can’t comment on whether the plot of this book follows the play. However, I intend to add Shakespeare’s play to my reading list.

Overall, I’d call this a successful story. If you’re not into Amish fiction, you might want to give this one a try anyway. It’s not overly Amish, and I found myself identifying with Cate’s temperament and insecurities. She’s an inspiring heroine, and I ached along with her for the hurts she suffered (sometimes of her own doing).

Gould’s next book in the series, Adoring Addie, releases in May. That, too, will be on my reading list.

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In exchange for this review, I received an electronic copy of Courting Cate from Bethany House Publishers.