Meet Ophelia: a blonde, beautiful high-school senior and long-time girlfriend of Prince Hamlet of Denmark. Her life is dominated not only by her boyfriend's fame and his overbearing family, but also by the paparazzi who hound them wherever they go. As the devastatingly handsome Hamlet spirals into madness after the mysterious death of his father, the King, Ophelia rides out his crazy roller coaster life, and lives to tell about it. In live television interviews, of course.
Passion, romance, drama, humor, and tragedy intertwine in this compulsively readable debut novel, told by a strong-willed, modern-day Ophelia.
On the page before the prologue you were given a quote. One by Shakespeare and one by the character Ophelia from this book:
"Frailty, thy name is woman." ~William ShakespeareOh yea... that set the stage for my enjoyment of this book.
"Willy, thy name is sexism." ~Ophelia
The whole plot of this book does follow the play quite well. Better than I expected. It's set in modern times, but the main players names remain the same. There are a few extra characters thrown in because this book is expanding Ophelia's story so those are more modern. What is different is what I found interesting. It's the question about what if Ophelia was more than a victim? What if she survived? Yes, this is Ophelia's take on the whole disaster.
This modern take will make you feel more for Ophelia, but I have to admit, I did not connect to her character very much. I will say that I still enjoyed her decent not into complete madness, but coming close. It was pretty creative.
Ophelia's story was also told in alternating parts. One was where she was being interrogated, another where she was on a tv show and the main part where she is confiding as to what really happened. It's not confusing at all and all 3 do come together in the end. I just didn't care much for the interrogation. It didn't feel realistic at all and could have been lifted out without hurting the book at all.
I give this book 3 1/2 stars. I would also like to see what other creative endeavors this author puts forth. This was her debut book and I enjoyed my time in Denmark despite all the madness.
I received this book from the publisher and no compensation for my review was given.
Ah I saw this book a lot a while ago and forgot to really check it out. But I'm curious about the plot as it sounds original. thanks!
ReplyDeleteI had this book on my wishlist, but then I just forgot about it & now I'm wondering if I should get it. It sounds fun, cute, but yeah..not really sure about it. I do adore the cover! :)
ReplyDeleteI must say that Ophelia is rather boring and I do not get her at all. But here she sounds better
ReplyDeleteI loved this story. The way it is twisted around really got me!
ReplyDeleteI love this idea – and that kickass quote! I’ve always felt that Ophelia’s side of the story should be told and that it would be a very intriguing contrast to Hamlet’s version of events. I always hated that she drowned herself because of him.
ReplyDeleteI have had this book sitting forever on my shelf. You make me want to dust it off and read it and see what I think! I love the beginning quotes!
ReplyDeleteHeather
Hmm... I remember seeing this book cover around a lot a while back, but I don't really remember hearing much about the book so I kind of forgot about it. So thanks for this review and the little reminder. I didn't know it was about Ophelia! Sounds interesting. Plus, I like her sharp tongue!
ReplyDelete