I have no idea how to classify this book if all books need a classification. It feels like historical fiction, but it's fiction times two because it's fiction based on fiction - i.e. characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Ophelia, by Lisa Klein, puts Hamlet's betrothed into the driver's seat for a first person foray into life through Ophelia's eyes. It starts with a clever prologue - a letter addressed to Ophelia from Hamlet's best buddy, Horatio, after Hamlet's death followed by Ophelia's reaction to said letter. Anyone who knows the play knows that Ophelia is supposed to be dead at this point in the narrative. So the reader is immediately left wondering whether she's a ghost, living in some alternate reality, or something else is going on. The story then swings back to the past, back before Ophelia ever meets Hamlet so we can see the whole sad story unfolding through her eyes.
I've always been intrigued by the character Ophelia in the Shakespeare play because she's such a significant part of the action but she's actually in relatively few scenes and doesn't have that many lines. This gives the actors who play her some leeway in deciding whether she's going to be a wilting flower, a conspirator with her father, or a potentially true match for Hamlet. I saw the role performed beautifully in this latter iteration many years ago on the stage by Cate Blanchett - and Geoffrey Rush was Horatio in that production. But I digress ...
Where this novel really sings is in the parts where Klein cleverly matches her narrative to the action in the play - which is the middle section of her book. The story Klein tells starts before the events of the play and ends afterwards (as is apparent from the Prologue). It's such clever and terrific writing when she interweaves Ophelia's story through what's going on with Hamlet and his plot to avenge his dear departed dad. After Hamlet's death (and even in the parts preceding Ophelia's first meeting with Hamlet), the story is a bit strained in comparison with the alacrity and wit with which Klein handles the main body of the narrative. That's really the only minor negative of the book - it's a little uneven in tone in places where the story isn't actually being matched with Shakespeare's plot. But Ophelia's voice is proud and true and Klein imbues her with real character, nobility and motivation. And she keeps us guessing for the entire book as to how to explain the prologue. I highly recommend this story and make sure you brush up on Hamlet before you read it so you don't miss anything. (Or at least read the Cliff Notes if you don't have the time or stomach for the play.)
I've always been intrigued by the character Ophelia in the Shakespeare play because she's such a significant part of the action but she's actually in relatively few scenes and doesn't have that many lines. This gives the actors who play her some leeway in deciding whether she's going to be a wilting flower, a conspirator with her father, or a potentially true match for Hamlet. I saw the role performed beautifully in this latter iteration many years ago on the stage by Cate Blanchett - and Geoffrey Rush was Horatio in that production. But I digress ...
Where this novel really sings is in the parts where Klein cleverly matches her narrative to the action in the play - which is the middle section of her book. The story Klein tells starts before the events of the play and ends afterwards (as is apparent from the Prologue). It's such clever and terrific writing when she interweaves Ophelia's story through what's going on with Hamlet and his plot to avenge his dear departed dad. After Hamlet's death (and even in the parts preceding Ophelia's first meeting with Hamlet), the story is a bit strained in comparison with the alacrity and wit with which Klein handles the main body of the narrative. That's really the only minor negative of the book - it's a little uneven in tone in places where the story isn't actually being matched with Shakespeare's plot. But Ophelia's voice is proud and true and Klein imbues her with real character, nobility and motivation. And she keeps us guessing for the entire book as to how to explain the prologue. I highly recommend this story and make sure you brush up on Hamlet before you read it so you don't miss anything. (Or at least read the Cliff Notes if you don't have the time or stomach for the play.)
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