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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
This was a very infuriating read. I was after a light-hearted mini biography, but what I got was a dry book from which I learnt very little. Most of the book was spent repeating how little we actually can know for sure about Shakespeare and how experts disagree on almost everything about his life. This is obviously not the author's fault as many records, the few that were kept in the first place, have been lost in the 400 years since, but the constant repetition of maybes and 'we can't know for sure' was frustrating. Even the topics that were discussed were not done in the interesting, witty way that I was hoping for and I honestly remember very little from the 200 pages that I read... except that the whole world knows very little about Shakespeare and agrees on even less.
informative
medium-paced
3.5 stars
Shakespeare was Shakespeare, but in reality, not a lot of historical records exist on his life. It’s putting puzzle pieces together.
Bryson did the narration. He sounded muffled much of the time.
The best part was the interview at the end.
Shakespeare was Shakespeare, but in reality, not a lot of historical records exist on his life. It’s putting puzzle pieces together.
Bryson did the narration. He sounded muffled much of the time.
The best part was the interview at the end.
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
Wonderfully succinct and provides a good overview/recap
Nice short biography of Shakespeare. Learned some things I never knew, along with the story of who first thought Shakespeare was Francis Bacon. How people can do studies of how many words are in each play and his use of certain words when the plays did not go from his hand to a printer with any reliability, is amazing. I understand analyzing themes, but some things are really unknowable.
A breezy yet comprehensive survey of Shakespeare scholarship, a good place to begin before diving deeper into the Bard’s life and work.
3.5 stars
We listened to this one on a road trip to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. We were there to the last play we needed to check off seeing all of the Shakespeare's Canon. We've been going there for over twenty years and have finally seen all the plays. It just seemed appropriate to listen to this on that trip.
Bryson wrote this as part of Harper Collins' Eminent Lives series. It's a rather light biography of Shakespeare and in typical Bryson fashion bounces around quite a bit with various detours of topic but in a fun way.
We learned a lot about Shakespeare and his family as well as about theater in London at that time. Much of what we think we know about Shakespeare is not certain at all.
This was the first of Bryson's books that I've listened to and I enjoy his narration of his work. I will definitely consider the audio edition next time I plan to read a book by Bryson.
If you're looking for a scholarly biography about Shakespeare, this is not the book. If you want about five and a half hours of entertaining tidbits about what might be true about Shakespeare, then consider this one for your next road trip.
We listened to this one on a road trip to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. We were there to the last play we needed to check off seeing all of the Shakespeare's Canon. We've been going there for over twenty years and have finally seen all the plays. It just seemed appropriate to listen to this on that trip.
Bryson wrote this as part of Harper Collins' Eminent Lives series. It's a rather light biography of Shakespeare and in typical Bryson fashion bounces around quite a bit with various detours of topic but in a fun way.
We learned a lot about Shakespeare and his family as well as about theater in London at that time. Much of what we think we know about Shakespeare is not certain at all.
This was the first of Bryson's books that I've listened to and I enjoy his narration of his work. I will definitely consider the audio edition next time I plan to read a book by Bryson.
If you're looking for a scholarly biography about Shakespeare, this is not the book. If you want about five and a half hours of entertaining tidbits about what might be true about Shakespeare, then consider this one for your next road trip.
Bill Bryson is fun for his color, if nothing else. This was a quick read, more intended for fans of Shakespeare than people who have completed coursework on the playwright. So in that way, I was prepped to like it a little less, since some of its fact were repeats for me.
But all in all, this book takes us on a quirky journey through what may have been Bill's life. The best chapters concern Bryson's ode to the man's genius at creating words and Bryson's jotting off the many eccentric Shakespeare scholars who have defined modern approaches to his work.
But all in all, this book takes us on a quirky journey through what may have been Bill's life. The best chapters concern Bryson's ode to the man's genius at creating words and Bryson's jotting off the many eccentric Shakespeare scholars who have defined modern approaches to his work.
J’ai surtout décidé d’écouter ce livre audio parce que j’adore la voix de Bill Bryson, depuis que j’ai écouté The Body: A guide to its occupants. Là encore j’ai adoré sa voix et sa façon de raconter des faits. L’histoire de Shakespeare en elle-même n’est pas passionnante mais j’ai trouvé la révélation de l’historiographie absolument fascinante: le peu d’infos sur le dramaturge, les preuves sur lesquelles tous les biographes et reconstructions se basent, le contexte historique etc.