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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
I wish this book could be longer. Actually there are very little facts to go on in writing about Shakespeare's life. This is a short book, because Bill Bryson does very little speculating. This book gives the facts, fills in details about the times, and discusses some of the speculation and scholarship about Shakespeare. There is very little about the content of Shakespeare's work. Don't read this book looking for an analysis of his work. It's all really fascinating, and added to that, all told in Bryson's witty & laid-back voice. He's some samples: "The sight of a screeching ape clinging for dear life to a bucking horse while dogs leaped at it from below was considered about as rich an amusement as public life could offer. That an audience that could be moved to tears one day by a performance of Doctor Faustus could return the next to the same space and be just as entertained by the frantic deaths of helpless animals may say as much about the age as any single statement could." Or, "We are much indebted to Platter for a large part of what we know about Elizabethan theatrical performances in London - making it all the more ironic that he spoke almost no English and could not possibly have understood most of what he was seeing." Or describing King James I : "James was not, by all accounts, the most visually appealing of fellows..." He's got that understated humor that I love. He could probably write about anything and be fun to read. The big negative about this book is that it just made me wish more was known about Shakespeare's life. As Bryson says it, "We know that Shakespeare used words to powerful effect, and we may reasonably presume that he had feelings. What we don't know, and can barely even guess at, is where the two intersected."
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
informative
slow-paced
Found it kind of confusing to follow.
funny
informative
medium-paced
funny
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
informative
reflective
fast-paced
I loved this book! It's very short (197 pages). I listened to the Audible version, read by the author himself. It's a departure from the usual Bill Bryson book; it's not specifically humorous. But it's packed, in a relatively small space with a ton of fascinating information about William Shakespeare & about various theories that he didn't write all the plays that have his name on them (roundly debunked by Mr. Bryson). In fact, not that much is actually known about the bard; much of what we "think" we know about him, his family, even his famous portraits and bust, is guesswork.
I've read other books on Shakespeare, but this one was clear and clean, devoid of any need to add density to the knowledge. We know so little about William Shakespeare himself that many scholarly writers feel the need to add context so that we seem to know more. Bryson merely goes through what we do know, and what we do not. It's entertaining and fun, and he ends by ruthlessly puncturing the delusions of the "anti-Stratfordians."
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
fast-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced