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katie_l21's review against another edition
4.0
A very entertaining retelling of 'The Taming of the Shrew'. While I typically don't enjoy romance books, this was the exception.
readingpisces's review against another edition
1.0
I'm not saying it is a bad book by any means. I just didn't enjoy the process of reading the story. Sadly couldn't find a real connection with any of the characters.
katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
Another modern take on Shakespeare - very appropriate setting, good playing with the misogyny of the original.
'Taming of the Shrew' is the one Shakespeare play I've come away from the theatre loathing. Some I've admittedly not understood fully, some I've found overblown or unrealistic (twins! hidden identities!) but the woman-hating in this just repulsed me. And yet '10 Things I Hate About You' is one of my favourite films. I was also willing to give Vinegar Girl a whirl, knowing how well Shakespeare translates to the modern world.
I was dubious as to how the misogyny would be re-written for the twenty-first century, but actually, I was very happy with the way it was included.
The story of a sour, sharp-tongued harridan becomes the story of a sarcastic, coasting woman, daughter to an oblivious, detached scientist. Kate lives with her researcher father, having stayed at home and unwittingly become a bit of a housewife to his needs and those of her teenage sister Bunny, a fairly vacuous high-school student. While Kate teeters on the verge of insulting one parent too many at the preschool daycare she works at, her father's Russian research assistant is about to get deported... unless Dr Battista can find a way to keep him in the country...
And so the set-up of shrew and potential marriage partner is arranged. Tyler very sweetly gives us scenes of battling wits and words, though not as brashly as Shakespeare's two. Kate for me was only ever a woman who knows she's not fulfilled her potential but still angry at the situation she finds herself in.
Dr Battista is given the sexist part to play, and because he's got his head in the clouds of Academia, he can get away with this. Pyotr is not Petruchio (thank goodness or I don't think I could have read the whole thing), he's not quite unwilling but he's certainly a gentleman and a good match for the unbending Kate.
It doesn't quite fit, having Kate bend to her father's wishes, doesn't quite suit the character Tyler builds up, but it has to happen for the plot to work.
Bunny is very much a secondary character but does manage to rise about pure stereotype.
It's a short novel, and I enjoyed it very much as a 'listen'. The narration worked well as an audiobook, with some great accents for Pyotr and the Battista family. The original structure is recognisable from this, but it brings a fresh and contemporary spin on the story, a very welcome one.
'Taming of the Shrew' is the one Shakespeare play I've come away from the theatre loathing. Some I've admittedly not understood fully, some I've found overblown or unrealistic (twins! hidden identities!) but the woman-hating in this just repulsed me. And yet '10 Things I Hate About You' is one of my favourite films. I was also willing to give Vinegar Girl a whirl, knowing how well Shakespeare translates to the modern world.
I was dubious as to how the misogyny would be re-written for the twenty-first century, but actually, I was very happy with the way it was included.
The story of a sour, sharp-tongued harridan becomes the story of a sarcastic, coasting woman, daughter to an oblivious, detached scientist. Kate lives with her researcher father, having stayed at home and unwittingly become a bit of a housewife to his needs and those of her teenage sister Bunny, a fairly vacuous high-school student. While Kate teeters on the verge of insulting one parent too many at the preschool daycare she works at, her father's Russian research assistant is about to get deported... unless Dr Battista can find a way to keep him in the country...
And so the set-up of shrew and potential marriage partner is arranged. Tyler very sweetly gives us scenes of battling wits and words, though not as brashly as Shakespeare's two. Kate for me was only ever a woman who knows she's not fulfilled her potential but still angry at the situation she finds herself in.
Dr Battista is given the sexist part to play, and because he's got his head in the clouds of Academia, he can get away with this. Pyotr is not Petruchio (thank goodness or I don't think I could have read the whole thing), he's not quite unwilling but he's certainly a gentleman and a good match for the unbending Kate.
It doesn't quite fit, having Kate bend to her father's wishes, doesn't quite suit the character Tyler builds up, but it has to happen for the plot to work.
Bunny is very much a secondary character but does manage to rise about pure stereotype.
It's a short novel, and I enjoyed it very much as a 'listen'. The narration worked well as an audiobook, with some great accents for Pyotr and the Battista family. The original structure is recognisable from this, but it brings a fresh and contemporary spin on the story, a very welcome one.
lbarsk's review against another edition
4.0
SO GOOD! I literally read this in like two hours. Anne Tyler's prose is excellent, and her way of crafting characters so that you understand EXACTLY who they are without actually belaboring the point is AMAZING. I've never been 100% comfortable with Taming of the Shrew because of its "is it feminist or is it not feminist" situation, but this was a really solid retelling.
Also, there were times throughout the book when I was like DANG, I AM THE VINEGAR GIRL, so that was a little brutally accurate but much appreciated. The ONLY thing that made me really raise my eyebrows was Kate's speech at the end about how women are actually "more free" than men because we're allowed to express our emotions (lol... what about... all... the systemic oppression women face... that sounds fake but okay), HOWEVER I know that was included because this was an actual Retelling Of The Shakespeare so I'll let it slide.
Finally, I'm only SOMETIMES one for an epilogue (we all know to which book series I'm referring) but this epilogue was ADORABLE AND PERFECT.
Also, there were times throughout the book when I was like DANG, I AM THE VINEGAR GIRL, so that was a little brutally accurate but much appreciated. The ONLY thing that made me really raise my eyebrows was Kate's speech at the end about how women are actually "more free" than men because we're allowed to express our emotions (lol... what about... all... the systemic oppression women face... that sounds fake but okay), HOWEVER I know that was included because this was an actual Retelling Of The Shakespeare so I'll let it slide.
Finally, I'm only SOMETIMES one for an epilogue (we all know to which book series I'm referring) but this epilogue was ADORABLE AND PERFECT.
msilkwolfe's review against another edition
3.0
Entertaining and fun. I had both the audio and a physical copy from the library and found myself gravitating to the audio. There were a few insensitive comments about immigrants and it was very gender binary at times.
oblatecordon's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
Digital audio performed by Kirstin Potter
This re-imagining of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew is part of the Hogarth Shakespeare series. Tyler gives us a Kate who is a modern day woman, with a job she likes (though she seems to always be in trouble with the parents of the toddlers she cares for), dedicated (though a bit resentful) to helping her widowed father run the household, uninterested in romance and intolerant of her younger sister Bunny’s obsessions with flirting and collecting young (and not-so-young) men’s hearts. Their hapless father is a university professor consumed by his research. He’s had the good fortune to find an excellent and talented graduate research assistant, but Pyotr’s visa is about to expire and he’ll be deported if he can’t find a way to stay in the US. So Dr Battista hatches a plan to have Kate marry Pyotr so he gets a green card.
I generally like Tyler’s novels that focus on relationships rather than plot. But this one felt a little stilted and “not-quite-right” to me. Perhaps it was the constraints of fitting into the Shakespeare tale’s basic premise of a harridan whose father is eager to get rid of her, and who is “tamed” (read beaten and starved into submission) by a handsome, virile man. Clearly that scenario just doesn’t work in today’s “Me-Too” culture. I think she did the best she could within the framework of Shakespeare’s tale, but it just didn’t quite work.
Still, there were some scenes where Tyler’s skill at exploring relationships shone through. And I did like the way that Pyotr was portrayed – not as the bully Petruchio, but more of a gentle, if determined, person. I also liked that Tyler turned Shakespeare’s women around; the original seems to paint younger sister Bianca as the “ideal” woman – pretty, compliant, obedient – and therefore much more desirable than Katherina. Here Bunny is more of an immature flirt, not really desirable, though she MAY grow up eventually.
Kirstin Potter does a fine job narrating the audiobook. She sets a good pace and the characters came to life via her performance.
This re-imagining of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew is part of the Hogarth Shakespeare series. Tyler gives us a Kate who is a modern day woman, with a job she likes (though she seems to always be in trouble with the parents of the toddlers she cares for), dedicated (though a bit resentful) to helping her widowed father run the household, uninterested in romance and intolerant of her younger sister Bunny’s obsessions with flirting and collecting young (and not-so-young) men’s hearts. Their hapless father is a university professor consumed by his research. He’s had the good fortune to find an excellent and talented graduate research assistant, but Pyotr’s visa is about to expire and he’ll be deported if he can’t find a way to stay in the US. So Dr Battista hatches a plan to have Kate marry Pyotr so he gets a green card.
I generally like Tyler’s novels that focus on relationships rather than plot. But this one felt a little stilted and “not-quite-right” to me. Perhaps it was the constraints of fitting into the Shakespeare tale’s basic premise of a harridan whose father is eager to get rid of her, and who is “tamed” (read beaten and starved into submission) by a handsome, virile man. Clearly that scenario just doesn’t work in today’s “Me-Too” culture. I think she did the best she could within the framework of Shakespeare’s tale, but it just didn’t quite work.
Still, there were some scenes where Tyler’s skill at exploring relationships shone through. And I did like the way that Pyotr was portrayed – not as the bully Petruchio, but more of a gentle, if determined, person. I also liked that Tyler turned Shakespeare’s women around; the original seems to paint younger sister Bianca as the “ideal” woman – pretty, compliant, obedient – and therefore much more desirable than Katherina. Here Bunny is more of an immature flirt, not really desirable, though she MAY grow up eventually.
Kirstin Potter does a fine job narrating the audiobook. She sets a good pace and the characters came to life via her performance.
felissadee's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
gabrielle_erin's review against another edition
3.0
This was a cute retelling of one of my favourite Shakespeare plays. I can imagine the absurdity would put some people off but I found it rather endearing. Can't say I really bought into the chemistry of the main couple but the epilogue was cute enough to make me forget that.