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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Enchanting. I loved McCullough's Blood Water Paint a whole lot, but somehow never got around to reading We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire when it came out a couple of years ago; I'm so glad I found this little gem of a book because I tore through it like someone was going to take it away from me. In the hands of a less talented writer, I think this premise would be cheesy as hell and wouldn't work, but McCullough brings to life some of Shakespeare's most famous tragic heroines in a way that's both brutal and hopeful. I only wish there'd been a proper POV for Lavinia.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really dug this! The concept could have either gone very "I'm an undergraduate creative writing student and this is deep," or the way it did go, which is really neat and interesting. McCullough says in the afterword that she thinks Shakespeare would've approved of her reimagining of his characters, and I agree (since he was in many ways a fanfic writer anyway lol). I do wish we'd gotten some more Lavinia because I love that play and her story is do tragic, but I like the three McCullough chose to center in the story, especially Ophelia. Such a cool idea and a cool book!
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved this play (hehe) on their stories. I’ve only read Romeo and Juliet but I’m somewhat interested and reading the others now.
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is excellent in its scholarship and ability to flip some of history’s most well-known plays. It was a bit heavy handed for me at times, but sometimes feminism is angry and demands to be heard.
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
As a concept, Enter the Body feels like something that would’ve deeply resonated with high school feminist me—the girl who was just discovering how many women's voices had been left out or silenced in the canon. Revisiting Shakespeare’s tragic heroines and giving them space to speak, to push back, to reclaim their narratives?
But as an adult feminist, the execution just didn’t land. The modern voice and experimental structure felt more like a thought exercise than an emotionally immersive story. I appreciated the intent, but I struggled to connect with the characters, whose voices often blurred together despite the unique stories they were supposed to tell.
Lavinia's continued silence, especially, left me unsettled—not because it wasn’t accurate to her trauma, but because it seemed to go unchallenged in a book that’s all about reclaiming voice.
Ultimately, while Enter the Body might be a meaningful introduction to feminist literary critique for younger readers, it didn’t offer the depth or nuance I was hoping for as an adult who’s been sitting with these ideas for a while.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced