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quinnyquinnquinn's review
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death of parent and Murder
Minor: Drug abuse
kitrook's review
4.5
I will be thinking about this book for a while, that’s for sure. I’ve never read Hamlet nor was I at all acquainted with the story which I honestly think was the way to go because Wow!!! I have no idea if this is part of the original or not but finding out Lia was dead gagged me so bad, like that was such an amazing twist I didn’t see coming (maybe I should have? I dunno, I didn’t though)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Sexual content and Suicide
maddox22's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Cursing, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Death
daffodildyke's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
firstly, it is important we all know that i adore hamlet. i know it by heart more or less and got 100% in my a level exam on it. i have a hamlet tattoo and was literally nicknamed hanlet in school. i threatened to write my homophobic english teacher a cited essay on why hamlet is queer. all of these things are important context for this review, because everything about this book should have been a gift, and i wanted to love it so much… but i just didn’t. i didn’t dislike it, but i simply feel content that i have finished it and not largely affected by it.
i love the lia storyline ending, in the sense it is the perfect tribute to ophelia and the way she is written out of the original play. her continued presence throughout this retelling is lovely in that sense and her link with flowers could have felt forced but doesn’t.
queer hamlet and horatio is so important to me, my entire teenage personality was basically based on it, so don’t get wrong, i am so glad to have read it there as clear as day, but it didn’t feel fleshed out enough, it didn’t feel like it does their complexities justice.
parts of this retelling felt arduous and unnecessary and these really detracted from the strong parts.
i think there is obvious love and care in this book, from the approach to addiction and suicide, to a love of hamlet. but i feel disappointed that all i have ever wanted is a queer, neurodiverse hamlet… and i don’t want to devour this book again and again.
i think partly, the issue will always be that i have my own hamlet retellings that live rent free in my head and will never make it to paper, so nobody else’s can live up to those, and it isn’t fair for me to expect them to.
i didn’t dislike this book, but i didn’t love it as much as i hoped and that feels worse in some ways. but i am grateful to the author for putting her hamlet retelling out into the world and confirming what we all know: hamlet is queer and neurodiverse and mentally ill, deeply in love with both ophelia and horatio, and at times, an insufferable pain in the ass!
i love the lia storyline ending, in the sense it is the perfect tribute to ophelia and the way she is written out of the original play. her continued presence throughout this retelling is lovely in that sense and her link with flowers could have felt forced but doesn’t.
queer hamlet and horatio is so important to me, my entire teenage personality was basically based on it, so don’t get wrong, i am so glad to have read it there as clear as day, but it didn’t feel fleshed out enough, it didn’t feel like it does their complexities justice.
parts of this retelling felt arduous and unnecessary and these really detracted from the strong parts.
i think there is obvious love and care in this book, from the approach to addiction and suicide, to a love of hamlet. but i feel disappointed that all i have ever wanted is a queer, neurodiverse hamlet… and i don’t want to devour this book again and again.
i think partly, the issue will always be that i have my own hamlet retellings that live rent free in my head and will never make it to paper, so nobody else’s can live up to those, and it isn’t fair for me to expect them to.
i didn’t dislike this book, but i didn’t love it as much as i hoped and that feels worse in some ways. but i am grateful to the author for putting her hamlet retelling out into the world and confirming what we all know: hamlet is queer and neurodiverse and mentally ill, deeply in love with both ophelia and horatio, and at times, an insufferable pain in the ass!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Murder, Suicide, and Death
laguerrelewis's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
My biggest piece of advice for enjoying this book? Meet it on its terms, not Shakespeare’s. This is not to say the book is a failure or suffers as an interpretation of a classic, it is only to say that there are some creative changes and liberties taken to explore these takes on the story and characters. Faye is clearly well versed in the Bard, and ESPECIALLY the characters, who are the driving force of this story. A beautiful study of Hamlet, Ophelia, and (my favorite) Horatio, transplanting them into a more familiar setting and exploring what that could look like.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Gun violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Cursing, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, and Self harm
mslaura's review
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, and Suicide attempt
amym84's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
In modern-day New York Benjamin Dane, his friend Horatio, and his ex-fiancée Lia become embroiled in figuring out the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Ben's father Jackson - an oil tycoon with a hand in the New York theatre scene. Ben's mother quickly marrying Ben's uncle Claude afterward is just one alarm bell that's ringing in Ben's ears. Digging into his father's death, Ben keeps circling around the past and realizes that his eyes have been closed to what's been going on around him since his and Lia's breakup nearly two years before.
The King of Infinite Space is probably one of the best Hamlet retellings / adaptations I've ever encountered. Lyndsay Faye did such a fantastic job of bringing this story to a modern timeline, but also keeping the heart of the original play fully intact.
I appreciated that Faye dropped in more Shakespearian Easter eggs I think the choices in characters was really indicative of those same characters having this almost supernatural quality about them in their own plays, and they bring a little something extra to this story. They were all right at home here. Not really wanting to go too in-depth because I fear that will ruin some of the surprise twists that Lyndsay Faye played with in this iteration.
I thought that Ben (Hamlet), Horatio, and Lia (Ophelia) all pulled their weight in terms of each getting their own points of view alternating throughout and really commanding their sections. Ben is really a character to be reckoned with - the titular "King" if you will - but I felt like Horatio and Lia both hold their own up against Ben's undeniable frenetic energy.
This story took me a little longer to parse my way through and not because I wasn't engrossed, but mainly because the words were so important that I took my time with each sentence and phrase especially where Ben was concerned where asides and breaks were par for the course. I feel like in being so careful to take in each word I really feel like the story has left it's mark and will be one that I continue thinking about for a long while afterward.
This one is definitely my favorite by Lyndsay Faye. I'd honestly love to see what she can do with other works by the Bard.
If you're looking for an engrossing updated spin on one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, The King of Infinite Space ticks all the boxes and then some.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The King of Infinite Space is probably one of the best Hamlet retellings / adaptations I've ever encountered. Lyndsay Faye did such a fantastic job of bringing this story to a modern timeline, but also keeping the heart of the original play fully intact.
I appreciated that Faye dropped in more Shakespearian Easter eggs I think the choices in characters was really indicative of those same characters having this almost supernatural quality about them in their own plays, and they bring a little something extra to this story. They were all right at home here. Not really wanting to go too in-depth because I fear that will ruin some of the surprise twists that Lyndsay Faye played with in this iteration.
I thought that Ben (Hamlet), Horatio, and Lia (Ophelia) all pulled their weight in terms of each getting their own points of view alternating throughout and really commanding their sections. Ben is really a character to be reckoned with - the titular "King" if you will - but I felt like Horatio and Lia both hold their own up against Ben's undeniable frenetic energy.
This story took me a little longer to parse my way through and not because I wasn't engrossed, but mainly because the words were so important that I took my time with each sentence and phrase especially where Ben was concerned where asides and breaks were par for the course. I feel like in being so careful to take in each word I really feel like the story has left it's mark and will be one that I continue thinking about for a long while afterward.
This one is definitely my favorite by Lyndsay Faye. I'd honestly love to see what she can do with other works by the Bard.
If you're looking for an engrossing updated spin on one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, The King of Infinite Space ticks all the boxes and then some.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
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