A review by billnienaber
My Name is Will by Jess Winfield

4.0

This entertaining little adventure was written by a founding member of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, creators of the dementedly brilliant The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged, which I first experienced in a performance by one of my sons and two of his friends sometime during the end of the last century (late 90s). This new novel tells the parallel stories of William Shakespeare Greenburg (Willie), and [b:William Shakespeare|18135|Romeo and Juliet|William Shakespeare|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51XTDJ3P4XL._SL75_.jpg|3349450] himself. Willie, in the 1980s, is trying to finish, or actually begin, his thesis on Shakespeare's supposed closet Catholicism, while simultaneously juggling love affairs with at least 3 young ladies, and getting high an awful lot. In the parallel 16th century plot, an 19-year-old Shakespeare is toying with the idea of writing or performing, while also falling in love with several young women. The contemporary story is chock full of stuff you might recall from the 80s, including fine Lebanese hash, magic mushrooms, and Ronnie Reagan's war on drugs, and both stories are overflowing with sex. The real fun for me was in the uncanny parallels between the lives of these two young rascals. This is a fairly light and quick read, and I would certainly recommend it.