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A review by laura_trap
Ophelia by Lisa M. Klein
5.0
I just really enjoyed this book, okay? I love some tragedy, and I love some darkness and suffering and books that are so gritty they rub your teeth down to nubs. But sometimes a gentle book, a book that rocks you with its simple loveliness is what you need and it was this book. There are several things I can say, for one I adored the portrayal of Ophelia, making her lively and stout of heart without taking away her femininity, without making her into a medieval warrior. She was given a woman's problems in a time when women were not seen as people, they were objects, they were not given a say. Ophelia dealt with this: forbidden love, powerlessness, grief, and eventually motherhood, all within a time that valued none of that. She was strong in her convictions, intelligent and witty, but yet wanted to love, wanted to be loved, and this was never portrayed as a shameful thing. Often Opehlia was trapped, by her circumstance, by her virtue, by her love, by her family, and sometimes, physically in the walls of Castle Elsinore. And that made it all the more tragic nd heartbreaking, that even the love she desired was taken from her, that gentle hands eventually became hard ones, and she was constantly at the mercy of all those around her. Her fate was never hers to decide, until she feigned her death.
There was constant references to Shakespeare, not just "Hamlet" but his other works, such as the sonnets. And even the fake death was reminiscent of "Romeo and Juliet", but in many ways, there was a delightful parallel between Ophelia's love of medieval romance and her very own. She lived herself in a tail of love and tragedy, accepting that which she could not chance. It was grandiose and full of secrecy and peril, and in the end, she uses those very devices to design her escape and leave, fleeing to a convent. There she began to choose her own path, to leave behind the dreadfulness of a rotten Denmark. On a last note, the historical accuracy of the book was splendid. The author really imbued the book with a sense of history, of place through her use of description, costume, and even the names of the herbs sprinkled throughout the book. I thought it was particularly clever to give Ophelia a knowledge of herbs to then use in her little lyrics during her madness. Overall, I just really loved this book. I loved how simply it was written yet so beautifully. Certain turns of phrase just left me in awe, invoking such a sense of place and emotion that I absolutely loved.
There was constant references to Shakespeare, not just "Hamlet" but his other works, such as the sonnets. And even the fake death was reminiscent of "Romeo and Juliet", but in many ways, there was a delightful parallel between Ophelia's love of medieval romance and her very own. She lived herself in a tail of love and tragedy, accepting that which she could not chance. It was grandiose and full of secrecy and peril, and in the end, she uses those very devices to design her escape and leave, fleeing to a convent. There she began to choose her own path, to leave behind the dreadfulness of a rotten Denmark. On a last note, the historical accuracy of the book was splendid. The author really imbued the book with a sense of history, of place through her use of description, costume, and even the names of the herbs sprinkled throughout the book. I thought it was particularly clever to give Ophelia a knowledge of herbs to then use in her little lyrics during her madness. Overall, I just really loved this book. I loved how simply it was written yet so beautifully. Certain turns of phrase just left me in awe, invoking such a sense of place and emotion that I absolutely loved.