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A review by mhinnen
By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult
challenging
dark
informative
sad
slow-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? No
3.5
Melina is a struggling 21st century playwright in a male dominated industry. Emilia Bassano is a playwright in Elizabethan society where women do not have a voice. Both put their work under the cover of a man’s name in order to have it read and performed even if they do not get credit. Melina’s play is about her ancestor, Emilia Bassano, whose plays are written under the name of William Shakespeare.
As always, Jodi Picoult engages the complexity of inequity and inequality with deeply researched material. As someone who loves Broadway theatre, I appreciated Melina’s storyline about race and gender and unconscious bias on the part of critics. Since 2020, I have been delighted to see the shift in the production of more diverse shows even as the author points out, there is a long way to go.
That said, the heart of this novel was about Emilia’s story. What if, as much of the evidence suggests, according to Picoult, Shakespeare had a writer’s group who for a variety of reasons gave him their plays to be produced under his name? What if one of the first published woman poets, Emilia Bassano, is responsible for works like Romeo and Juliet but because of her gender and societal position, she had to keep her name a secret? I loved this thread of the book - both Emilia’s life and how it fit in with and inspired the plays she may have written.
As much as Melina’s story was important as a vehicle for telling Emilia’s story and for highlighting that these inequalities still exist, it made the book way too long. In the context of this dual timeline, the love interest for Melina was completely unnecessary as was her relationship with her father. These timelines could have been two novels. Or Melina’s playwright story could have book ended Emilia’s epic biography as imagined by Picoult. There also seemed to be some repetition that was unnecessary and some that seemed unintentional - repeated phrases just a few pages apart. The characters in Emilia’s narrative were referred to by different names which was confusing.
I loved the premise and Picoult weaves together a compelling historical novel. But I had a hard time getting through the 500 pages and keeping track of what was happening and who all of the characters were.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. #ByAnyOtherName #Netgalley
As always, Jodi Picoult engages the complexity of inequity and inequality with deeply researched material. As someone who loves Broadway theatre, I appreciated Melina’s storyline about race and gender and unconscious bias on the part of critics. Since 2020, I have been delighted to see the shift in the production of more diverse shows even as the author points out, there is a long way to go.
That said, the heart of this novel was about Emilia’s story. What if, as much of the evidence suggests, according to Picoult, Shakespeare had a writer’s group who for a variety of reasons gave him their plays to be produced under his name? What if one of the first published woman poets, Emilia Bassano, is responsible for works like Romeo and Juliet but because of her gender and societal position, she had to keep her name a secret? I loved this thread of the book - both Emilia’s life and how it fit in with and inspired the plays she may have written.
As much as Melina’s story was important as a vehicle for telling Emilia’s story and for highlighting that these inequalities still exist, it made the book way too long. In the context of this dual timeline, the love interest for Melina was completely unnecessary as was her relationship with her father. These timelines could have been two novels. Or Melina’s playwright story could have book ended Emilia’s epic biography as imagined by Picoult. There also seemed to be some repetition that was unnecessary and some that seemed unintentional - repeated phrases just a few pages apart. The characters in Emilia’s narrative were referred to by different names which was confusing.
I loved the premise and Picoult weaves together a compelling historical novel. But I had a hard time getting through the 500 pages and keeping track of what was happening and who all of the characters were.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. #ByAnyOtherName #Netgalley