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orinposner 's review for:
The Death I Gave Him
by Em X. Liu
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An interesting reimagining of Hamlet in a science-fiction context, told in what I found to be a really beautiful and engaging format: multiple points of view that include traditional-style third-person storytelling but also various transcripts, interviews, a first-person journal article, and footnotes. I’d recommend this novel less to sci-fi fans and more to lovers of Hamlet who’d enjoy seeing the play played-around with. I certainly did.
This book is less directly about the implications of the science-fictional technologies it presents and more about re-writing Hamlet and what it means: it means changing the characters, it means changing the story (!!!), and it means a deep-dive into what memory is and what “living forever” is.
This novel’s version of Hamlet, the character – named Hayden here – is as whiney and morally-grey as the original, and I felt that liking and identifying with him is always overlayed with a frustration for how much patience and sympathy this privileged loser is afforded. I liked his strange and strangely-sensual relationship with Horatio, but with everything else going on – and the fact that the entire plot takes place over the course of a single night – it felt a bit disparate and unbelievable. I mostly found it hard to believe because of how quick it felt: I get that Hayden and Horatio have known each other for basically their entire lives, but we don’t really see any of their previous interactions, and their relationship takes several significant turns during that one night.
The novel’s highest point is definitely Felicia – the Ophelia equivalent here – who is just an amazing character, and her recounting of events is most interesting, complex, and emotionally-resonant. The entire book is well-written, but the writing really shines in the Felicia segments.
I came into this novel also expecting a mystery – and a locked-room mystery, more specifically. It does start out that way, with Graham Lichfield (=Hamlet Sr.) found dead in a room, and with many open questions about how it happened. The way things develop is tense and captivating – I especially loved the “ghost” scene – but it doesn’t really feel like a mystery because to anyone who knows Hamlet, it’s pretty obvious what happened, or at least it’s not much of a surprise when it’s discovered.
But knowledge of the original text that this novel is based on absolutely makes for another high point in reading. It was enjoyable to notice all the plot beats of the original play woven through this quick-paced plot. As far as I could tell, the original language of the play is only very subtly referenced occasionally (e.g. “her eyes like daggers”; and “the rest is silence” turns into “the rest is details”) – a smart choice.
Despite the academic framing and the use of footnotes, the novel ultimately leaves a lot for the readers to think about and figure out for their own, which I also appreciate.