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swordhearteds 's review for:
The Death I Gave Him
by Em X. Liu
I always love when authors bring their previous experience/niche interests into the plot of a book, and it's clear that Liu's biochemistry expertise married perfectly with this intriguing and highly original retelling of "Hamlet."
Frankly, I am also a big fan of Shakespeare retellings because there's so many different directions to take the story. Many of the world building elements in "The Death I Gave Him" worked really well, especially the way chapters were framed as different elements from interviews or security camera footage or parts of court deposition. The footnotes were also a nice touch!
As many many other people have said, the prose and writing itself of this book was very descriptive and beautiful, so if you're someone who loves a prose-heavy experience this will definitely hold your attention. The pacing moves quickly and I think that benefits the urgency of the story itself. Not to mention, for me at least, a key marker of whether a retelling is actually a good retelling is whether it could stand on its own (ie if you had no idea of "Hamlet") which I believe "The Death I Gave Him" definitely could.
The characterization was also really great because I feel like when it comes to the character of Ophelia, her primary motivations and perspective are rarely considered or fleshed out. The interpretation of Ophelia through Felicia Xia as mad (with rage) was a cool twist and a nice parallel to Hayden, our Hamlet.
TL;DR really unique take on "Hamlet" with gorgeous writing and fully capable of standing on its own.
Frankly, I am also a big fan of Shakespeare retellings because there's so many different directions to take the story. Many of the world building elements in "The Death I Gave Him" worked really well, especially the way chapters were framed as different elements from interviews or security camera footage or parts of court deposition. The footnotes were also a nice touch!
As many many other people have said, the prose and writing itself of this book was very descriptive and beautiful, so if you're someone who loves a prose-heavy experience this will definitely hold your attention. The pacing moves quickly and I think that benefits the urgency of the story itself. Not to mention, for me at least, a key marker of whether a retelling is actually a good retelling is whether it could stand on its own (ie if you had no idea of "Hamlet") which I believe "The Death I Gave Him" definitely could.
The characterization was also really great because I feel like when it comes to the character of Ophelia, her primary motivations and perspective are rarely considered or fleshed out. The interpretation of Ophelia through Felicia Xia as mad (with rage) was a cool twist and a nice parallel to Hayden, our Hamlet.
TL;DR really unique take on "Hamlet" with gorgeous writing and fully capable of standing on its own.