Rezension zu Ophelia von Lisa Klein
There is something rotten in the state of Denmark...
von ichundelaine
Kurzmeinung: Nett aufbereiteter Stoff, aber nichts wirklich weltbewegendes, ok für zwischendurch
Rezension
ichundelainevor 8 Jahren
To be or not to be... this is basically all I knew of Hamlet and his story, having carefully avoided that Shakespearean play since my friends were tortured with it in school. What appealed to me with this book was the fact that this book came along without the tediousness of Shakespearean English and was told by Ophelia, the tragic figure.
The story revolves around the Danish court, where King Hamlet is obviously poisoned by his brother Claudius who subsequently marries his deceased brother's wife Queen Getrude. Ophelia is the daughter of an ambitious courtier and serves in the maiden quarters of the queen. There Hamlet and her become close, lovers and eventually secretly marry. Prince Hamlet suspects foul play revolving his father's death after seeing his ghost, and seeks revenge on his lustful uncle. In the process however he starts to get quite mad and alienates friends and Ophelia alike. The latter then fakes her death and flees to a convent to give birth to her and Hamlet's child.
Here the story strays away from the original: Ophelia dies in the play, yet here she lives on to learn from Hamlet's death at her brother's hand and eventually turns her love interest from Hamlet to his best friend and lone survivor Horatio.
The story is told from Ophelia's point of view, yet she is a very very stressful creature, which influences the reading experience in a rather negative way. Yet, I always give respect to authors who try to give classic plays/books a new twist, yet here the heroine was just annoying to me.
It was an ok read, but it didn't rock my world so to speak.
The story revolves around the Danish court, where King Hamlet is obviously poisoned by his brother Claudius who subsequently marries his deceased brother's wife Queen Getrude. Ophelia is the daughter of an ambitious courtier and serves in the maiden quarters of the queen. There Hamlet and her become close, lovers and eventually secretly marry. Prince Hamlet suspects foul play revolving his father's death after seeing his ghost, and seeks revenge on his lustful uncle. In the process however he starts to get quite mad and alienates friends and Ophelia alike. The latter then fakes her death and flees to a convent to give birth to her and Hamlet's child.
Here the story strays away from the original: Ophelia dies in the play, yet here she lives on to learn from Hamlet's death at her brother's hand and eventually turns her love interest from Hamlet to his best friend and lone survivor Horatio.
The story is told from Ophelia's point of view, yet she is a very very stressful creature, which influences the reading experience in a rather negative way. Yet, I always give respect to authors who try to give classic plays/books a new twist, yet here the heroine was just annoying to me.
It was an ok read, but it didn't rock my world so to speak.