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J's Reviews > William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope
William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope (William Shakespeare's Star Wars, #4)
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This is not a book to give someone who likes Star Wars and needs an introduction to Shakespeare nor is it a good book to give to someone who likes Shakespeare and needs an introduction to Star Wars. First, if you really like your Star Wars, then it may be a novelty item, though more for the adult who can get through the reading than the child who will have no basis for anything as it is written. Second, for me, the author seems to have a base knowledge of Shakespeare, but not quite a complete direction of how to construct the work. There are too many asides by characters, too much interjection of the Chorus to tell random bits of action (generally unnecessary I might add), and words like "troth" are thrown in willy-nilly without proper context/usage. Third and finally, simply adding -th and -st to words does not make them "Shakespearean," nor does constantly using "thee," "thou," and "aye," which get exceedingly tiring to read halfway through act one. (For the latter word's usage, are we in a Johnny Depp pirate movie? No - It's Star Wars which is thankfully Depp free). I will give the author credit where due, though. He does manage to get the iambic pentameter right which is something properly Shakespearean, but that's about the only part that's properly correct.
While I am not averse to the attempt, I just found that the subject in question does not translate overly well to the written Shakespearan page so to speak. Act V was exceedingly tedious due to the fact it was mainly a space battle but simply talked through by the characters since the form itself is somewhat limited. Some things work fine, and the artwork is spectacular throughout, but other sections just fall completely short in my opinion (to which you are allowed to disagree).
Quite possibly my least favorite of all the books I've read so far this year. Give to others, but be aware that not all of us who enjoy Star Wars and Shakespeare will like/appreciate the book as much as those who are in love with it.
Note: free copy received via Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review.
While I am not averse to the attempt, I just found that the subject in question does not translate overly well to the written Shakespearan page so to speak. Act V was exceedingly tedious due to the fact it was mainly a space battle but simply talked through by the characters since the form itself is somewhat limited. Some things work fine, and the artwork is spectacular throughout, but other sections just fall completely short in my opinion (to which you are allowed to disagree).
Quite possibly my least favorite of all the books I've read so far this year. Give to others, but be aware that not all of us who enjoy Star Wars and Shakespeare will like/appreciate the book as much as those who are in love with it.
Note: free copy received via Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review.
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Reading Progress
May 30, 2013
–
Started Reading
May 30, 2013
– Shelved
May 31, 2013
– Shelved as:
science-fiction
May 31, 2013
– Shelved as:
verse
May 31, 2013
– Shelved as:
arc
May 31, 2013
–
Finished Reading
July 22, 2013
– Shelved as:
amvi
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Marissa
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May 30, 2013 09:32AM
That sounds amazing
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Sounds amazing ... in reality, not so much.
Totally agree with you on this. Bit of a let down.
Star Wars is a pirate movie :)I thought this was a fun book, nothing more, nothing less but your points are well taken.
I haven't read it yet, but to me, it seems like it's a "fun" book and not a "correct" book. Would that be a correct assumption?
Well, it's attempting to be a fun book, but I didn't find it all that fun to read personally. Opinions have been differing wildly, so what you get out of reading the book probably depends on what you're expecting going in. It just didn't work for me even putting 'correct' and 'fun' aside.
What Doescher does well is reference a number of plays and Early Modern styles. In addition to the direct or slightly amended quotations, the asides are straight out of 'Richard III', and the Chorus skilfully echoes 'Henry V'. As an English teacher and a Shakespeare scholar, and someone who saw the original trilogy at the cinema first time round, I think he's done a remarkable job, and I recommend the book. I will be using it in the classroom ...
Can I also say that there are perfectly good technical reasons for using thee, thou, etc. I didn't see anything horribly wrong in Doescher's interpretation.
I agree with Abel. I saw nothing wrong with the language in this book. I am no expert, but I do appreciate Shakespeare and find it pretty true to form. Doescher is not Shakespeare, but pays loving homage to The Bard with his work. Shakespeare loved bombast and wordplay and both are evident in this reworking of a popular tale. I enjoyed it thoroughly!
This review makes me want to read this book.
I also agree with Abel. Also, I've read a number of reviews which have said something along the lines of 'You should only read this if you LOVE Shakespeare AND Star Wars' like it is a bad thing. But it seems like that was the entire point of the book.
Sorry, Jill, I disagree with you. This is a fun book if not an easy read. it IS written as Shakespeare would after all, and though he is a master, he is not all that accessible to middle schoolers, especially boys. I think this book would turn those kids on to actually read some Shakespeare, if they were in to Star Wars at all, that is. So, I can understand that you didn't like it but I think it's a great way to get young kids to actually be interested in Shakespeare. I personally can't wait for the next Star Wars play.
It's all for fun , get over it !
Knew I was going to stir up a bit of controversy with this review but didn't realize I'd get yelled at so much. My general thinking is that I'm allowed to my opinion as you are yours. My main point of reviewing the way I did was to bring attention to some of the things I found problematic with the book and why I did not enjoy it as a result. While I do think that there are plenty of people who do get a lot of enjoyment from the book, not all of us do, as stated per the final paragraph of the original review.Commence the disagreeing, but nicely, please, as it aids discussion rather than hinders it.
Oh, hope you didn't think I was yelling! I really just wanted to offer a different opinion. Differences make for livelier discussions.
Well, bah humbug. So I have to ask: you do realize this is a parody and not intended to be a brilliant work of art, correct?You're welcome to try to write one that is more "authentic" if you like. I know I couldn't.
Logan wrote: "Well, bah humbug. So I have to ask: you do realize this is a parody and not intended to be a brilliant work of art, correct?I like a good parody, and a great satire even better. This was, for me, neither. Derivative, absolutely. A successful parody manages a truly authentic feel, which this book lacked in my opinion. Again, my opinion. I apologize for offending you by having an opinion on this 'masterpiece.'
I'm definitely not offended but you seem a bit sensitive here. It just seems from your review that you expect this to be identical to Shakespeare and not just a parody. It not being for you is one thing. Acting like it's objectively bad because it isn't "authentic" seems a bit much. How would you write it instead? And would anyone want to read it?
Logan wrote: " It not being for you is one thing. Acting like it's objectively bad because it isn't "authentic" seems a bit much."Them's sound like fightin' words. Perhaps there's offense being taken either direction because tone can be difficult to convey through words alone.
If you read my review, I state several times what worked for me and what didn't and why I felt those parts didn't work for me. A review by nature isn't objective. It's as subjective as the reading of the book. I never used the word bad or said that no one should like the book - just that not everyone who likes both Shakespeare and Star Wars will enjoy it with undying love. There are plenty of people who love the book, such as yourself, and have every right to. Why is my subjective opinion of not liking the book not allowed?
Also, this is not about me writing my own version. I have no interest in doing so. I applaud the author's effort for doing something he obviously had the interest and passion to do. Why the insistence on your part that I must apparently undertake the task to write something I'm uninterested in?
At any rate, I say we call a truce because I feel very strongly there's plenty of space in the world for both our opinions.
