Hamlet

By John Marsden

Book Overview

The Dane as never seen before -- in a daring, dazzling, sexy prose retelling of Shakespeare's tragedy by best-selling author John Marsden.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark, but Hamlet can't be sure what's causing the stench. His rage at his mother's infidelities -- together with his greed for the sensual Ophelia and his dead father's call to revenge a murder most foul -- have his mind in chaos, and he wants to scatter his traitorous uncle's insides across the fields. But was it really his father's ghost that night on the ramparts, or a hell-fiend sent to trick him? Action is hot, he tells Ophelia, who lives shut up in a tower with her longings and lust. Action is courage, and reflection is cowardly. Picking up the knife has the colors of truth. As soon as I hesitate. . . . In this dark, erotically charged, beautifully crafted novel, John Marsden brings one of Shakespeare's most riveting characters to full-blooded life in a narrative of intense psychological complexity.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 076364451X
• ISBN13: 9780763644512
• Release Date: August 2009
• Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.7" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher

Customer Reviews

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Something's rotten in Denmark, but this time, it's not Shakespeare's normally confusing play. Marsden does a fantastic job of taking the Bard's poetic writing and updating it for modern readers. Hamlet still faces issues the original author set for him (an unfaithful mother, a murderous uncle, the hauntingly attractive Ophelia), but the reader is able to delve more deeply into the characters as they are brought to life by Marsden's beautiful prose. Since this is a modern version, it does have a few instances of cursing as well as some sexual innuendo, so I feel it would be better suited to older teens and adults. Thanks to a fantastic high school English teacher, I never had trouble understanding HAMLET, but I enjoyed reading Marsden's version and seeing a more modern twist on the story. Reviewed by: Joan Stradling