Book/Play Review: Othello by William Shakespeare

Author: William Shakespeare

Title: Othello

Genre: Classic, Tragedy, Fiction, Play

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 319

Published: 1603

Where I Got It: My shelf (my big bad book of William Shakespeare collection)

Summary: 

In Othello, Shakespeare creates a powerful drama of a marriage that begins with fascination (between the exotic Moor Othello and the Venetian lady Desdemona), with elopement, and with intense mutual devotion and that ends precipitately with jealous rage and violent deaths. He sets this story in the romantic world of the Mediterranean, moving the action from Venice to the island of Cyprus and giving it an even more exotic coloring with stories of Othello's African past. Shakespeare builds so many differences into his hero and heroine—differences of race, of age, of cultural background—that one should not, perhaps, be surprised that the marriage ends disastrously. But most people who see or read the play feel that the love that the play presents between Othello and Desdemona is so strong that it would have overcome all these differences were it not for the words and actions of Othello's standard-bearer, Iago, who hates Othello and sets out to destroy him by destroying his love for Desdemona. As Othello succumbs to Iago's insinuations that Desdemona is unfaithful, fascination—which dominates the early acts of the play—turns to horror, especially for the audience. We are confronted by spectacles of a generous and trusting Othello in the grip of Iago's schemes; of an innocent Desdemona, who has given herself up entirely to her love for Othello only to be subjected to his horrifying verbal and physical assaults, the outcome of Othello's mistaken convictions about her faithlessness.

Review:

Weeeeeeeee! This is one of my favorite plays by good ol' Willy. It's been an age since I read this so it was nice revisiting it. Last time I read this was 2009. But yes, it's been years!

The play follows a diverse set of characters in Venice. Othello and Lady Desdemona elope, Othello gets his dream job, and everything seems perfect. However, Iago is set on destroying everything in Othello's life out of spite and revenge. 

This is a true tragedy and it gets me every time. The characters and the story are flawless in my opinion. I truly think that this is William Shakey's best work. The drama is perfect for the stage. It's over-the-top in spots but it is a lovely nod to Italian plays that are known for being slightly melodramatic. 

And Iago.........he is the perfect villain. I hate him, but I love hating him. He is my favorite villain still to this day. He is a terrible, hateful man, but is he evil? Eh. He truly believes that he is doing the world a favor for destroying Othello. He doesn't do these evil things just for the sake of being bad. He thinks that he is doing everyone a favor, mainly himself. But he is so clever and calculating. Honestly, if he used his skills for ACTUAL good, then he would unstoppable in the world. He is just so blinded by his jealousy and hate, but he doesn't let this fully control him. He is able to trick everyone so wonderfully. *chef kiss* 

Othello and Desdemona. *sighs* You just want them to be happy. They are soooo in love and seem so perfect for each other. However......there is a shadow upon their love. Between society, Othello's insecurities, and Iago in the shadows....they are doomed.

What I love the most (if you've read past reviews you will be able to guess what I'm about to say here) is that everyone is flawed. They are complex and oh-so human. You have no idea what will happen. Othello seems so strong and confident, but he is still insecure and petty. Desdemona and Cassio are both so sweet, but so naive. Iago seems like he could be a great guy if hate didn't blind him. All the characters hide behind theirs masks so well (which ties nicely into the Venetian setting). And society's and time period's failings will take all these flaws and brew something tragic for our characters. 

I could go on and on about how much I love this play by William S!!!! I still need to see this live. I've seen the movie, but never a live rendition of this play. Bucket list!!!! Also, I need to do an audio of this story one day.

But yes, this is (so far) my absolute favorite of William Shakespeare's stuff. I still have a bunch to read but it will be hard to topple this from the top. 

The characters....the setting....the lies....the flaws.....the tragedy. A must-read/see/hear...anyway you can get your hands on it. 

5 stars for sure. 

- Favorite Character(s): Desdemona (bc she is so sweet), Cassio, & Othello

- Least Favorite Character(s): Iago (BUT I love to hate him. Little villain)

Book/Play Review: King Lear by William Shakespeare

Author: William Shakespeare

Title: King Lear

Genre: Classic, Fiction, Play, Tragedy

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 339

Published: 1605

Where I Got It: My shelf (my big bad book of William Shakespeare collection)

Summary: 

Shakespeare’s King Lear challenges us with the magnitude, intensity, and sheer duration of the pain that it represents. Its figures harden their hearts, engage in violence, or try to alleviate the suffering of others. Lear himself rages until his sanity cracks. What, then, keeps bringing us back to King Lear? For all the force of its language, King Lear is almost equally powerful when translated, suggesting that it is the story, in large part, that draws us to the play.

The play tells us about families struggling between greed and cruelty, on the one hand, and support and consolation, on the other. Emotions are extreme, magnified to gigantic proportions. We also see old age portrayed in all its vulnerability, pride, and, perhaps, wisdom—one reason this most devastating of Shakespeare’s tragedies is also perhaps his most moving.

Review:

My goal was to read one of these a year, but I do not think I read a Willie Shake last year. So I'll be reading two this year.

I've never read 'King Lear' before but I know the story well. 

The play tells us a story about families struggling between greed and cruelty or support and consolation. King Lear, an elderly king, decides to divide his kingdom between his three daughters. He promises to give the largest share to the daughter who proves to love him the most. From there drama ensues when he is blinded by his ego. 

This is extremely tragic, but infuriating all at the same time. You want to shake King Lear and...to be fair....everyone. All the drama can be avoided if people JUST talk and chill. But we wouldn't have the story and the lessons that come from it. 

People claim this is one of William Shakespeare's greatest works, but I found it...good. I honestly still love 'Othello' the best though. I still have a few plays to finally read but I can safely say my favorite still sits firmly on top at the moment. However, this was pretty entertaining. 

The poetry and the drama is addicting. You won't want to set it down. I finished this in just a couple of sittings. 

The ending is tragic and sad. It was done very well. You don't have to be a literature master to understand what lessons are being taught here. It was done loud and proud, but WS has a way of not telling you, but showing you. I find he is the King of this. 

My favorite aspect of this play is that EVERYONE is complex and so very human. Sure you can point at a person or two and say they are the baddies, but they aren't evil (at least from my viewpoint). Yes, bad things happen and dumb things occur, but everyone is just so human. If you know me.....I love a complex set of characters. 

All-in-all, this is a must-read classic. Not my fave by the ol' Shakeyspeare, but it's in the top 5. It's entertaining and addicting. Lots of dumb people doing dumb things, but it is teaching a lesson or two. You can't help but feel bad for these characters. They all are complex and so very human. I'll give this 5 stars. 

(You know me...changing things up...and I'm reviving this!)

- Favorite Charater(s): Cordelia

- Least Favorite Character(s): Lear's other two daughters and (let's be honest) Lear.

Book Review: The Romance of Tristan and Iseult

Author: Joseph Bedier
Title: The Romance of Tristan and Iseult
Genre: Classic, Romance, Tragedy, & fantasy
Pages: 96
First Published: 1900
Where I Got It: My shelf (Amazon)

A tale of chivalry and doomed, transcendent love, The Romance of Tristan and Iseult is one of the most resonant works of Western literature, as well as the basis for our enduring idea of romance. The story of the Cornish knight and the Irish princess who meet by deception, fall in love by magic, and pursue that love in defiance of heavenly and earthly law

I do love my tragic romances and this has been one of my favorites since I first read it at 12 years old. Ah yes...I started my romances at a young age. The story of Tristan and Iseult is considered the inspiration of some of the most well-known romances like 'Romeo & Juliet' and 'Lancelot and Guinevere'. I do like the tale of Lancelot and Guinevere (even tho I root for Arthur to win), but I have never liked 'Romeo & Juliet'. 

"Why? It's tragic like Tristan and Iseult!" They ask.

NO! It is not...it is two little kids who knew each other for a couple weeks and decide kill themselves. I believe that a deep love comes from more then a pretty face and just wanting to "be together". While Tristan and Iseult know each other for years - try to deny their love, try to be good so they don't destroy their love's life, but their love will sooner or later destroy them. NOW THAT is tragic! 

I really love this romance and the retelling of the poetry is nice, however, I am not a fan of the "love potion" part. I feel it takes away from the element of love...because I feel like they felt love the moment Iseult saved Tristan the first time. Could be wrong, but they didn't need the potion. Maybe it made it the love more intense. 

Other then that, I do love the fantasy aspect of the story - like the dragon. I loved that scene. 

Oooooh, I am such a sap...my heart melted again for this book. I do love Tristan. But I also felt bad for King Mark...yes when he finds out that he is being betrayed by his wife and nephew he does snap, but he does make up for it later. Honestly, everything would have been fine if they didn't force King Mark to marry...he was fine with leaving Tristan is heir, but NOOOO the damn Councillors didn't like Tristan, so they forced a wife on King Mark to make an heir. Why can't anyone leave well enough alone?!

UGH!

But yes...I highly recommend this to those that like some tragic classics in their lives. I must actually finish the movie from beginning to end now. I wish that this left out the "love potion", but alas...with or without it they were doomed to love each other. Other then that, I am still in love with the story and the characters. Out of five stars, I stamp this with 5 stars; more like 4.5, but alas, I rounded.


Favorite Character(s): King Mark (even tho he loses his cool at one point), Tristan, & Iseult
Not-so Favorite Character(s): The Councillors & the dwarf (>___>)  
 Favorite Quote(s): "Love pressed them hard, as thirst presses the dying stag to the stream; love dropped upon them from high heaven, as a hawk slipped after long hunger falls right upon the bird. And love will not be hidden...But in every hour and place every man could see Love terrible, that rode them, and could see in these lovers their every sense overflowing like new wine working in the vat."

Book/Play Review: Oedipus the King

Author: Sophocles
Title: Oedipus the King/Rex (Oedipus #2)
Genre: Play, classic, adventure, and tragedy
Pages: ebook
First Published: 429 BC
Where I Got It: On my shelf (free download)


"Oedipus Rex chronicles the story of Oedipus, a man who becomes the king of Thebes while in the process unwittingly fulfilling a prophecy that he would murder his father Laius and marry his mother Jocasta. The play is an example of a classic tragedy."





Oooooooooh Oedipus I knew I would have to read your story soon. It was a matter of time. Yes, I was forced to read this in my LIT411 class. *Sighs* I've been avoiding this story for a while. It's odd, because I do love classics and I do love tragedies, but I just never wanted to read this for myself. Perhaps it is because we all know how this story ends. It does not end happy, because all the nasty secrets come out...especially if that involves incest. 0.0

Granted, I actually feel kinda bad for Oedipus, because pop culture makes it sound like he purposely killed his dad to get into his mother's panties. No. That is not the case here. It was all stupid accident and fate. I blame the mother and father for this fate happening, because they abandoned their son on a mountain, so they would avoid the "prophecy" of the baby killing the dad and sleeping with the mom. They created their own fates. Sorry. I don't feel bad for the parents. 

Now...Oedipus is not all completely forgivable. He did murder someone and robbed them (it just happened to be his papa that he didn't know was his papa). Granted, he did redeem himself by saving the town and becoming king. He married the widow and had some kids. Okay, whatever....but then he got all high and mighty and wanted to find that blasted murder of the king. People warned him (especially the seer), but he didn't listen and look what happened. He found out the truth and ruined everyone's lives. 

This was an interesting play and I would like to see it actually performed. However, all the characters irked me, especially Mama Queen and the late Father. *shakes my head* They caused this. The only character I liked was Creon, but there is a foreshadow of his own doom later on in the third part of the saga. Power corrupts all.

In the end, this play was better then I expected, but I still not my favorite of classical plays/stories. I'm glad that Oedipus wasn't a weirdo like pop culture makes him out to be (especially Freud), because he doesn't willingly sleep with his mother. HE DID NOT KNOW! Anyways....I would recommend this to those that like the classics and especially love the tragic stories. This is defiantly up there! I shall stamp this with 2 stars. 

Favorite Character(s):  Creon
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Jocasta, Laius, and Oedipus

Book Review: Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Author: Haruki Murakami
Title: Norwegian Wood
Genre: Fiction, Romance, and Tragedy
Pages: 296
First Published: 1987
Where I Got It: My shelf (Bought at Barnes and Nobles)


"Toru, a quiet and preternaturally serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before.  Toru begins to adapt to campus life and the loneliness and isolation he faces there, but Naoko finds the pressures and responsibilities of life unbearable.  As she retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself reaching out to others and drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.

A poignant story of one college student's romantic coming-of-age, Norwegian Wood takes us to that distant place of a young man's first, hopeless, and heroic love."

Yet again...the summary does nothing to really capture the book and what is going on in it. This is no simple story about a young man's "coming of age" or whatever. This goes through the concept of death, love, and finding ones way into the world. It also goes over that strange line that is between the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s. I strange time in world history. One can always blame the hippies for that ;). haha

This is my third book by Haruki Murakami and he has not disappointed yet. I was afraid at first, because I read a few reviews that completely bashed the book by saying this was the "crappiest book out of all his books" and because the first 25 pages bored me to tears. However, I keep going and the Murakami magic happened by page 26. THANK GOODNESS! I was so worried. From that point on, I could hardly put the book down. 

I truly wished I could have liked Toru....but I didn't. He was one of those nice jerks that everyone can't help but like. He was self-centered and the feelings of others came in third place, but the whole time he was convinced that he was a "nice and ordinary guy", who "never lied". BULLCRAP!!!!! He was little better then Nagasawa. At least Nagasawa was completely honest about being an ass and jerk. After a while, he may tell the truth. He never did tell Midori the complete truth about his "girlfriend" who was locked up in a mental institution in the countryside (if I was to lose my marbles for good and had to go somewhere, this place was awesome. It's not a hospital, but a natural way to find your way again). No. He just told her it was complicated. WHICH brings up the subject of this "girlfriend", Naoko.

She was Toru's friend's girlfriend. However, this boy killed himself for no real reason. I do feel bad for Naoko and I can see why she lost her marbles, because her sister had killed herself years previous and then her boyfriend killed himself. Horrible and would make any sane person flip. However, I resented her for the fact that she dragged Toru around and pretty much used him and gave nothing in return. She couldn't even truly give her heart to him, but she expected him to be there for her always and to "remember" her and visit her and write to her and when she got out to help her. She gave so much, but she had nothing for him. She could never love him, because her heart belonged to her dead boyfriend. I get it. True love and all that jazz, but really? Let's drag around this poor guy, because it makes her "feel good" and "feel better". Meh.

I liked Midori a lot, even though she was a touch off her rocker. 

Well, the story was good even though I wanted to punch a couple of the characters once in a while. Those flaws though made the story the way it is. The flaws were a good thing to install in the characters, because it does show real life in a way. Not everything is as simple as they make it seem especially during this time period. There was a changing in the world, so many people were riding the fault line. Some won't make it and can't handle it. Some flourish. It is the way of the world. I loved every crazy moment! 

In the end, I would suggest starting with 'After Dark' before hitting this one. 'After Dark' is a great way to start reading Murakami books. That is how I started and it seems the best way to. I loved the story even though a few of the characters angered me and made me wonder at their own sanity. Sanity is such a relative term isn't it? Ha. Anyways....I shall stamp this one with 3 stars. It is not my favorite of his books. 

Favorite Character(s): Midori and Reiko
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Nagasawa, Toru, and Naoko