Brave new worlds
We take a look at some novels that re- adapt Shakespeare for modern times.
ONE of the reason’s Shakespeare’s works have survived so long is that they have universal themes, all the big ones like love, betrayal and death, that still resonate with any human being today. The settings of his tales, though, are a tad dated, no? Very few people hang out in garden bowers or go to courtly balls any more....
These ancient settings, the antiquated language and plot devices, may affect modern readers’ appreciation of the Bard. Young readers especially, who may wonder why Juliet didn’t just Whatsapp Romeo to tell him she wasn’t dead, or why Hamlet didn’t get a CSI team to investigate his dad’s murder....
Which is why contemporary retellings are always welcome, to give readers perspective and understanding about Shakespeare’s grand works. Publishers Hogarth Press, for example, have launched the Hogarth Shakespeare Project, in which acclaimed modern novelists such as Ann Tyler, Gillian Flynn and Margaret Atwood adapt Shakespeare for the modern day.
Works published under the project so far are Jeanette Williamson’s A Gap In Time ( a retelling of A Winter’s Tale) and Howard Jacobson’s Shylock Is My Name ( Merchant Of Venice).
Of course, other authors have adapted the Bard over the years. Here are 10 we’ve found for you, each based on and inspired by a different play: toward black northerners like him. Desmerelda is a white pop star and the daughter of a right- wing politician. Their marriage propels them onto centre stage, where they burn under the media spotlight. But celebrity attracts enemies – some very close to home.
Exposure won the 2009 Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize ( yes, strangely, this is classified as “children’s fiction”). And according to British literacy NGO Book Trust, Peet was inspired to write the novel when he realised some of Shakespeare’s character’s names sounded like football players’ names! tag – he’s stuck with one reading “Sergio” until his boss can be bothered to make a new one! He enjoys spending time with his best friends Scout ( who secretly likes him!) and Quark ( who likes Scout!). Things turn crazy, however, when Ed meets Ellie, the girl of his dreams, who somehow mistakes him for a Brazilian stud. Can he keep up being Sergio or will things all fall apart?