Clever retelling of the Bard’s best
Norwegian writer Jo Nesbo’s retelling of Macbeth is compellingly readable, writes Ken Strongman.
Hogarth Shakespeare has set in place a bold initiative. The latest in 400 years worth of re-telling Shakespeare’s works, it has chosen eight of his plays and eight eminent novelists to cast them into a new form.This is a bold initiative because many of the attempts to re-tell Shakespeare have been squirmingly awful, of the ‘‘And you, Bruce?’’ form.
Hogarth has managed to persuade some extremely fine writers into this project, including Margaret Atwood (The Tempest), Tracy Chevalier (Othello) and Howard Jacobsen (The Merchant of Venice. To a reviewer of crime fiction, none of the prospective writers stands out more than Jo Nesbo, who has taken on the daunting task of Macbeth. If there was any doubt that he is a very fine writer with an agile, creative mind, it is put to rest by his Macbeth.
Crime fiction can be characterised in many ways, depending on how crime itself is defined. It doesn’t have to involve murder and mayhem. If it might be said to involve vicious interpersonal cruelty delivered with grace and charm then Jane Austen might well be included in the crime fiction tradition. But there is no doubt that Macbeth could be described as an early psychological thriller.
Nesbo, then, was a good choice and he has re-told Macbeth in a little over 500 pages. Somewhat like Game of Thrones, Nesbo’s Macbeth is set in an indeterminate time that is most easily seen as slightly in the future, in an indeterminate city, that is pervaded by a dystonic atmosphere created by selfseeking protagonists. It is set in and around the police force (in which Macbeth is a fast-rising star from the wrong side of the tracks), and the vicious Norse Riders, in a city in which the people move around huddled against perpetual rain.
Duff and Duncan and Malcolm and Banquo are also part of the police, the local high-class casino is run by Lady, who is Macbeth’s lover and driving force. Hecate is the local crime boss, somehow untouchable and with slightly mystical overtones.
Nesbo’s Macbeth is as compellingly readable as his other writing. However, one can never be entirely lost in it, as one can in following the adventures of Nesbo’s Harry Hole. It is not possible to escape from the notion that this is a re-telling of Macbeth, which somehow blocks the flow of the book. This, though, again might reflect Nesbo at his cleverest, ensuring that reading the book is a little like watching the original play. Moreover, it is because the characters are so cleverly portrayed, that one slips in and out of identification with them, the dystonic, slightly apocalyptic atmosphere adding to this.
I hope that this minor criticism does not put off potential readers. This Macbeth is well worth reading. It is not simply a clever contrivance. It’s real strength lies in Nesbo’s ability to explore fundamental motives. In this Macbeth, they include sex, money, family, friendship, the importance of being remembered, and above all, power. All of this, much as in the original Macbeth, is overlaid with a ghostly mysticism. It’s a new form of crime fiction as well as a new Macbeth.