 |
Meet Ophelia: a blonde, beautiful high-school senior and long-time girlfriend of Prince Hamlet of Denmark. Her life is dominated not only by her boyfriend's fame and his overbearing family, but also by the paparazzi who hound them wherever they go. As the devastatingly handsome Hamlet spirals into madness after the mysterious death of his father, the King, Ophelia rides out his crazy roller coaster life, and lives to tell about it. In live television interviews, of course. Passion, romance, drama, humor, and tragedy intertwine in this compulsively readable debut novel, told by a strong-willed, modern-day Ophelia.
|
First-time author Ray's ambitious endeavor-retelling Hamlet's tale in a contemporary, pop culture context through the voice of a more liberal and strong-willed Ophelia-is most likely to appeal to those dissatisfied with the original heroine's lack of backbone. The book's depiction of the verbally abused girlfriend and her crazed beau is tied to commentary about celebrity culture: the scandals that leak out of the Danish court are accompanied by media frenzies that will be familiar to modern readers. But details about the lives of the rich and famous draw focus away from the psychological unraveling of the two main characters. The juxtaposed narratives-dialogue between Ophelia and a team of investigators, flashbacks spurred by an Oprahesque talk-show host's questions-are distracting, and references to the original ("He was scrawling 'To Be' and 'Not to Be' over and over. 'What's that?' I asked. 'That is the question.'Å") come off as contrived as the climax of the tragedy, which occurs during a lacrosse game. This self-consciously hip tale contains all of the bloodshed but none of the subtlety of its antecedent. Ages 14-up. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
|
|  |
