Ophelia review

OPHELIA: A NOVEL
Lisa Klein
Bloomsbury USA
Fiction
ISBN: 9781582348018
328 Pages

This story was about Shakespeare's Hamlet, but from Ophelia's perspective, and though I have never read Hamlet the story was still entertaining. It starts out with a letter to Ophelia announcing Hamlet, Queen Gertrude, King Claudius and Laertes' deaths. Then the story goes back in time to Ophelia's childhood, being raised by an unloving father and rowdy brother, in the small village outside of Elsinore Castle. The father eventually gains favour with the king and they go the live in the royal palace, where the children befriend the young prince Hamlet and his best friend Horatio. As the children grow up, their lives separate and Ophelia becomes a lady in waiting to Queen Gertrude, despite her lowly birth compared to most ladies. Ophelia and Prince Hamlet's paths eventually cross again and they quickly become lovers, marrying in secret after King Hamlet's tragic death. So the story continues with more tragedy and loss, until Ophelia is led to the desperate measure of pretending to kill herself in order to escape King Claudius's vile court and to save her own life. This is where the story should have ended with Ophelia escaping with Horatio's help, unfortunately it continues, with her escaping to a convent in France and living among the nuns, then giving birth the Hamlet's son, whom she names, Hamlet as well.

The story is predictable and overly dramatic, though Ophelia's character was a strong and interesting one, she was out of place in her own story having to strong of mind for a women of that time frame. The story also dragged on after it should have ended, adding a sub-plot after the initial plot was over, making it drag on. The sub-plot, though interesting, was completely unnecessary to the story, it would have been better to leave the reader wondering what had happened to Ophelia and her unborn child instead of adding on to the story. The writing also wasn't always that great, it needed some proper editing and some of the phrases in the story stood out starkly as being after its time. Ophelia's character development was also interesting, she had turned into a perfectly reasonable, clever and witty young woman, but falling for the prince seemed to undo this reason and cause her such great despair later that she couldn't even think how to act properly, not until she feigns her own death do you see some of her wits returning. Later at the convent, she tries to redeem her past wrongs by becoming a woman of faith and trying to heal a sick servant girl, she fails at this, but by then has seen the light of god and understands she has been forgiven. For someone who had little or no interest in god at in the first two parts of the book, and despised the rule of men over her, she sure fell fast into praising and loving the lord. In my view this did not fit Ophelia's character, though she still questioned everything, a lot, she fell to easily into religion and abandoned her reason to easily (though not completely).

Any way, if I were you I would avoid this book, though it tries to touch on deeper issues, like a women's virtue and love its self, the story has no direct theme other than it is a different perspective of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Its flowery language and over use of witty phrases might make it hard for some younger readers to understand, but if they have any brains at all they will see it for what it really is, a sappy romance story played out by Shakespeare's characters. I wouldn't say it is a terrible idea or even the first part of the book that terrible, I thoroughly enjoyed some of it, it just didn't really make sense and was over dramatic. I wouldn't read it again, and it certainly wouldn't have been my first choice.