Book Review: Lady Macbeth by Susan Fraser King

I LOVED this book. However much I love Shakespeare--and I DO LOVE SHAKESPEARE--the man was writing for the good graces and on the good will of the Tudors and the Stuarts. To do that, he often had to write Tudor-supporting propaganda (which is why Richard III is evil in his book, when actually he was quite an amicable man). Susan Fraser King wrote a novel more in line with historical fact. Her characters are flawed, they are human, but they have hearts and are pushed and prodded by circumstance more than by ambition. In this realm, Macbeth and his wife are loved by their people and their country; he actually holds the knife when he would have done them all more good by "plunging it in!" He is not the pitiable murderer we have all come to know and does not live under/behind his lady-wife's skirts; he is actually a king who has his country's best interests at heart. The writing is magnificent as well. King pulls you in with her first line and keeps you hooked until the last. I felt an aching loss when I finished this book. Like the play however, Macbeth dies at the end, so there won't be a sequel, unless Lady Macbeth's fate ties in with that of some other clan. It may, but I doubt she'll be the central character again.

Book Review: The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

At first sight, Eleanor Brown's The Weird Sisters looks like a book for bibliophiles--people who love books.  It is beautifully written and carries with it a sort of humorous melancholy.  Any student of literature will love it, because its parallels to the original realms of Shakespeare are intriguing.  It is for those who love words and for those who love images, but it is for a much broader audience, too.  Alongside the frequent references to the Bard and his plays are the everyday activities of very human, ordinary and flawed people who are trying to overcome their weaknesses to live better lives.  At this point in my life, I could relate to this story.  Each of the three sisters seems to represent some facet of my own personality.  Rose and I share a desire to be in control, and to want to stay close to home and what is known. (That said, if I had an amazing fiancée wanting me to move to London with him, I wouldn’t have to think much about it.  I’d be on the next available flight!).  Bean and I share a sense of inadequacy that sometimes leads us to misinterpret a situation.  Though I have never made the types of mistakes she makes, I am every bit as human and my pride has led me to be—impolitic.  Cordy and I share the status of the youngest child.  I will forever be thirteen in my parents‘ eyes, no matter how responsible I may be. 

This story hit very close to home, because through no fault of my own, I find myself needing to live with my parents once more, and returning home has often felt like a failure.  Sometimes, not even responsibility, a dedicated work-ethic, competence and a dedication to serve the needs of your population can save you from the bottom-line or the perceptions of the uninformed that dwell above you.  In this story, the girls often make their own circumstances.  Sometimes, however, circumstances are thrust upon ‘em.  This is where I find myself now, and so, this book, more than anything, gives me hope that I can overcome the flaws in myself and my circumstances.  I can be the heroine in my own story and change to meet the needs of my situation—or change my situation to meet my needs.  This book, like so many others, has let me know that I am not alone, and that greatness can come by small means, and in small ways.