Book Review: New Boy (Hogarth Shakespeare) by Tracy Chevalier
I love Shakespeare. I took several Shakespeare courses in college. I taught Shakespeare. I own the entire collection, more than one shirt, and the Lego brick Shakespeare editions. But, I am one of those weird souls who prefers his tragedies over his comedies (with King Lear being my favorite followed closely by Othello).
So when I heard about Hogarth Shakespeare's New Boy (a retelling of Othello), I did not hesitate to read it. “The Hogarth Shakespeare project sees Shakespeare’s works retold by acclaimed and bestselling novelists of today.” New Day is written by the incredible Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with a Pearl Earring.
In this retelling, the story takes place on a playground with students in grades 4-6. It is easy to identify which students model which Shakespearean characters, and the plot follows very closely. So closely that as I got closer to the end, I became more and more upset as I remember how the original play ended.
The novel is beautifully written. However, I did struggle with the ages of the characters. I found it hard to imagine kids this age acting and thinking in the ways they were portrayed. Since this is a tragedy, it made reading about children more difficult.
But isn’t that the point of Shakespeare’s tragedies? They make you think and blanch at the horrors of life. As Othello deals with themes of race, lust, betrayal, it is intended to leave you feeling unsettled. Chevalier’s New Boy will leave you feeling the same way.
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I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
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