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juushikaTitle: Lady Macbeth
Author: Susan Fraser King
Published: New York: Crown, 2008
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 352
Total Page Count: 50,879
Text Number: 146
Read For: personal enjoyment (and a love for Celtic history and the Macbeths), checked out from the library
Short review: In 11th Century Scotland, the Princess Bodhe and the young Macbeth are equal heirs to the throne of Scotland—but the current king is intent on breaking tradition and passing the throne directly to his son. Through politics and violence—including the murder of Bodhe's husband—Macbeth and Bodhe marry. Lady Macbeth comes to love Macbeth, and together they begin to battle for their right to rule Scotland. This is Lady Macbeth's story, told from her point of view, and it is a historical fiction, based on significant research and intended to represent the true events that lie behind the myth that we know today. Aptly researched and written, with a strong (although sometimes anachronistic) protagonist, a bit of political intrigue, a bit of violence, and a touch of magic, Lady Macbeth has all the right qualities to be intelligent and interesting, but it lacks the special spark that would take this good book and make it great. Moderately recommended.
In some ways, Lady Macbeth is reminiscent of Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon—but with one major difference. Both books are historical fictions that are based on a wealth of research but use more than enough artistic elaboration to create coherent and interesting narratives. Both include a slight element of magic (more explicit in Mists but present in Lady Macbeth as well) which is mostly based on historical beliefs and lends the book a sense of gravitas. Both change the focus of a familiar story from the male protagonists we expect to strong female protagonists instead. However, Mist of Avalon is a striking book, but Lady Macbeth is not, and here lies the difference: Mists has a certain spark that Lady Macbeth lacks. So while the right ingredients are present, Lady Macbeth lacks that special something that makes a book greater than the sum of its parts. It is competent and even good, but the book never quite manages to be great.
King's writing style is somewhat slow, focusing on Bodhe's youth and her daily life as well as the action of the plot, but the pace never drags. The writing has a similar gentle, almost romantic, tone despite the frequent violence, and together these aspects almost dampen the impact of the book. However, the writing is apt and shows attention and skill. The elements of the plot—from realistic character motivations and backstory, to Bodhe's independence and strength (on a side note: she is sometimes so independent that she is anachronistic, exceeding the bounds of her gender and her time period to a degree that she stops being strong and becomes almost unbelievable; on the whole, however, her refusal to take a back seat to her husband is admirable) to a political plot based on elements of historical fact—makes for a complex and compelling story that does seem like a viable piece of history and the basis for the fable of Macbeth that we know now, including Shakespeare's play. By all accounts this is a good book, interesting and readable, an uncommon glimpse of Scottish history and a realistic story of one strong woman's life.
However, the book never quite sweeps the reader away. Bodhe is admirable but never inspiring. The history is realistic but never quite real. The story is well paced and built up, but never epic. However promising its qualities and however good the book, Lady Macbeth is not great, not compelling, not memorable. For readers interested in the concept, the Macbeths, or Scottish historical fiction this may be a good read, but it is a book to borrow rather than buy because it has no reread potential. Likewise, as the book never quite manages to rise to the level of greatness, I recommend Lady Macebeth only moderately.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
Author: Susan Fraser King
Published: New York: Crown, 2008
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 352
Total Page Count: 50,879
Text Number: 146
Read For: personal enjoyment (and a love for Celtic history and the Macbeths), checked out from the library
Short review: In 11th Century Scotland, the Princess Bodhe and the young Macbeth are equal heirs to the throne of Scotland—but the current king is intent on breaking tradition and passing the throne directly to his son. Through politics and violence—including the murder of Bodhe's husband—Macbeth and Bodhe marry. Lady Macbeth comes to love Macbeth, and together they begin to battle for their right to rule Scotland. This is Lady Macbeth's story, told from her point of view, and it is a historical fiction, based on significant research and intended to represent the true events that lie behind the myth that we know today. Aptly researched and written, with a strong (although sometimes anachronistic) protagonist, a bit of political intrigue, a bit of violence, and a touch of magic, Lady Macbeth has all the right qualities to be intelligent and interesting, but it lacks the special spark that would take this good book and make it great. Moderately recommended.
In some ways, Lady Macbeth is reminiscent of Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon—but with one major difference. Both books are historical fictions that are based on a wealth of research but use more than enough artistic elaboration to create coherent and interesting narratives. Both include a slight element of magic (more explicit in Mists but present in Lady Macbeth as well) which is mostly based on historical beliefs and lends the book a sense of gravitas. Both change the focus of a familiar story from the male protagonists we expect to strong female protagonists instead. However, Mist of Avalon is a striking book, but Lady Macbeth is not, and here lies the difference: Mists has a certain spark that Lady Macbeth lacks. So while the right ingredients are present, Lady Macbeth lacks that special something that makes a book greater than the sum of its parts. It is competent and even good, but the book never quite manages to be great.
King's writing style is somewhat slow, focusing on Bodhe's youth and her daily life as well as the action of the plot, but the pace never drags. The writing has a similar gentle, almost romantic, tone despite the frequent violence, and together these aspects almost dampen the impact of the book. However, the writing is apt and shows attention and skill. The elements of the plot—from realistic character motivations and backstory, to Bodhe's independence and strength (on a side note: she is sometimes so independent that she is anachronistic, exceeding the bounds of her gender and her time period to a degree that she stops being strong and becomes almost unbelievable; on the whole, however, her refusal to take a back seat to her husband is admirable) to a political plot based on elements of historical fact—makes for a complex and compelling story that does seem like a viable piece of history and the basis for the fable of Macbeth that we know now, including Shakespeare's play. By all accounts this is a good book, interesting and readable, an uncommon glimpse of Scottish history and a realistic story of one strong woman's life.
However, the book never quite sweeps the reader away. Bodhe is admirable but never inspiring. The history is realistic but never quite real. The story is well paced and built up, but never epic. However promising its qualities and however good the book, Lady Macbeth is not great, not compelling, not memorable. For readers interested in the concept, the Macbeths, or Scottish historical fiction this may be a good read, but it is a book to borrow rather than buy because it has no reread potential. Likewise, as the book never quite manages to rise to the level of greatness, I recommend Lady Macebeth only moderately.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
