Sound & Fury: Shakespeare Goes Punk by Jeffrey Cook
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I interviewed Jeffrey Cook about this book for my Monday Blog Post He provided me with the Kindle edition and that is what I am reviewing here.
Let me start by saying I am a fan of Shakespeare- all of Shakespeare: plays and poetry. And I was intrigued by the idea of taking some of those classics and giving them a ‘punk twist. I also enjoy a good steampunk or cyberpunk story now and again.
There are five stories in the collection: Mac based on “Macbeth”, The Green-Eyed Monster based on “Othello”, Prospero’s Island inspired by “The Tempest,” “A Town Called Hero” inspired by Much Ado About Nothing, and “The Winter’s Tale” inspired by The Winter’s Tale.
All are nicely done, and serve their inspirations well. The base story from Shakespeare is preserved in each one, and the ‘punk settings don’t get in the way of the telling. You don’t have to be intimately familiar with the original works to enjoy them, but a grasp of the basic storyline does help. There are many places to find synopses of the plays, including the Writerpunk website.
The author’s know their source material, and work well within the various ‘punk genres. There are quotes from the original plays, but nothing overly daunting or extensive. These stories are written as stories, not the iambic pentameter of Shakespeare. Characters are true to their roots, but molded to fit in their new worlds. Settings are varied, depending on the genre.
This is an enjoyable collection, and I recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed a Shakespeare play, and to the many fans of the various ‘punk genres.
All proceeds from the sale of the book go to PAWS, an animal shelter in WA.
And So On... 