Dating Hamlet: Ophelia's Story (2002) - Plot & Excerpts
If you don't want to view spoilers... well, come on, people. This play's been out for hundred's of years, it's not like this story's anything new. There is a few spoilers for the novel itself, but honestly, this book isn't really worth your time, so don't bother shielding your eyes.It feels like the author couldn't take the tragedy that was the original, and went out of her way to write a version in which no one died except the king who deserved to. It really removes all tension from the novel when she re-writes those dramatic scenes, Ophelia's funeral, the climax where everyone lay dying in the court, knowing that they'll all be just fine and dandy in the next chapter. This is also reflected, albeit on a smaller scale, with the reveal that Polonius is not actually Ophelia and Laertes's father, but rather the grave-keeper! Because, you know, it's impossible to be related to a backwards thinking, idiotic jerk! Face it Fiedler; sometimes good people are born from bad parents.And don't get me started on Ophelia's character. Can you say, Mary Sue?Let's list the guys who all have feelings for Ophelia or lust after her in one way or another;Hamlet (well, obviously)Bartholomew (you know, that cool guard in the first scene of the play, turned rapist in this book? Not cool, Fiedler. Not cool.)King Claudius (Yes, Claudius. Fiedler felt the need to make him even more of a fiend by making him an aggressive sexual predator who rips Ophelia's dress off and stares at her breasts.)Random Maid #1 (Yes, when Ophelia sneaks back into the court disguised as a guy after faking her death, some random lady comes onto her.)Fortinbras After Fortinbras flirts with her, I rolled my eyes and walked away from the book. It seems like every character who isn't related to her, apart from Horatio, (who is given a love interest all his own in the made up character Anne) have the hots for Ophelia, and it's ridiculous! There's only so many times you can make other characters fall for your protagonist before your reader's suspension of disbelief is stretched to the breaking point! And don't forget the fact that Ophelia has no negative qualities whatsoever. She's smart, daring, confident, friendly, charismatic... give me a break!I'll give the author this, she did manage to keep me interested throughout the story, I was intrigued in how she would change the original and how things would be wrapped up. Unfortunately, she chose the most ridiculous path and let everyone live except Claudius, completely removing the tragic element of the original and just making the whole thing feel empty and cheap.So, just don't bother with this one. It's just not worth it.
This book might have been interesting if I could have gotten past the writing. The horrible mixture of almost Elizabethan, overblown flowery language with 21st century "OMG, he's so cute I think I'm gonna die!!!1!" is so jarring that OMG, I think I'm gonna gag!!!!1!!This is, of course, leaving aside that fact that a with most modern authors who try to write 17th century English, the author gets it wrong. Arguing that a sentence like "You have thy banana" (not an actual sentence from the book, but close enough) was ever correct grammar is a fruitless task.I'm not averse to people adapting very good literature like Hamlet and putting a fun twist on the story. But I do insist that it be done well. This is not. It reminds me of a quote I heard once with reference to another book: "This is not a book to be lightly tossed aside -- it should be thrown with great force."
What do You think about Dating Hamlet: Ophelia's Story (2002)?
This retelling of Shakespeare's classic tragedy gives the coveted position of protaganist not to the troubled prince of Denmark but to the plays much lamented victim Ophelia Hamlet's love interest.The story starts out slow as most of the book is exactly like Shakespeare's play only from Ophelia's point of view. I would have to say the real action dosn't start until about Act four. When Hamlet is sent off to England it is left in Ophielia's hands to turn the inevitable tragedy into if not a comedy then at least Melodrama.Can Ophelia prevent her story from ending the way that Hamlet's friend Romeo's did?To Read or Not to Read that is the Question.
—Cathrine Bonham
If you are not familiar with Shakespeare's Hamlet, its unlikely that you will understand the finer nuances of Dating Hamlet: Ophelia's Story by Lisa Fiedler. And that's a shame, because Ophelia's take-charge attitude makes a huge difference in the plot. Suffice it to say that in Shakespeare's version, pretty much everybody ends up dead, while in Fiedler's version, only the obviously awful people buy the farm; plus, instead of stuffed shirt Polonius as a father, Ophelia learns that her real dad is a very lively grave-digger!
—TheSaint
Ophelia never was one of my favorite Shakespearean heroines (perhaps because my acting teachers were often suggesting i play her~and i was always a little partial to Juliet~ever since we first read the play in ninth grade English). I always saw Ophelia as a bit weak and victim-like~i suppose i'm not the only one~and named a cat i got after my other "tough" cat Tiny disappeared when a roommate let her out into a strange neighborhood (i saw the cat as somewhat weak~that cat later became my baby who no other cat~at first~would ever match and i never knew if i came to see the character of Ophelia differently because of the cat or because of a re-reading of Hamlet...)Of course any re-writing of the master (and Hamlet always has been one of my favorite plays~i actually always wanted to play Hamlet) is going to leave a few detractors and there were definitely aspects of Lisa Fiedler's Dating Hamlet: Ophelia's Story that left me none too happy (i.e. certain changes to Polonius and the gravedigger~but what can you do really?) Ophelia isn't quite the strong, feminist character you might hope for (she was still quite head over heels for Hamlet~but she is a teenager after all~also living in eleventh century Denmark) but she can definitely hold her own (and even has some career aspirations~maybe she is a bit of a feminist after all...~i mean she does act for herself, what more is there?). She does manage quite a few of the behind-the-scenes plot machinations for herself and you can also see why there might be a bit of a real romance for her and the Danish prince (he's not quite as wishy-washy as some have played him, either.) Some stuff that i was thinking sounded a bit like another Shakespeare plot was explained slightly (if a bit too cutely, pertly, patly, etc) at the end.All in all, a quick (and isn't that what most of us want from a young adult novel, anyway?) breezy, enjoyable read (especially if you're a fan of the bard).
—YoSafBridg
