Hamlet, Prince Of Denmark: A Novel (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
Richard Armitage = perfection. I swear, the man could read the phone book and I'd listen to it. What a voice! I really hope he does more audiobooks in the future. I'd give the story itself 4 stars, but his narration adds on a star. I liked the different voices he used for each characters and as I'm sure others have said, he really acts this more than just reading it. He really made the story come alive for me. Oh, my. What a rich rich retelling. I had recently listened to a novelization of MACBETH, and loved it too...but this. HAMLET is so much more complex to begin with, and the characters so open to new interpretations. The chapters align with the five acts, there aren't so many lines lifted from the play as to distract. The characters we love and love to hate are all there. Several are reimagined.Everything about this novel makes me rethink the play and the characters. The back stories add so much. Questions I had about motivation were addressed.We KNOW how this story ends. We know, but there are still surprises. Scenes that happen off stage are here...Ophelia's death, Hamlet's fight with the pirates, the court of Queen Elizabeth. An explanation for the murder that begins everyyhing.Hartley decided to set his play in 1600, and it works. I loved the nod to MACBETH, and the connection of Scotland to Denmark.The ending of the play is so littered with corpses it's quite overwhelming. The end of this novel, with each character seeing and knowing death is coming...it is so much more tragic to me. Reflections, insights, redemptions...I cried...I never cry reading or watching the play. But I cried.
What do You think about Hamlet, Prince Of Denmark: A Novel (2014)?
Really, really want to find this in paperback! Would be great to use in my classroom
—ahzula
It was okay.. I enjoyed Macbeth better. I did like the narrator!
—farah74
A whole new way to experience a familiar story!
—dab
