04 July, 2011

Hamlet

Illustrator: Nicki Greenberg
Genre: Fiction 
Audience: Young Adult 
Format: Graphic Novel - Library

Synopsis: Shakespeare's Hamlet completely retold in a graphic novel form.

What I thought: Wow! Let me just say that again...WOW!! This was fantastic. Nicki Greenberg "stages on the page" Shakespeare's Hamlet in a form that will engage teenage readers and possibly open their eyes to Shakespeare. And here's the thing - I'm not a big reader of Shakespeare. Apart from the stuff we had to read at school, like most people, I struggle with it. Put on the stage or screen and I'm there, love it, but I don't read it. This I read and enjoyed. I've seen other works done is a story book or comic book form, but I think the reason this worked so well is Greenberg took it completely outside the norm by making her characters non human. I'm not sure what they were , part monkey, part alien, but they weren't human and it worked. And the pictures are lush and gorgeous. I hope she does more, in fact, I'd love to see Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing or Merchant of Venice!

Panel from Nicki Greenberg's website, www.nickigreenberg.com Check it out, well worth it.

Recommended for: teens who are studying Hamlet. The format may make it just a bit easier to digest.