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Title: Gertrude and Claudius by John Updike ISBN: 0-449-00697-2 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 03 July, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.88 (34 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Pre-Hamlet
Comment: "Gertrude and Claudius" is a historical fantasy loosely based on Shakespeare's "Hamlet". The novel is divided into three parts, between which the time period jumps, coming ever closer to the point at which Shakespeare's play begins. It could be viewed as Updike's attempt to do a prose prequel to "Hamlet".
In the Danish Court, Horwentil marries Gerutha. Horwentil becomes King of Denmark, but Gerutha becomes increasingly attracted to Horwentil's brother, Feng. As the reader progresses from one section of the book to the next, the character names Updike uses become more recognisably those in "Hamlet", and thus the story becomes more familiar.
"Gertrude and Claudius" is entertaining enough, without being a spectacularly good piece of fiction. Updike's prose is of variable quality, hence:
"She tipped up her face to remind him who she was, and he quizzically brushed the knuckles of one hand against her cheek, where his mail had gouged in red the gridded impression of its links."
Enough to turn any girl's head. In all, I prefer Updike when he remains at home - in the USA.
G Rodgers
Rating: 5
Summary: The king was irate
Comment: Gertrude and Claudius is focused on a necessarily small market niche: anyone who has not read and loved Hamlet will not see the need for this story, which is a prequel in three acts to what might be Shakespeare's greatest tragedy. And that's a shame.
This is a wonderfully written story that convincingly challenges the traditional sympathies we all developed in reading Hamlet, especially regarding Hamlet's cold and calculating mother. Mr. Updike forcefully and dramatically paints a picture of Gertrude as a sweet and decent woman fatally flawed by her attraction to Claudius, her husband's brother. And Claudius plays more than a supporting role here, giving more insight into Hamlet, who at once seems more confused and easier to understand. It all works because of Mr. Updike's wit, insight, and often perfect timing.
Gertrude and Claudius is also a scholarly study, based on the same source materials Shakespeare used. In fact, as the plot draws closer to Hamlet's 30th birthday and the start of the play that carries his name, Mr. Updike changes to progressively newer sources. That creates a story is "historically" accurate (well, as much as a story based on ancient legends can be). Incidentally, there is an interesting and slightly confusing aspect to that as well: Claudius starts out as Feng, and then becomes Fengon before finally being called Claudius; for his part, Hamlet starts out as Amleth. Each section starts with the words "The king was irate," but in each case there is a different king -- Horwendil (Amleth's father), then Fengon, then Hamlet.
But one of the most compelling aspects to the story is the fact that it was written at all. Mr. Updike is a writer near the end of his career and with nothing left to prove. He has excelled writing several genres of fiction, criticism, poetry, and commentary. And yet this story shows that he is still experimenting, still challenging his abilities.
Rating: 4
Summary: An excellent precursor to "Hamlet"
Comment: In "Gertrude and Claudius", Updike vividly imagines the events leading up to the story told in "Hamlet." The book is divided into three sections, echoing the typical structure of a Shakespearean play: the introduction of Gertrude and the principal players in section one, a conflict that arises in the middle section (in the form of Gertrude's attraction to King Hamlet's brother, Claudius), and a denouement in the final section which resolves the story on an ironic note, while also providing a clever segue into "Hamlet"'s opening scene.
The story follows Gertrude's evolution from the impetuous young daughter of King Roderik of Denmark, to the initially unwilling bride of the soon-to-be King Hamlet (he's named Horvendile in the early sections of the book, in order to draw a comparison with "Hamlet"'s earlier source material - the same is done for other characters in the story, but since the device is never fully explained by Updike, it may leave some readers confused), to the amorous lover and eventual wife of Claudius.
Updike is very effective at explaining Gertrude's mindset; she comes alive for the reader in a way that she never quite did in "Hamlet". She is very much the main focus of this story (although, starting in section two, young Prince Hamlet is forever lurking in the shadows, a glum harbinger of events yet to come) and Updike astonishes us by deftly proving that Gertrude is a sympathetic character.
After reading Updike's book, I think it will be difficult to look at "Hamlet" in quite the same way again. He's added so much rich back-story to the characters and events, that he's not only created an excellent story, but he's also enriched "Hamlet" itself. Still, I can't bring myself to give the book five stars, mainly because Updike's peculiar mixture of modern-day and Elizabethan prose is at times clunky. But if you're an admirer of "Hamlet" in particular or Shakespeare in general (and I do think you need to have had some exposure to "Hamlet" in order to fully enjoy Updike's story), then give this story a try.
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Title: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard, Henry Popkin ISBN: 0802132758 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: May, 1991 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Seek My Face by John Updike ISBN: 0375414908 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 12 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
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Title: Toward the End of Time by John Updike ISBN: 0449000419 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 25 August, 1998 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Achilles: A Novel by Elizabeth Cook ISBN: 0312311109 Publisher: Picador USA Pub. Date: 01 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
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Title: Her Privates We by Frederic Manning, William Boyd ISBN: 1852427175 Publisher: Consortium Book Sales & Dist Pub. Date: 15 November, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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