Lady Macbeth by Ava ReidMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
A retelling of Shakespeare’s play Macbeth told from the wife. This was a vastly different version, the characters are reinvented. The book was quite dark, yet the language for the most part did evoke an older time.
Roscilla/Roscille/Lady Macbeth is a hagseed, born with a witch curse, who makes men mad when they stare into her eyes. Thus her father placed a veil over her so as to protect men. Roscille is a teenager married off from her uncaring father to a brutish, overly large Scotsman – Thane of Glammis. He keeps three witches down below in the ocean water beneath the castle, they tell him the prophecies.
There are similarities to the original play, but the core, so much was not. Places are even spelled differently. It makes one wonder why not write anew and not be tied to, compared to the play. I think the book would have been stronger that way. Although, still, the main character was not drawn consistently.
I’m on the fence how to rate this, comparing to the original as a retelling I would rate it low. On its own a bit better, so I’m placing it in the middle with 3 stars.
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