A review by toniclark
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by David Hewson, A.J. Hartley

4.0

This is a novelization that departs in many ways from the play we know and love —which, the authors reveal in the Afterword, is not the version that was performed in Shakespeare's day. Moreover, there were many versions of the tale before Shakespeare took it up. I don't have a problem with the idea of novelization, and I think the authors did quite a good job of adding moral complexity through elaborating subplots and introducing new ones. Overall, it was quite enjoyable. I constantly found myself wondering, though, whether some detail or other was in Shakespeare's play or had been added to the novel. I had initially decided to read this work in preparation for seeing the play, but realize that I should now go back to the original — or, that is, Shakespeare's version, to refresh my memory.