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Shylock Is My Name

The Merchant of Venice Retold (Hogarth Shakespeare)

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Shylock Is My Name

By: Howard Jacobson
Narrated by: Michael Kitchen
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About this listen

'Who is this guy, Dad? What is he doing here?'

With an absent wife and a daughter going off the rails, wealthy art collector and philanthropist Simon Strulovitch is in need of someone to talk to. So when he meets Shylock at a cemetery in Cheshire's Golden Triangle, he invites him back to his house. It's the beginning of a remarkable friendship.

Elsewhere in the Golden Triangle, the rich, manipulative Plurabelle (aka Anna Livia Plurabelle Cleopatra a Thing of Beauty Is a Joy Forever Christine) is the face of her own TV series, existing in a bubble of plastic surgery and lavish parties. She shares prejudices and a barbed sense of humour with her loyal friend, D'Anton, whose attempts to play Cupid involve Strulovitch's daughter - and put a pound of flesh on the line.

Howard Jacobson's version of The Merchant of Venice bends time to its own advantage as it asks what it means to be a father, a Jew and a merciful human being in the modern world.

©2016 Howard Jacobsen (P)2016 Random House Audiobooks Drama & Plays Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Shakespeare Fiction Comedy

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A gripping and clever retelling of the well known play. Read at a great and intelligent pace.

Powerful

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I opted to listen to this book because I had really enjoyed the previous title in the 'Shakespeare Reimagined' series,which forms part of the Shakespeare 400 commemorations.

This particular book is a retelling of The Merchant of Venice, set in the modern-day 'Golden Triangle' area of Cheshire.

Two Jewish men, Shylock and Simon Strulovitch (a rich philanthropist and art collector) meet in a cemetery and strike up a friendship. Both have troublesome daughters and are mourning their wives for different reasons- Shylock's has died and Strulovitch's is bed-ridden and uncommunicative through illness.

Various situations, some comic, some serious, lead the men to examine the nature of fatherhood, what it means to be Jewish and how/when to be merciful. The author uses Shakespeare's device of a 'pound of flesh' in an unexpected way, and creates a cast of minor characters who are colourful, engaging and more likeable than either of the main protagonists.The story starts quite slowly and is not helped by the style of narration; but it builds up to a well-plotted and absorbing novel, full of humour and insights into the Jewish world and psyche. The second half is definitely better than the first.

I really could not warm to the narrator. His style really irritated me at times - he sounded sarcastic, even bored at some points. It was a shame as I really love Howard Jacobsen's writing.

I do not know much about The Merchant of Venice so I am unsure as to whether this version is close to the original or not. But it is definitely worth listening to, just as a stand-alone piece of literature.

Great Story, Average Narration

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I greatly enjoyed Margaret Atwood's re-working of The Tempest (Hagseed) and Jeannette Winterson's version of the Winters Tale (The Gap of Time ) in this series. Both cleverly re-tell the plays such that I could get the allusions to the original material. I found Shylock is my Name a tedious re-working that strayed far from the original and didn't hold my attention. It wasn't helped by the narration. I usually like Michael Kitchen's style, particularly for Robert Goddard books, but here he gabbled the text as if he wanted to get the whole thing over as fast as possible.

Didn't grab me

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This is a really enjoyable listen. Michael Kitchen's delivery suits the story and character of Shylock to a tee.

The setting helped me a great deal because I used to live in the area and know it well. I enjoy Shakespeare done well and had been concerned about this series when I began with Jo Nesbo's MacBeth, despite loving the author. So far, I am really pleased that I took the plunge.

Superb

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Marvellous retelling of the Merchant of Venice. I really enjoy the Hogarth Shakespeare Project and this is no exception.

Excellent.

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