Oh Villainy!

This is another one of those fateful moments that turn into a post.  In the April issue of Bookpage magazine (a freebie found at public libraries), there was recommendation for a book entitled If We Were Villains.  The title caught my eye and the blurb was interesting.  I added the book to my library queue for future consideration.

Fast forward to a Saturday library visit and I found a copy of Villains on the shelf.  I started reading it and was immediately hooked.  I also needed a book to take with me for reading on an upcoming vacation.  This one was it!

Why here?  The book is a wonderful mix of modern fiction and Shakespeare, perfect for any fan of either (and for the author of an occasional blog post relating to all things Shakespearean).  To give away anything would be to spoil the book for a reader, so I won't.  No lie, though, the ending did elicit a tear or two from this reader.  Seeing words from Hamlet appear near the climax and fit perfectly into the action--masterful!

The author, via the main character, Oliver, provides a terrific description of tragedy, and that I will recount here:  "[That] is how a tragedy like...King Lear breaks your heart--by making you believe that the ending might still be happy, until the very last minute."  This is one book that will stay with me for a very long time.

A NY Times Appearance

One of my ongoing leisure projects is tackling the NY Times Crossword Archive.  Although I cannot for the life of me recall when I started doing the daily crossword, I know it was during a winter recess in my old life as a teacher.  Somewhere along the way, after a disagreement with the local newspaper, I subscribed to the crossword online.  As the archive goes back to long before I started doing the crossword myself, I've been working through the Sunday puzzles until I find a familiar one.  Then I'll know that I'm caught up (on one day of the week, at least).

A recent effort was the May 17, 1998 puzzle, created by David J. Kahn and Hillary B. Kahn and entitled "Green Eggs and Hamlet."  That caught my eye, as you might imagine.  It reminded me of a past post on this blog--March 16, 2016, to be precise.  That topic was a film with the same name as the puzzle.  In any event, I dug in and eventually finished the puzzle.  It took multiple sittings over multiple days.  At this point, I'm in no hurry.  Plus, old puzzles are WAY more difficult than the current crop!

The theme manifested itself in the form of an imaginary soliloquy.  SPOILER ALERT (27 years later and with spacing added)!

I DO NOT LIKE MY DADS BROTHER

POISONED KING WED MY MOTHER

I LET THEM THINK THAT I AM MAD

OOPS I STABBED OPHELIAS DAD

NOBODY HELPS ME IN MY PLIGHT

NOW LAERTES AND I WILL FIGHT

SWORDS ARE SWITCHED IN A JAM

A THEATRICAL ENDING HAM I AM

Very clever methinks!

Hamlet Visits Paddington

Another unexpected appearance of Hamlet led to today's post, the first of the year.  I guess such appearances should not be too surprising, given that Hamlet is probably the most famous play ever written.  Why shouldn't it pop up within the pages of one of the most famous series of children's books from England?  Still, the occurrence brought a smile to my face and a post to my blog.

I decided a while back to read the entire series of Paddington books by Michael Bond.  Acquisition of the Paddington Funko POP for my London display started it.  

Decades ago my father had bought me several entries in the series, and they sat unread in a book cabinet for a long time.  (I was a kid then.  Now, just a kid at heart, I suppose.)  Call the endeavor a bit of catching up for lost time.

The title in question is Paddington Races Ahead (2012).  Chapter Six, "Paddington Flies a Kite," finds our ursine hero at a picnic in the park.  He and his adopted family come upon an open-air theatre doing Hamlet.  Paddington's first thought is that it sounds "like a small ham sandwich."  The family clarifies the play for him, although I'll admit that their summary confused me at first read.  I agreed with Paddington's assessment:  "It sounds very complicated."  Yorick is described as getting "killed by mistake"; not sure about that one.  In any event, the remainder of the action will be left for the curious reader.  As one might expect if one knows Paddington, the play does not go smoothly, but everything works out in the end.

One comment within the family's description of the play rang very true.

"It's really a play about a man who couldn't make up his mind," explained Judy.  "'To be or not to be' is one of Hamlet's great lines.  Actors often milk it for all it's worth and make it last forever."

I may have seen one those productions!