Lester has taken on an immensely ambitious task, rewriting Shakespeare's tale and making a bridge to the play. A few of the bard's words are incorporated, and the basic plot is maintained, but this is primarily a literary venture. Reflecting modern sensibilities, Lester makes Othello black, enslaved by Moors, and shifts the story (it's not clear why) to England. Iago is also black, negating racism as a factor in his villainy. No longer is the title character burdened either by human flaws or falling sickness. With interpretive license and undue force, Lester makes his Othello a superman: he is apparently untraumatized by enslavement; speaks Arabic, Italian, English, etc.; he is a superb warrior; and having the wisdom of all humankind and a heart of gold, he is unable to recognize evil. Even murder springs from honor rather than the all-too-human flaw of jealousy. Unfortunately, enjoying this will be affected by one's reaction to or familiarity with domestic violence on both the minute and grand scales (the O.J. Simpson case, for example). To many readers, it will be troubling when Desdemona says, ``I want to greet each day with love burning as fiercely as the pain in the arrow-pierced heart of a deer,'' and is too foolish to see trouble brewing. She remains a traditional victim who ``asks for it'' and is just a means of exacting revenge for Lester's central characters, Othello and Iago. In spite of sensibilities over race and gender, this is a worthy effort for its exploration of the poison of jealousy, whether based on love or ambition. Lester revitalizes what for many would remain an unread text, through the all-too-fashionable concepts of notoriety and controversy, and the familiar old process of sedition. (Fiction. 10+)
Pub Date: April 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-590-41967-6
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1995
It’s 1949, and 13-year-old Francine Green lives in “the land of ‘Sit down, Francine’ and ‘Be quiet, Francine’ ” at All Saints School for Girls in Los Angeles. When she meets Sophie Bowman and her father, she’s encouraged to think about issues in the news: the atomic bomb, peace, communism and blacklisting. This is not a story about the McCarthy era so much as one about how one girl—who has been trained to be quiet and obedient by her school, family, church and culture—learns to speak up for herself. Cushman offers a fine sense of the times with such cultural references as President Truman, Hopalong Cassidy, Montgomery Clift, Lucky Strike, “duck and cover” and the Iron Curtain. The dialogue is sharp, carrying a good part of this story of friends and foes, guilt and courage—a story that ought to send readers off to find out more about McCarthy, his witch-hunt and the First Amendment. Though not a happily-ever-after tale, it dramatizes how one person can stand up to unfairness, be it in front of Senate hearings or in the classroom. (author’s note) (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2006
ISBN: 0-618-50455-9
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Beautiful and important.
When Death tells a story, you pay attention.
Liesel Meminger is a young girl growing up outside of Munich in Nazi Germany, and Death tells her story as “an attempt—a flying jump of an attempt—to prove to me that you, and your human existence, are worth it.” When her foster father helps her learn to read and she discovers the power of words, Liesel begins stealing books from Nazi book burnings and the mayor’s wife’s library. As she becomes a better reader, she becomes a writer, writing a book about her life in such a miserable time. Liesel’s experiences move Death to say, “I am haunted by humans.” How could the human race be “so ugly and so glorious” at the same time? This big, expansive novel is a leisurely working out of fate, of seemingly chance encounters and events that ultimately touch, like dominoes as they collide. The writing is elegant, philosophical and moving. Even at its length, it’s a work to read slowly and savor.
Beautiful and important. (Fiction. 12+)Pub Date: March 14, 2006
ISBN: 0-375-83100-2
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006
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