It’s the worst feeling when you don’t click with one of your favorite author’s books. And this unfortunately happened with me and Lady Macbeth. I have a lot of complex thoughts on Lady Macbeth which makes it a bit more complicated. Keep reading this book review of Lady Macbeth for my full thoughts.
Summary
The Lady knows the stories: how her eyes induce madness in men.
The Lady knows she will be wed to the Scottish brute, who does not leave his warrior ways behind when he comes to the marriage bed.
The Lady knows his hostile, suspicious court will be a game of strategy, requiring all of her wiles and hidden witchcraft to survive.
But the Lady does not know her husband has occult secrets of his own. She does not know that prophecy girds him like armor. She does not know that her magic is greater and more dangerous, and that it will threaten the order of the world.
She does not know this yet. But she will.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
So my thoughts on Lady Macbeth stem from a few different sources. Let me just issue a disclaimer and say I’m not too acquainted with “Macbeth”. I know the bare bones and saw it once as a play, but in general I am not as familiar as with some other plays. That being said, I was still a bit confused on the details in Lady Macbeth and went to fellow reviews to get some answers. And one of the resounding ones were that this is a very loose retelling. Honestly, if their names were different, I’m not sure I’d recognize it. Some crucial scenes I did know, and was expecting, weren’t there.
And part of what drew me was this idea of a feminist re-imagining of “Macbeth”. But unfortunately I didn’t see it? First off, the portrayal of the Scottish people here came off as being harsh – with not a lot of nuance – and that threw me off. Scotland has a special place in my heart, but it just seemed to be a bit stereotypical. Additionally, I didn’t understand the set up for her marriage. At about 50% I decided to just throw out what I thought about “Macbeth” out of my mind and enjoyed the last half a bit more? But while the ending was a bit more redemptive in my mind, it was a bit of a too little too late if I wasn’t reviewing this.
Overall,
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There were so many avenues in Lady Macbeth that could have been really intriguing. For example, the treatment of the witches and the relationships she has with her handmaiden. I was just expecting a bit more complexity in the side characters and side stories to give a more well rounded look. All in all, it felt a bit shallow in terms of a re-imagining and also a feminist take. Not to mention the ending feeling rushed considering the long lead up to the twist.
So unfortunately, Lady Macbeth was a let down. I’d be interested to see reception upon release and also from more informed fans of “Macbeth”. It has the elements I’m looking for, but a bit too shallow for what I was expecting. Find Lady Macbeth on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.