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In this lush, magical, queer, and feminist take on Hamlet in modern-day New York City, a neuro-atypical physicist, along with his best friend Horatio and artist ex-fiancée, Lia, are caught up in the otherworldly events surrounding the death of his father. Meet Ben Dane: brilliant, devastating, devoted, honest to a fault (truly, a fault). His Broadway theater baron father is dead--but on purpose or by accident? The question rips him apart. Unable to face alone his mother's ghastly remarriage to his uncle, Ben turns to his dearest friend, Horatio Patel, whom he hasn't seen since their relationship changed forever from platonic to something...other. Loyal to a fault (truly, a fault), Horatio is on the first flight to New York City when he finds himself next to a sly tailor who portends inevitable disaster--and who seems ominously like an architect of mayhem himself. Meanwhile, Lia, sundered her from her loved ones thanks to her addiction recovery, and torn from her art, has been drawn into the fold of three florists from New Orleans, seemingly ageless sisters who teach her the language of flowers and whose magical bouquets hold both curses and cures--for a price. On one explosive night, these kinetic forces will collide, and the only possible outcome is death. But in the masterly hands of Lyndsay Faye, the story we all know has abundant surprises in store. Impish, captivating, and achingly romantic, this is Hamlet as you've never seen it before.
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"Hamlet" is a book that I've studied for years. I would even go so far as to say that I'm immersed in this particular Shakespeare play. So many nuances, so many relevant themes and points of discussion, so many facets of mental health and societal expectations. And this retelling as a novel transports the play to a totally different level. If the idea of reading a play, in Elizabethan English, isn't where you want to go, choose this novel. If you aren't compelled to (re)read "Hamlet" after, I'd be surprised. It wouldn't matter though because this novel twists and turns in such a way that at times, it think it's better -- at least for this contemporary reader.