"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.

I give this a 4 only because I have read through the current Gamache novel, "The Grey Wolf." Reading the growth of this world and the depth of the characters has been amazing!