Lady Macbeth by Ave Reid: A Book Review
Genre: Fantasy; Historical
Enther Macbeth. Written as a retelling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Reid tells a more feminist version of the story by surrounding Lady Macbeth. Told in parts, the story starts at Roscille’s journey to meet her soon-to-be husband, Macbeth, before moving to their marriage, the prophecies, and the rest of the stories told about in Macbeth. Using Lady Macbeth, Reid tells the background stories that might have “been past over by men because of the woman viewpoint”. Insterestingly enough, Reid does not make Lady Macbeth out to be the hero of the story or the villain – but rather just a woman trying to survive in a dangerous world. Lady Macbeth is not completely confident, or told to be the most clever; rather, Lady Macbeth comes across as just simply beautiful (perhaps supernaturally so), but otherwise completely normal (excepted for the witch-touch aspect of course).
Personally, I really enjoyed this story. I read it in a couple days so it was quick. I do wish I had more of a background knowledge of Macbeth or at least read it again before reading Reid’s version; however, I read enough Shakespeare in college and would much rather pass on any of his works except for The Taming of the Shrew. Reid’s work, though, is a fascinating show of how Shakespeare’s works still influence society today. I found it especially interesting how there are so many retellings of Macbeth. There are now a total of 6 based entirely on Lady Macbeth, at least according to GoodReads.
I found it interesting that Lady Macbeth’s “powers” come from her eyes. I have different theories on why this is, but I think the best theory is that it doesn’t actually come from her eyes. I think she is “able to get inside the minds of men” simply because of her beauty. I think her “power” is the infatuation that men develop due to her beauty. When they look into her eyes they simply fall in love and will be willing to do anything that she says simply because she says it. That doesn’t write a good story though.
My favorite character had to be the prince. I loved him and Roscille together. Reid wrote them to have great chemistry as well as a way that they both understood each other. The way that he was a foil to Macbeth was definitely entertaining especially when Roscille highlighted it in a way that wasn’t quite obvious. I actually don’t think I hated any of the characters. They were all wonderfully written. Their actions made sense. Their personalities fit. Overall, the worldbuilding and character profiles were really well done.
I also really enjoyed how Reid paid attention to the different languages and dialects as well as they intersected. How Roscille and Macbeth both had different versions of names based on the location or person talking was especially interesting and brought me back to my college days learning linguistics.
Who would most enjoy the work and who should stay clear (if necessary):
Enjoy:
Fans of Shakespeare
Those that like retellings with a feminist perspective
Stay Clear
Do not like Shakespeare
Do not like reading
Have trouble keeping track of names and characters
Other books like the one reviewed:
All of Our Yesterdays by Joel H. Morris
Lady Macbethad by Isabelle Schuler
Blood Queen by Joanna Courtney
Lady Macbeth by Susan Fraser King
Macbeth by Shakespeare (of course)
| Plot: | 9 / 10 |
| Characters: | 9 / 10 |
| Writing: | 9 / 10 |
| Editor: | 10 / 10 |
| Total | 37 / 40 |
Title: Lady Macbeth
Author: Ava Reid
Edition: Hardcover
Published: 2024
Publisher: Del Rey
ISBN: 9780593722565
If you want to get it: Amazon; Barnes&Noble
Rosey Reviews 