Tales Retold

There seems to be a constant stream of novels “retelling” well known books, plays or stories. Usually the author is looking at the story through today’s eyes and perception. How do you feel about this? Are there any you enjoyed more than the original?

I have recently gone down a spiral of Greek mythology retelling and loved Madeline Millers books retellings the Greek myths in The Song of Achilles and Circe I also enjoyed Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet retelling 0f Shakespeare’s earlier life and family, Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese and Alice Hoffman’s new book The invisible Hour both retell Hester Prynne and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s stories in their own way! I’m loving this trend as often the authors include a more diverse and realistic takes on these age old stories!

Actually I really like the approach. Demon Copperhead, the retelling of David Copperfield, the Greek myth reboots mentioned above, Beautiful Little Fools (Great Gatsby retell), I like to hear the story from the other side.

I also really like the approach of retelling an older tale. It gives a different perspective and challenges us to think about other perspectives from the original main casts. Fair Rosaline is a great example of this.

This is not a tale retold, but Juliet:the Life and Afterlives of Shakespeare's First Tragic Heroine by Sophie Duncan is a really interesting look at Juliet and her legacy beyond the page to a broad ranging cultural afterlife.

I have always struggled reading the “classics”, and I’m including Romeo and Juliet in that group. The play was assigned in a high school English class, and I don’t remember reading it. (Cliff Notes maybe???) So I have really enjoyed many of the retellings I’ve found. I have a more meaningful connection to the story in more “modern” times (Demon Copperhead, for example). I’m being exposed to the classics, but in a way that is more interesting to me as a reader.

I do appreciate the creativity of the authors and the way they can reimagine and retell, BUT at the same time I can’t help feeling they are taking a bit of a shortcut-building on someone else’s ideas instead of creating something brand new. I don’t want books to be like movies; we have sequels and then prequels, and then 150 years in the future. At some point I fear the power of the original may be lost. So, I’m a little conflicted!