How is this novel like Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet? Would you say Bernice and Sally's storyline was a comedy or a tragedy? Would you say George and Irene's storyline was a comedy or a tragedy?

How is this novel like Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet? Consider the balcony scene with Kate Oakenshield and Belion, the sunrise sex scene in the super collider, the swordplay, and the scene at the hospital at the end. Would you say Bernice and Sally's storyline was a comedy or a tragedy? Would you say George and Irene's storyline was a comedy or a tragedy?

One thing I really liked about this book is that it is both comedy and tragedy. I like the bits that reminded me of Shakespeare while the novel stayed modern.

Gee, I cannot see how this is like Romeo and Juliet...besides the instant falling-in-love or Sally's attempted interference resembling the Montagues' and Capulets'. Neither George nor Irene thought the other "dead". Nope, nothing reminded me of that classic romantic tragedy. Anyone else?

Yeah, also not seeing the parallels. I think the Bernice/Sally storyline was definitely a tragedy. I was very sad for both women, but Bernice especially; I wanted her to have a better life. The one couple that isn't mentioned here is that of the two gamers. That whole storyline cracked me up, and the whole coincidence of ending up in Toledo together and Silvergirl's rescue from the tower -- I thought THAT was very much like a Shakespeare comedy. Haven't quite made up my mind about George & Irene yet, particularly because I can't make up my mind about the ending. It works as either a tragedy or comedy, I think.

Netzer's quirky style prevents me from seeing any parallel to Romeo and Juliet. Her writing is too renegade to take seriously or compare with fine literature.

It is both comedy and tragedy.

I don't feel George and Irene were star-crossed lovers like Romeo and Juliet whose romance was doomed to fail. Our Toledo night sky couple are truly meant to be together. The tale has elements of both tragedy and comedy but comes to positive, more optimistic understanding and resolution in the end. It was a captivating tale, rich in nuance and detail. Bernice's life was filled with tragedy, misunderstandings and an inablity to communicate her true emotions. It's good Irene developed an understanding for her mother's situation and was able to gain acceptance. Sally was vicious, manipulative, relentlessly self-centered and most assuredly intuited Bernice's love for her. Her life was outwardly successful but shallow and devoid of genuine emotion. She was, by far, the character I liked the least.

I find more similarities with Shakespeare's comedies than I do Romeo & Juliet. It was quirky and contrived, entertaining and magical.

My view is that this book is a comedy and tragedy from the beginning. Shakespeare is noted for combining the two and that's what both story lines are. So that is the Shakespeare comparison. If the romance is dependent on the story of Romeo and Juliet the tragedy is sure evident.

There were many times I found myself laughing aloud at the conniving of all the characters. (Not all of them together!) This is certainly a fantasy and I liked that.

I agree, lindah, that Sally is the least likeable character in this novel. It would be interesting to read an honest retelling of the story through her voice.
Also, for me, this is neither a comedy nor a tragedy. I would call it simply a romance; others would perhaps say a "fantasy romance".
Berenice is a tragic figure, but that does not make this, for me, a novel of tragedy.
Belion is odd enough to be laughed over, but he does not make it a comedy for me.