As a Shakespeare fanatic and dedicated literature student, I absolutely could not resist picking up the modern day take on Merchant of Venice when I saw it was coming out. I was not disappointed, either. If you recall, I did a review on A Gap in Time a few months ago, the modernized version of Winter's Tale. While is was not the same author writing, it was the same series and idea, and of course, had a captivating title that would make any Shakespearean pick it up. Shylock is my Name.
This one started a little slower than the other one, and it was definitely more literature to swallow than I was used to by far, being only a high school student, but I persisted and I don't regret it. I loved this book.
The blurb: Winter, a cemetery, Shylock. In this provocative and profound interpretation of “The Merchant of Venice,” Shylock is juxtaposed against his present-day counterpart in the character of art dealer and conflicted father Simon Strulovitch. With characteristic irony, Jacobson presents Shylock as a man of incisive wit and passion, concerned still with questions of identity, parenthood, anti-Semitism and revenge. While Strulovich struggles to reconcile himself to his daughter Beatrice's “betrayal” of her family and heritage – as she is carried away by the excitement of Manchester high society, and into the arms of a footballer notorious for giving a Nazi salute on the field – Shylock alternates grief for his beloved wife with rage against his own daughter's rejection of her Jewish upbringing. Culminating in a shocking twist on Shylock’s demand for the infamous pound of flesh, Jacobson’s insightful retelling examines contemporary, acutely relevant questions of Jewish identity while maintaining a poignant sympathy for its characters and a genuine spiritual kinship with its antecedent—a drama which Jacobson himself considers to be “the most troubling of Shakespeare’s plays for anyone, but, for an English novelist who happens to be Jewish, also the most challenging
Naturally, this was another one I couldn't put down. The idea of juxtaposing the characters felt very strong compared to the (as a loose term) attack of Shylock in the play. Shylock, being one of my favorite villains, always had my sympathies as the attack on an entire religion was completely unnecessary, let alone on Shylock himself. I did not cheer for him to cut out Anotnio's heart or "pound of flesh" really but for him to win, unlike what happens in the play. In the books it seems the juxtaposed Shylock is much more obsessive and less likable to me. I didn't like nor understand Simon throughout the book. Maybe because I'm not Jewish nor male, this may seem biased, but as far as both of those go, I am very tolerant of all religions and a feminist so it does not matter to me that he is either.
Overall, the book was a very good representation but I wasn't a fan of Shylock not really being Shylock. I wanted my evil villain to be in his full evil-villainess. But that's just me. I much preferred The Gap of Time as a modern representation of Shakespeare to this one but Shylock is my name wasn't bad by any means. Give a read and let me know what you thought!
