The Last True Poets of the Sea
The Last True Poets of the Sea – Julia Drake
My selection process is weird, at best. But every once in a great while, a book title pops up, lauded with advanced praise, then I grab a digital version at the local library.
Tidy little find, listed as “Fiction/Literature.” The real hook was an oblique reference to a slight retelling of Shakespeare’s 12th Night, but that starts out as a spurious claim, albeit, possible, but, yeah, tenuous. Story starts with a shipwreck, plus a brother and a sister.
While not mentioned in my favorite Shakespeare performances, tere was a contemporary 12th Night that I find compelling, so much so, I I have a DVD copy of the film. No DVD player, though. Weird.
Halfway trough novel, I was stuck wondering if it was really a YA-branded book, instead of more mature fiction; although, interlacing 12th Night frameworks was cool, to me. Not over-reaching, just woven in as obvious hints.
Me, personally, I tend to lean left of center. But as an inside revelation, part way through the novel, still unsure of its taxonomy, I wondered, paused and reflected, decisions made earlier in life, wondering how much was burdened by that almost ancestral Xtian guilt despite a left-leaning church. Still Protestant.
Just a thought.
With a smattering of the final scenes of Shakespeare in Love, because, after all, Shakespeare is performance.
The Last True Poets of the Sea
Loosely, this is modern, YA-ish lit for the newer kids. Very enjoyable reading, almost, but not quite too cute with the 12th Night nod. Tidy. Personally, I enjoyed it immensely.