Reviews
"A LIVING, POWERFULLY PHYSICAL WORK . . . UPDIKE IS A SUPERBLY SKILLFUL WRITER." --The Wall Street Journal "WHAT A PIECE OF WORK IS UPDIKE! Our own king of erudition has gone back to the Hamlet story to imagine its inception: its offstage pre-story, when Claudius fell in love with his brother's queen and that first dastardly deed in the garden was set in motion. Wickedly replete with allusions, weaving the history of ideas with the lustier possibilities of adulterous coupling, Gertrude and Claudius is an intelligent little novel of whimsy. . . . There is something delightful about following Updike down this path, seeing his sentiments and sympathies unfold." --The Boston Globe "WITTY . . . FRESH AND MOVING . . . Engrossing enough on its own terms to stand independently of Shakespeare's play." --Time "[UPDIKE] HAS MANAGED TO CREATE IN GERTRUDE A GENUINELY COMPELLING CHARACTER, a woman who is, by turns, vulnerable and outspoken, daring and naïve. . . . One of his most sympathetic and persuasive female characters." --The New York Times From the Trade Paperback edition., "Shakespeare's plays have had many offshoots. Gertrude and Claudius , though, stands in a class of its own: a superlative homage from one imaginative veteran to another." -The Sunday Times (London) "[A] pearl of a book . . . a game for real stakes . . . Updike has used Shakespeare to write a free-standing, pleasurable, and wonderfully dexterous novel about three figures in complex interplay." -The New York Times Book Review "A living, powerfully physical work . . . Updike is a superbly skillful writer." -The Wall Street Journal From the Trade Paperback edition., "Shakespeare's plays have had many offshoots. Gertrude and Claudius , though, stands in a class of its own: a superlative homage from one imaginative veteran to another." --The Sunday Times (London) "[A] pearl of a book . . . a game for real stakes . . . Updike has used Shakespeare to write a free-standing, pleasurable, and wonderfully dexterous novel about three figures in complex interplay." --The New York Times Book Review "A living, powerfully physical work . . . Updike is a superbly skillful writer." --The Wall Street Journal From the Trade Paperback edition., "Shakespeare's plays have had many offshoots. Gertrude and Claudius , though, stands in a class of its own: a superlative homage from one imaginative veteran to another." --The Sunday Times (London) "[A] pearl of a book . . . a game for real stakes . . . Updike has used Shakespeare to write a free-standing, pleasurable, and wonderfully dexterous novel about three figures in complex interplay." --The New York Times Book Review "A living, powerfully physical work . . . Updike is a superbly skillful writer." --The Wall Street Journal From the Trade Paperback edition., "Shakespeare's plays have had many offshoots. Gertrude and Claudius , though, stands in a class of its own: a superlative homage from one imaginative veteran to another." -The Sunday Times (London) "[A] pearl of a book . . . a game for real stakes . . . Updike has used Shakespeare to write a free-standing, pleasurable, and wonderfully dexterous novel about three figures in complex interplay." -The New York Times Book Review "A living, powerfully physical work . . . Updike is a superbly skillful writer." -The Wall Street Journal From the Trade Paperback edition., "A LIVING, POWERFULLY PHYSICAL WORK . . . UPDIKE IS A SUPERBLY SKILLFUL WRITER." --The Wall Street Journal "WHAT A PIECE OF WORK IS UPDIKE! Our own king of erudition has gone back to the Hamlet story to imagine its inception: its offstage pre-story, when Claudius fell in love with his brother's queen and that first dastardly deed in the garden was set in motion. Wickedly replete with allusions, weaving the history of ideas with the lustier possibilities of adulterous coupling, Gertrude and Claudius is an intelligent little novel of whimsy. . . . There is something delightful about following Updike down this path, seeing his sentiments and sympathies unfold." --The Boston Globe "WITTY . . . FRESH AND MOVING . . . Engrossing enough on its own terms to stand independently of Shakespeare's play." --Time "[UPDIKE] HAS MANAGED TO CREATE IN GERTRUDE A GENUINELY COMPELLING CHARACTER, a woman who is, by turns, vulnerable and outspoken, daring and naïve. . . . One of his most sympathetic and persuasive female characters." --The New York Times, "A LIVING, POWERFULLY PHYSICAL WORK . . . UPDIKE IS A SUPERBLY SKILLFUL WRITER." --The Wall Street Journal "WHAT A PIECE OF WORK IS UPDIKE! Our own king of erudition has gone back to the Hamlet story to imagine its inception: its offstage pre-story, when Claudius fell in love with his brother's queen and that first dastardly deed in the garden was set in motion. Wickedly replete with allusions, weaving the history of ideas with the lustier possibilities of adulterous coupling, Gertrude and Claudius is an intelligent little novel of whimsy. . . . There is something delightful about following Updike down this path, seeing his sentiments and sympathies unfold." --The Boston Globe "WITTY . . . FRESH AND MOVING . . . Engrossing enough on its own terms to stand independently of Shakespeare's play." --Time "[UPDIKE] HAS MANAGED TO CREATE IN GERTRUDE A GENUINELY COMPELLING CHARACTER, a woman who is, by turns, vulnerable and outspoken, daring and naive. . . . One of his most sympathetic and persuasive female characters." --The New York Times From the Trade Paperback edition.