Due to health issues cannot write a proper review now, a proper review will follow
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

'Shakespeare is Hard, but So is Life' is a magnificent, revelatory work of literary criticism: originally written in 1990 but long out of print, its reissue with a new introduction is a cause for celebration for anyone interested in Shakespeare.

Looking at Shakespeare's four 'great' tragedies (Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth), Fintan O'Toole departs radically from the Aristotelian model of examining characters' 'tragic flaws' which has long been popular in Shakespeare criticism and arguably reached its apex with A. C. Bradley's influential 'Shakespearean Tragedy'. In his new introduction, O'Toole immediately rebuts Boris Johnson's argument that troublemakers in Shakespeare 'get their comeuppance', suggesting that 'even if it were true, it would be crushingly dull,, simply a 'monotonous game of matching the shortcoming to the character.' Instead, he insists that Shakespeare's 'tragic theatre is not a classroom. It is a fairground wall of death in which characters are being pushed outwards by the centrifugal force of the action but held in place by the friction of the language.'

O'Toole embarks on a passionate defence of moral and social complexity in Shakespeare's tragedies: 'the wilder the terror Shakespeare unleashes, the deeper is the pity and the greater the wonder that, even in the howling tempest, we can still hear the voices of humanity so amazingly articulated.' He locates the plays in a context of immense social change from a time of absolute values to a time of relative values, and suggests that Shakespeare's tragic protagonists are trying to belong to two worlds at once and to hold on to both status and power when they are in fierce competition with each other.

O'Toole's writing is immensely readable and immensely quotable - often amusingly so (such as his withering caricature of the view of tragedy as 'a kind of mental muesli that cleans out the system and purges the soul. And, like muesli, they are boring, fruity and full of indigestible roughage.') But his writing is underpinned by a detailed, rigorous attentiveness to Shakespeare's language which reveal new insights even to those deeply familiar with the four plays under discussion - from identifying the profoundly public, conversational nature of most soliloquies (shown through their use of 'we' rather than 'I') to offering sustained exegesis of recurring words such as 'nothing' in King Lear and 'time' in Macbeth. The book is also full of contextual insights which will be new to many readers (or certainly were to me), such as widely held superstitions around unborn children.

O'Toole's interpretation of the plays is transformational, and is this essential reading for English students and teachers. Even if one doesn't agree with all of his conclusions they offer a valuable and persuasively argued challenge to many of the prevailing orthodoxies around Shakespearean tragedy. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review.

In this witty, iconoclastic book, the bestselling author Fintan O’Toole examines four of Shakespeare’s most enduring tragedies: Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello and King Lear. He shows how their tragic heroes have been over-simplified and moulded to fit restrictive, conservative values, and restores the true heart and spirit of the classics.

Knowing previous work from this author I knew that this book on Shakespeare would be both balanced and well written so was anticipating good things. No disappointment there, this is an excellent interpretation of the tragedies of the Bard which most would say are 'knotty' to say the least. A useful addition to the canon, I would have no hesitation in recommending this book for anyone interested in understanding Shakespeare. Thank you Netgalley and the publishers.

I do find Shakespeare hard! But, I really enjoyed this book.

I had no idea it was a re-release, so I am grateful for NetGalley enlightening me to the fact this existed.

As someone studying literature, there is a lot I could relate to, plus a lot that I could learn from. I feel like this is a must for people interested in Shakespeare but barely know where to start with the vernacular.

I was surprised to realise this book was so short but I will say it was well structured and thoroughly researched and I would recommend it for those looking more in depth into Shakespeare rather than his individual works.

Considering how short this book is, it took me a long time to read it. Maybe I’m not the intended audience, although I’ve seen all of the plays, I’m no Shakespeare scholar and wasn’t familiar with the Victorian ideas that the author is rebutting.

Some interesting ideas, particularly if you’re studying one or more of the plays that O’Toole discusses.

Read from May 22nd, 2024 to June 6th, 2024. Written on June 6th, 2024.

For a book with (in my digital edition) 110 pages, this was one of the hardest books I have read. It felt like I was going one page forward and three pages back. I didn't quit though!

I have only read Romeo and Juliet from Shakespeare, so my choice to read this book, having never read Hamlet, Othello, King Lear or Macbeth, was maybe not a smart one. Nevertheless, I have broaden my horizons of the Shakespearean world and have new views to when I do finally read these four plays. (I am proud to say that I do know the 'To be or not to be' speech from Hamlet)

This is a very well-written book, incredibly polished and, maybe at times, a bit too English for me (if that even makes sense). I love the title, it is engaging and fun, and the cover is also quite appealing.

Not sure what else to say, but I believe I will reread this once I do read each of the plays the author analises in the book, hopefully that will help my experience with both the original play and the book.

(Free ARC from NetGalley and Head of Zeus | Apollo that I chose to review after reading)

Shakespeare Is Hard, But So Is Life is a series of essays, offering an interesting idea - the study of Shakespeare is done in a way that it would have been taught many, many years ago, but is it actually what he meant? My current exam-taking teen often argues this, so I enjoyed the read!

It was easy to read, with well researched ideas, and it's definitely something to think about. I'm not sure I totally agreed with the author, but it was a fresh approach for me.

This was OK. I noted the writer said he hadn't really read any other books on Shakespeare and it showed. This didn't feel particularly different to anything else I've read. But still an OK read.

I had not heard of Fintan O'Toole before, but after some Googling I can see he's a man of high esteem in the literary critique world so I was keen to read his thoughts.

Like any bibliophile, wordsmith or English student, I adore Shakespeare and am the proud owner of a very old, very beautiful leatherbound copy of all his works. I saw a First Folio last year and it nearly brought me to tears. And I'm also interested in how others see his plays and how they critique them, so I was very intrigued by this book. But to be honest, it wasn't my thing.

I was confused as to what this book was. A piece of literary criticism? A non-fiction story? A piece for evaluating in an English class? An essay? Opinions or fact? I just couldn't grasp what it was meant to be and what point he was trying to make with it.

Nothing felt new or fresh. I accept that everything that could be said about Shakespeare over the last 400+ years has been said, and so there probably isn't anything new, but this felt really obvious, more like a regurgitation of opinions. And he is quite often dismissive of things that are important but don't line up with the point he's trying to make. There was nothing fresh to keep me interesting.

Whilst Shakespeare and English Literature scholars may enjoy it and get something out of it, in my option, for the average reader it just isn't that great.

It is well researched, and it's clear he has a passion for Shakespeare, I just felt it had all been done before.

Fintan O'Toole is The Irish Times columnist and literary critic, who has taken 4 Shakespearean tragedies,Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth, and invited the reader to take on board his critical approaches to the plays. His presentation has clarity and it is a relatively quick read that drew my attention, having closely studied Lear and Macbeth, and seen a number of productions and films on the other two. I think it is likely that if you know the plays well, you will get more out of reading this, although it has to be said when it comes to Shakespeare, there is little that is new under the sun.

This challenges traditional approaches to the plays and posits instead that the central flawed characters reflect the morality and turbulence of Victorian times, illuminating how the prevalence of different opposing perspectives, and the tensions that existed between them drive how the tragic characters were seen, whilst additionally putting far too much weight on their soliloquies. This over simplifies the characters, serving as an impediment to fully grasp and understand the complexities of the tragedies.

No doubt this and the more broader analysis will appeal to those readers interested in Shakespeare, who may or may not be convinced by O'Toole's arguments, but regardless are likely to find this to be an interesting read. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

This was a really enjoyable and interesting read. I really enjoyed O'Toole's take on Tragedy and found it refreshing. I will be encouraging my Sixth Form Literature students to read this.

Very brief, but very interesting little book about Shakespeare, his tragedies, and what we can take from them. I love books that remind people that Shakespeare is for everyone, O'Toole definitely takes that tact!

Really really strong. This loses 1 star, for me, because I think despite that message it is quite dense, and does require a certain degree of English Studies / Literature background to fully appreciate. No a negative, just a note! Really liked this.