Publication Date: 12th March 2024
Genre: Historical Fiction, Retelling
3 Stars
One Liner: Nice... but not enough
She is the granddaughter of a forgotten Scottish king. As a young girl of fifteen, she is married off to the Mormaer of Moray, a man known for his violence, something she experiences in person. His death sets her free, but she is determined to safeguard her son. So what if the witch’s prophecy was terrifying? She would do everything to prevent it from coming true.
He has been a mamma’s boy since a child. But that didn’t stop him from being impressed by his father’s brutality. He watches his mother fall in love with Thane Macbeth and become Lady Macbeth. She is no longer just his mother. She is the Lady of the castle.
As the coronation of King Duncan nears, it sets in motion a chain of events that would alter her and the boy’s lives forever.
The story comes in the first-person POV of the Lady and the third-person POV of the Boy.
My Thoughts:
I was quite impressed by Lady Macbeth when I first read the play Macbeth as a young girl. There was something compelling about her presence. However, I never read any retelling with her. This seemed like a good way to give it a try, especially since it is not a direct retelling but a supposed prequel to Macbeth with events from a decade earlier.
The narrative is divided into five parts – the four seasons and the title. The chapters alternate between the Lady and the Boy. They are not named throughout the book. Lady= Lady Macbeth, and Boy= her son. This is an advantage and a disadvantage. It works to distance the reader from the violence on the page. However, it also prevents the reader from fully connecting with the characters.
The chapters are uneven in length. While I don’t usually mind this, here, some chapters are way too long. This makes it hard to take a break (I don’t like to stop unless there’s a scene break or the chapter ends).
The pacing is also uneven. It moves fast in some places and goes on and on in others. That means some scenes are great, while others are bland. The beginning is actually strong but hasn’t been sustained.
There’s a touch of paranormal (or an attempt) with the talk of witches, ghosts, specters, superstition, etc. Not all of it adds to the atmosphere when it should have elevated the setting and the brooding mood of the characters.
Lady Macbeth’s character is well-etched. She is not flawless or perfect. She is vulnerable but learns to become strong. She is opinionated and loses her cool but can be kind and considerate. She is not Shakespeare’s character, though. This Lady loves her son too much, even if she doesn’t show it in a way he would understand.
The Boy has promise but ends up underwhelming. I can’t call his character sensitive since he has an evil streak (even if he doesn’t understand it himself). I could call him weak; not in the masculine sense but character-wise. I thought there would be something dramatic from him that would establish the Boy’s character, but nope.
The last section saved the book. I had pretty much given up on it and was reading just to reach the end. Thankfully, everything comes together just enough to lead to the major events in the original play. But that I had to wait until the last 15% - 18% for this is not a good sign.
The book deals with many themes; some went over my head (no idea about Kings being God-touched or something like that). Do check for triggers. It has quite a few.
To summarize, All Our Yesterdays is a worthy attempt at presenting a backstory to a popular play, even if it doesn’t make the desired impact (at least for me).
Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Group (G.P. Putnam's Sons), for the eARC.
#NetGalley #AllOurYesterdays
***
TW: Domestic abuse, violence, beheading, miscarriage, sexual abuse, death during childbirth, child abuse, starvation, classism, animal violence, and death
***
PS: After reading the book, I feel the cover doesn’t quite suit the contents or the tone.
No comments:
Post a Comment