Critiques et Commentaires

Okay, so as a member of Jess Mahler's Street team, I received a free copy of this to review, but it's probably worth noting, I was receiving this serialized as well, so it is Not my first time reading it.

Which is good, because I haven't had any Shakespeare since High School over a decade ago, and I still find him difficult to parse. Most of the dialogue is taken directly from the play, (except for the changing of some lines in regards to the changing of the ending). I must say: Reading this a second time made it a lot easier, but still challenging. For the time being, (as of writing this) I am giving this a 4.5, but I may raise it up later, especially if I can better grasp the the play. I do plan on watching it if I can find a recorded version. It may also get an increased score if it turns out a month from now I can't get this out of my head.

Okay, so in the original play Viola disguises herself as a man named Cesario, I believe as an aid for being an unmarried woman shipwrecked in a foreign land.

The difference being, in Jess Mahler's version, Cesario decides he likes being Cesario, and promises to himself that "the dead will walk before I answer to Viola again" (probably not the line exactly, unfortunately I can't consult the ARC while I write this).

So yes, Cesario is a Trans Man in this telling, so certain end lines have to change, and that's all I'm saying about that aspect. There's a note in the back regarding that in my E-ARC, and I assume the final copy will include a note too.

I'm going to touch on the Malvolio subplot. The Fool regrets his part in the Malvolio subplot, and the whole thing is explicitly shown to be a bad idea. Like yes, trying to drive someone insane, get them declared insane and locked away, seemingly as a prank or revenge for slights seems OVERKILL to me. but maybe that's because I've been institutionalized before, and can assure you: it sucks!

Let's talk about the narration.

The Fool, who narrates this tale, (which I think that's a wonderful choice that I'm going to assume was Mahler's decision at least until I see or read the original play) does a great job with pronouns and names Like Viola / Cesario's pronouns match what She / He feels at that moment (using slashes for clarity, Sorry Cesario I'm not deadnaming you for petty reasons). Like if I were writing a narrative where I wanted a character to transition during it, I think this is the way I'd prefer to go about it. This (and the original play) are worth studying.

Buy it, but remember to take notes!

Okay. Confession: With comics, I don't always read what they're about, sometimes I just look at the art + title and go "I'm reading that"

That's what I did here.

I had learned about "Hungry Ghosts" / 餓鬼 èguǐ from a Cast of Wonders Story ( Episode 451: Unnamed; linked here: www.castofwonders.org/2021/04/cast-of-wonders-451-unnamed/ ) and thought maybe it would be about that concept.

Yes and no.

Basically, while Unnamed is a story about losing your name / identity and becoming something that may be a Hungry Ghost, this is about an Asian American (I assumed Chinese based on the author's surname, but the Hungry Ghost concept is part of Buddhism as well as Chinese traditional religion so that is why I am being non-specific here) girl, Val, getting ready to go to college, has always struggled regarding food. Her mother stressed about her weight (and other relatives will make comments) and she was given special portion sizes and had comments like to cut the fatty part off her servings.

To be clear, not that it should matter either way, Val is not fat. She doesn't eat a lot, and then she quietly sneaks away to purge it (if you have issues regarding vomit, I didn't really notice any in the book). Her best friend Jordan IS fat, and Val's mother will make comments about her to Val, like fatness is contagious.

After having to leave a language trip to Paris early because her father dies unexpectedly, things get worse. She blows up at her friend Jordan, and it becomes clear that Val believes being fat makes you inherently unloveable.

This book is about Val getting help and taking the first STEPS towards recovery.

It's ultimately hopeful, and admittedly while I have struggled more with binge / emotional eating than anorexia or bulimia, I felt it was pretty realistic about it. Like "your mom is probably always going to make these comments, she loves you she just doesn't know how to help" that sort of thing. It didn't feel like, optimistic because it was TOLD to end optimistically or something like I have suspected is the case with some books.

The author, Victoria Ying, says she didn't feel feel "fully recovered from (her) eating disorder until (her) early-thirties".

The book includes further reading at the end, and also included Content Warnings in the front. I appreciated that.

the book is a tough, but fairly quick read