Lady Macbeth

by Ava Reid

[Quirky Cat]

Book Summary:

The Lady Macbeth knows more than she lets on. For example, she knows all the politics of the land, what her people are doing behind her back, and what her husband is up to. More importantly, she knows about the occult.

What she doesn’t know is that her husband also knows about the occult and has managed to keep these secrets from her. She also doesn’t know how these two natures will clash, throwing everything into chaos.

My Review:

Sigggh. I’m sorry, but if you promise me a more feminist retelling of Macbeth, you better deliver. Lady Macbeth was, on the whole, an okay read. However, it fell short of its promise and, overall, was not my favorite read of the year.

Let’s start with the good first. The prose is perfection. It’s beautiful and lyrical in all the ways I expected. Ava Reid did not disappoint there. The overall foundation of this retelling was solid - delving into Lady Macbeth’s backstory a bit more to showcase her intelligence and perspective.

What baffles me is how we took the primary source of agency and action in Macbeth (come on, Lady Macbeth is the person behind all the motivation in that play) and somehow turned her into a character defined by the men around her. It’s…disappointing. I expected better.

There are many other elements I didn’t enjoy, such as the xenophobia and overall lack of female characters (again, odd choice). I’m torn on how to rate this book, so I will likely give it a three-star (the prose being the major saving grace).

Highlights:
Retelling
Historical Fiction
Power & Transformation

Trigger Warnings:
Sexual Assault & Domestic Abuse
War & Violence
Self-Harm & Dissociation
Child Death
Animal Sacrifice

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