A Wounded Name

Hamlet's my favorite Shakespeare tragedy. His other work combined together can't top this masterpiece. So when I first saw someone was publishing a retelling I just had to have it. Not everyone has the talent and the guts to try out to integrate Shakespeare into their work. Dot Hutchison did an outstanding job.

Ophelia is one of those characters in Hamlet I didn't care for. She was spineless and pretty much everything I don't like in a woman. My heroines need to be strong and independent but A Wounded Name's Ophelia made this well-known story interesting and made me like her even though she was still weak. She tries so hard to please her father, to be a good, obedient daughter and great wife one day to some yet unknown gentleman. She takes pills which are trying to get rid of the apparitions she keeps seeing all around. Her life flips upside down when Dane's father, Hamlet senior dies.

After Hamlet's death, his brother marries Dane's mother and gets the title of the super intendant which only makes Dane angrier so he starts doing all sort of crazy things around the campus. His two best friends, Horatio and Ophelia are there by his side and are trying to comfort him. Dane's rage and bitterness leaves Ophelia bruised after his every episode. On the positive side, he doesn't remember anything but it doesn't stop Ophelia from allowing him to abuse her after their every secret meeting. OK, I'm gonna stop here and not discuss the plot any longer because most of you know what happens in the end.

Even though I didn't like Dane/Hamlet in A Wounded Name he did redeem himself in the end. He acted like a spoiled, proud, revengeful, ambitious, mad brat most of the time and he didn't treat his friends well even though they were always there for him. Was he always like this or did I miss something when I first read Hamlet all those years ago?

I just have to mention the incredible work Dot did with the setting. The lake, the graveyard... You people can't miss this book! You'll regret not getting to know the paranormal aspect of this story. Bean nighe, scary looking washer ladies which dance and sing around the lake whenever it's time for someone to die. I had to look up the term bean nighe and I wished I didn't because those pictures will haunt me tonight, when I go to sleep.

A Wounded Name is a book full of unfulfilled promises, revenge, death and madness with a beautiful, lyrical writing which will captivate everyone. I can't wait to see what will Dot Hurchison come up next. Truly an unforgettable book.

Let me start by saying that this cover sucked me in. It's gorgeous! Then I read the summary and realized it was a retelling of Hamlet. I am a sucker for retellings of the classics. I love the fresh spins they bring when they are done correctly.



Unfortunately, I would not consider this one "done correctly." I tried. I truly did. I even made it to 81% complete before I just couldn't stand to read further. I finally gave up because, indeed, I do know how this story ends so I didn't feel the need to continue.



My biggest complaint with A Wounded Name was Ophelia herself. What an absolute mess. She took so much physical abuse from Hamlet that I found myself deeply annoyed with her. Maybe I was missing this whole victim mentality because that is not who I am, but it didn't seem right. He would choke her and leave bruises (and at times all but force himself on her) and she went along with it. She'd complain to herself about the abuse, but say she loved him soooo much that it was basically okay for him to do it because it was "her pain to carry"-- or some load of crap similar to that. All that being said, she came across as weak and pathetic. I read another retelling of Hamlet a few years back titled Ophelia that was incredible. That Ophelia was everything the foil to Hamlet should be. This mess of a girl was too pitiful to side with.


The writing also slowed me up at times. It was flowery and fluent, but also too much at times. I loved the poetic quality of some of the descriptions, but at times it seemed too long winded. I can say the author did a fine job of finding ways to use actual lines from the play in the book. Having them be spoken by Dane (aka Hamlet) during his bouts of craziness gave it a nice touch.


The paranormal element that was working in the story never fit for me. I see the ratings for the book are at 4.03 on Goodreads, so it obviously worked for others! I just don't know why I couldn't buy into it. Of course, I also did not finish this book so maybe I missed out on that critical piece. That may be too bad for me, because I have no plans to go back and finish those 50 or so remaining pages.