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Henry Dunbar, the once all-powerful head of a global media corporation, is not having a good day. In his dotage he hands over care of the corporation to his two eldest daughters, Abby and Megan, but as relations sour he starts to doubt the wisdom of past decisions. Now imprisoned in Meadowmeade, an upscale sanatorium in rural England, with only a demented alcoholic comedian as company, Dunbar starts planning his escape. As he flees into the hills, his family is hot on his heels. But who will find him first, his beloved youngest daughter, Florence, or the tigresses Abby and Megan, so keen to divest him of his estate? Edward St Aubyn is renowned for his masterwork, the five Melrose novels, which dissect with savage and beautiful precision the agonies of family life. His take on King Lear, Shakespeares most devastating family story, is an excoriating novel for and of our times an examination of power, money and the value of forgiveness.
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12 released booksHogarth Shakespeare project
Hogarth Shakespeare project is a 12-book series first released in 2015 with contributions by Jeanette Winterson, Margaret Atwood, and Howard Jacobson.
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DNF at 20% - I just didn't care. Most disappointing of the Hogarth Shakespeare series so far.
I've seen this novel on a few “Best of 2017” lists. The description of it as a “modern-day King Lear” intrigued me. “Lear” was one of the Shakespeare plays I remember (sort of) reading way back in high school. After reading “Dunbar” I definitely need to go back and (actually) read “King Lear.” This centuries-old play has been gaining new attention as the ignorant, hubris-driven, greedy King Lear, or, in the novel's case, Henry Dunbar, is lived out daily in the Twitter rants, bizarre interviews, and the unceasing marketing of another one named tycoon - Trump. I enjoyed the brief, quick read of “Dunbar,” but my enjoyment of it would surely be increased by greater familiarity with “King Lear.” Although “Dunbar,” like “Lear” is a tragedy, there is reconciliation and redemption in it. I wonder if we'll ever see a similar end to the story of our “Lear” - King Trump.
just awful, horrible dialogue, trying too hard. modern shakespeare adaptations are great when they're good and dire when they're bad. glad this was a library borrow !
