Today is William Shakespeare's birthday! I'm not sure how many of you are Shakespeare fans, but it's hard to argue that some of the greatest love stories were handed down to us by him.
One of my Bard favorites is Othello (Barnes & Noble Shakespeare) , and granted, love goes horribly, terribly wrong in that play, but nonetheless, poor Desdemona does follow her heart (albeit to a throat-strangling grave.)Too bad for her that Iago has Othello's ear and puppet-strings.
There's a line in the play that indicates that Iago's motivation lies in Othello's possible dalliance with Iago's wife, Emilia:
I hate the Moor;
And it is thought abroad, that 'twixt my sheets
He has done my office: I know not if 't be true;
But I, for mere suspicion in that kind, will do as if for surety.
Nicole Galland's latest novel, I, Iago , explores Iago's point of view in depth. This is a fascinating, compelling story, and if you're looking for a novel with literary leanings and genesis, this one might be one to look at.
Story description below, and happy birthday, Wills!
From earliest childhood, the precocious boy called Iago had inconvenient tendencies toward honesty—a failing that made him an embarrassment to his family and an outcast in the corrupt culture of glittering Renaissance Venice. Embracing military life as an antidote to the frippery of Venetian society, Iago won the love of the beautiful Emilia and the regard of Venice's revered General Othello. After years of abuse and rejection, Iago was poised to achieve everything he had ever fought for and dreamed of . . .
But a cascade of unexpected deceptions propels him on a catastrophic quest for righteous vengeance, contorting his moral compass until he has betrayed his closest friends and family, and sealed his own fate as one of the most notorious villains of all time.
