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    The Tragedy of Arthur
    The Tragedy of Arthur
    The Tragedy of Arthur
    Audiobook14 hours

    The Tragedy of Arthur

    Written by Arthur Phillips

    Narrated by David Aaron Baker, Jordan Reeves, Jordan Kaplan and

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Best-selling author Arthur Phillips won critical acclaim for his novels Prague and The Egyptologist, and Publishers Weekly called him a "master manipulator" for his ability to write fiction spun out of imagination and illusion. In The Tragedy of Arthur, Phillips tells the (mostly) true story of being asked to write the introduction to a lost Shakespeare play entitled The Most Excellent and Tragical Historie of Arthur, King of Britain. But Phillips knows the play-supposedly found in a safety deposit box in America-is a fake.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMay 27, 2011
    ISBN9781461803812
    The Tragedy of Arthur

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    Reviews for The Tragedy of Arthur

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    • 4/5
      Clever, clever. I loved the premise, that a never-before-discovered Shakespeare play has surfaced. I liked the way Phillips wrote the story in a way that made it seem real. There may be a limited audience for this book, but for those of us who have loved Shakespeare, it's a real winner.
    • 5/5
      Unique, ambitious, humorous yet at times intensely sad, Arthur Phillips new novel is a joy to read.The "Introduction" , which is written as a memoir is a testament to the sometimes painful relationship between fathers and sons. Especially should that father be a less than stellar character. Throw a twin sister into the mix and the relationship becomes far more complex based on the close ties between the two siblings.As Arthur Philips points out in this story, I and many generations of readers have grown up with Shakespeare as part of our literary heritage and the Bard is never far from the tongue....how often we quote lines from his works would probably make an interesting case study. However I am not well versed in Shakespeare, nor would I consider myself a "fan".....not my choice of reading material. Having said that, I would like to say that one need not be familiar with Shakespeare's works to enjoy this novel. Though the book is, in part, about the great writer, it is much more than just that. It was ambitious of Phillips to take this on, especially in the manner he did but he pulled it off. As I read "The Tragedy of Arthur" I learned a bit about the great Shakespeare and his work I was entertained, laughed out loud and felt deeply for the main character's struggle to connect with a father he had little reason to trust.This reader enjoyed the time spent with the pages of words contained in this book.......isn't this what it is all about ?Thank you Mr. Phillips !
    • 5/5
      The most literary fun I've had since Pierre Menard.
    • 4/5
      I can't begin to fully describe this unusual and memorable book by Arthur Phillips. So much today seems written by route, formulatic and even appearing to be the result of filling in the spaces in a software program for writing novels. Not so, The Tragedy of Arthur. This book is truly original and wildly entertaining. Combine this with a keen dose of Shakespeare, and Phillips' offbeat sense of humor and you're on your way. Called a faux memoir, its hard to take much seriously, yet you are never sure where reality leaves off and imigination kicks in. Most unusually, there is a complete Shakespearian play and a synopsis attached. As the central character in the book, Phillips is not in any sense heroic. A product of a most unique family, he constantly reacts against his best interests and ends up in one predicament after another. Although he says he believes that he has great rapport with his twin sister, thoughout the book he puts his needs and fellings above any concern for her. Indeed, he seems incapable of determining how to assist anyone else, neither his wife or children, in just about anything. And, he revels in his distaste for Shakespeare and wears it as a badge to distinguish himself form his father and sister. All this is offset by a dark and remarkable sense of humor that is most disarming!Take a break from your usual reading habits and take a flight of fancy with this book. I guarantee it's a trip you haven't taken before but one you will long remember.
    • 4/5
      The Tragedy of Arthur by Arthur PhillipsA curious book written by a fictional Arthur Phillips who is a successful young novelist having written the same novels authored by the “real” Arthur Phillips. This set up is reminiscent of earlier portrayals by Philip Roth and JM Coetzee both of whom took literary license to give birth to alter egos.The book is about Arthur Phillips, his twin sister Dana and their father, Arthur Sr. . The father is a professional con man and master forger who has led his son and daughter on a series of adventures yet they have all ended the same way, with their disappointment in him and Arthur Sr.behind bars in jail.Yet the father cannot help himself and he comes up with schemes one after the other. The latest is the one that serves as the focus of this inventive novel. The father is well read and an avid Shakespearean fan. Dana, more than her brother Arthur, shared this affinity and devotion to the works and life of William Shakespeare.The father “discovers” a long lost play of King Arthur. Unbeknownst to other Shakespeare historian s the play is presented as the genuine article having been hidden in an attic trunk for hundreds of years. Arthur Phillips, the writer, is convinced this is just another hoax foisted by his non-rehabilitated father. His sister Dana though is a believer and once it is presented to his editor at Random House the publishers do an exhaustive search, hiring scholars and experts to judge the authenticity of this “newly discovered” original Shakespeare play. The play is so well-written in the style and métier of Shakespeare that Random House decides to publish it.What then follows is the Tragedy of Arthur by William Shakespeare with annotated footnotes by Arthur Phillips. The play is less interesting than the “introduction” which serves as the meat of the novel.Not being a Shakespeare expert or fan it was difficult for me to appreciate the play which I am sure the writer went to great length and effort to write as if written by the master himself.The book is worth reading especially if one were a Shakespeare fan. The relationships of the twins to one another, their father, and the novelist’s relationship to his own reputation and his publishers are interesting to read about.
    • 5/5
      Arthur Phillips has been asked by his publisher to write and introduction to a lost Shakespeare play titled "The Tragedy of Arthur" which Phillip's father left to him and his mother and sister as a legacy. He uses the introduction to tell his life story to convince the reader that the play is a fake even though many authorities on Shakespeare believe the play is real.I enjoyed reading this novel. The plot is very unique, a quasi autobiography where the subject's father is an art forger and leaves his family a possibly lost Shakespeare play. The reader sees the authors life from childhood all the way to the publication of the play. Phillips is a flawed memoirist, because he has yet to come to terms with his relationship with his father. Many Shakespeare experts have authenticated the piece but he will always think the play is a phony because he can't believe in his father. In the end how important is it that this is a real Shakespeare play. Everyone seems happy with it except for Phillips.
    • 5/5
      Arthur Phillips' brilliant new book tackles the biggest target in English literature: William Shakespeare himself. And when he tackles him, he comes at the subject from every possible angle. At the core of the story, we have a hiterto-unknown play, The Tragedy of Arthur, which Phillips' con man-forger father has bequeathed him for publication. As Phillips, himself never a Shakespeare enthusasist (unlike his father and twin sister, both devotees of the Bard), wrestles with the manuscript, he becomes convinced it is nothing more than yet another of his father's forgeries. Scholars, styolometers, editors, &c beg to differ.So Phillips' novel is a preparation for publication of this (maybe) Shakespearian play, but it is also memoir (and how many grains of salt do we take it with?), struggle to come to terms with his father, saga of failed relationships, sublimated fears about his own writing (oft-referenced in the novel), and so much more. All this is packed into the so-called introduction to the play, which also covers the topic of people's undying love for all things Shakespearian (with plenty of swideswipes at academics and leading academic theories along the way). There's even a little sidetrip into the world of anti-Stradfordians (the novel positvely teems with things Shakespearean; you don't have to be a Shakespeare lover or a Shakespeare fan to delight in these little nuggets of information, so entertainingly presented are they), which is how Phillips' sister expresses her teenage rebellion. Exchanges between editors and scholars pepper the text, that, between those, the Shakespeare references, and the play that concludes the text, there's so much intertextuality I don't quite even know where to begin discussing it.It's pretty much a cultural norm that it's taboo to state that you dislike Shakespeare, so Phillips, in his humorous and brash way, comes right out and does just that-- while managing to tangle all his other relationships into this fraught relationship. Hilarity ensures. To cap it all off, we have a complete faux Shakespeare play-- the titular Tragedy of Arthur-- at the end of the novel, complete with dueling footnotes between a cynical Phillips and an objecting Shakespearean scholar. Phillips is playing with the reader on so many levels-- novel, memoir, scholarly introduction, play-- that putting a label on this like a "novelistic memoir-style introduction to an invented play" only goes to show how many balls Phillips is simultaneously keeping in the air.This book-- whatever it is-- is a real treat.
    • 5/5
      A very clever concept with a fictional memoir/introduction and a plot equally creative.
    • 3/5
      Arthur's father was a con man and forger and also a serious Shakespeare afficianado. He has seemingly discovered a long lost Shakespeare play: The Tragedy of Arthur. Arthur and his sister, an actress and Shakespeare expert are dealing with their father's decline and demise and the authentication of the play. Good prose and curiosity kept me going, but I didn't really connect with any of the characters or care much about the purported new play.
    • 4/5
      Loved the novel, didn't love the play, though it is a worthy effort. This novel is purportedly the introduction to a newly-discovered (and possibly fraudulent) play by William Shakespeare, entitled The Tragedy of Arthur. The purported discover (or possible forger) is one Arthur Phillips, and the "introduction" is written by his son, also Arthur Phillips. You will have noted that the author of the book is ----- Arthur Phillips!!Clearly we have lots of fun with structure and various levels of fiction going on here, which could be viewed as post-modern but strikes me as good old literary fun and games. Phillips alludes to Nabokov, and that's what the novel reminds me of, plus possibly a dash of Lewis Carroll, Max Beerbohm, etc. etc. I found it very, very funny, and got quite caught up in the trials of the protagonist. I also found it an interesting meditation (to use too fancy a word, that's just what comes to mind at present) on Shakespeare, on our relationship to Shakespeare, on what makes art Art, etc. etc. As a Shakespeare devotee I should possibly have been put off by the author's clearly unhagiographical view of the Bard; one lady I discussed this with as we waited for "All's Well" to start up in Central Park was furious at the book, even though she hadn't read it and had no intention of doing so. But it is an interesting book, and Shakespeare can survive a bit of ragging. Recommended, especially to the English majors of the world.
    • 4/5
      Clever and engaging, especially in the details, where Arthur and the Shakespeare scholar argue in footnotes about whether the play we're reading is a fraud or not.
    • 5/5
      The main character in The Tragedy of Arthur, written by Arthur Phillips, is named Arthur Phillips. (Are you with me so far?) Arthur and his twin sister Dana grow up with a father who is a con artist and a Shakespeare fanatic. He spends most of his life in and out of prison. But when he produces a copy of The Tragedy of Arthur, Arthur and Dana are left to unravel the play's mysterious origins. This book is written in two parts. The first is purportedly an introduction to the play, The Tragedy of Arthur, which is included in full at the end of the book. The introduction reads like a memoir, detailing Arthur's life, his relationship with Dana and his father, and their discovery of the play. Both parts are incredibly well done. The memoir is wry and self-revealing, and the play is incredibly well-written with dueling footnotes by Arthur and a literary expert.When I originally read a description of this book, I thought that it sounded like a book in which the author was trying to do too much. Not so! Phillips pulls all of the threads of this book off masterfully, creating interesting characters, an intriguing plot, and an original (?) play. I really enjoyed this one.
    • 5/5
      Arthur Phillips is our most reliable creator of unreliable narrators. And in the case of this book, it is "Arthur Phillips" himself who narrates. That is the "Arthur Phillips" who is the author of Prague, The Egyptologist, Angelica, The Song Is You, as well as the discoverer of what may be a newly discovered Shakespeare play: The Tragedy of Arthur.The book begins with a short preface from "Random House", followed by an Introduction to the newly discovered play by "Arthur Phillips," and then the "Shakespeare" play itself, complete with the standard apparatus of footnotes one expects with Shakespeare. The Introduction is 250 pages long and is essentially a self-contained memoir of how Phillips came to get the Shakespeare manuscript from his father, a genial forger with a penchant for creating wonders, why he initially thought it was genuine and brought it to Random House, and how he eventually came to doubt its legitimacy -- despite mounting and overwhelming evidence from a wide range of experts that the manuscript was genuine.The Introduction is one part fabulous invention, one part a hilarious riff on Shakespeare studies and the claim that Shakespeare did not write his works, one part a serious discussion of the relationship of art and authorship, and one part a deeply affecting story of a family and its growth. Although it is all not wrapped up nearly as elegantly as The Egyptologist or The Song is You, the individual parts are superior.Like Pale Fire, but in reverse order, The Tragedy of Arthur includes the entire, uninterrupted play that is the subject of the bulk of the book. Although the novel itself falls short of Pale Fire (which says little), the "original document" itself is much a much more ambitious enterprise: what is meant to be or not to be, so to speak, a complete five act Shakespeare play about the King Arthur. Unlike the poem that prefaces Pale Fire, the play itself is readable and worth reading, a pastiche of the Shakespeare histories, reaching close to the level of the worst of them. The sometimes dueling footnotes between "Arthur Phillips" and the Random House editors are not to be missed.Overall, another completely original work from Arthur Phillips,
    • 5/5
      Another tour-de-force from Phillips, who here gives his main character his own name, history, and accomplishments to explore the family history of a respected writer whose master-forger father owns what appears to be a genuine, 1597 quarto edition of an unknown Shakespearean play, “The Tragedy of Arthur”. The fictional Arthur detests Shakespeare and has fought a lifelong battle to pry his father’s approval from twin sister Dana, who shares the father’s passion for the Bard. Now the father is dying and he’s asked Arthur (not Dana) to use his reputation and literary skill to help him get the play authenticated and published. Reeling from the attention, Arthur approaches his own publisher, Random House, but as positive feedback from experts piles up, Arthur begins to doubt the play’s authenticity himself. The entire story is told as a lengthy introduction to the Random House edition of the play, which is included at the end, along with dueling footnotes by Arthur and one of the Shakespearean scholars. Although Arthur does whine quite a bit (and freely admits it), the story works only because of who he is, and the end of the introduction makes plain why the whole story has to be told as is. It’s funny in Arthur’s own confessions and mind-blowing in the reader’s confusion over Arthur (the actual author) and Arthur (the character), not to mention Arthur (the father) and King Arthur, the subject of the play. The double meanings pile on in so many directions the reader ends up feeling empathy for poor Arthur (the character), who ends up just as unsettled at the end as at the beginning. Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      I was engrossed with this novel. It was clever, deep, and fun at the same time. It had me reflecting on truth, deception, and perception even when I wasn't reading it because there are so many layers to its puzzle. And of course, I'm also kind of obsessed with wondering how much Phillips was drawing from his real life. I've read The Egyptologist and The Song is You, and I enjoyed them, but I enjoyed The Tragedy of Arthur much more. I docked a half-star, however, for a couple of things that irritated me: the interlude with Heidi was tedious and took away from the story (and the narrator's letter to his sister describing the encounter with such phrases as "silken nicotine whorls"? give me a break); and although the narrator was a colossal jerk, I didn't believe that he'd be such a jerk to his own twin sister. Note to future readers: read the play first as is advised in the "preface" from the "Random House editors."
    • 4/5
      Arthur Phillips is a novelist, the author, most recently, of the novels The Song is You and Angelica. He is also both the author of the novel The Tragedy of Arthur and, metafictionally, its main character and narrator as well. Both are from from Minnesota. Arthur, the character is married to an Eastern European supermodel, twin to bipolar lesbian Dana, and son to Arthur senior, a failed painter, often-caught forger and general conman with a deep and abiding love of Shakespeare, who has spent most of Arthur's life in prison. Early in Arthur and Dana's life, when their father was still home more than he was incarcerated, he worked hard to instill in the twins his own love for the bard. Dana took to Shakespeare like the actor she would become, Arthur not so much. Arthur, in fact, will spend his whole life resentful of what his father has done and skeptical of all the things he cares about.Late in his father's life, just before he is to be released from prison for the last time, he gives Arthur a gift of sorts. He hands him the means of obtaining a centuries-lost unknown play by Shakespeare called The Tragedy of Arthur, which came into his possession illegally fifty years earlier, when he'd been working as a painter "duplicating" paintings at an estate in England. He wants Arthur to have his publisher, Random House, authenticate and publish the play. Arthur is skeptical, but also yearns to believe his father has finally done something worthwhile. He tentatively comes to the conclusion that the work is genuine, especially when a preponderance of Shakespearean scholars and other experts give their blessing to the project. But that belief is short-lived; he knows his father, and ultimately comes to believe that this play is the biggest con of his father's life.Meanwhile, Arthur's own life is no comedy in which all's well that ends well. His marriage is going down the tubes, critics find him sometimes boring and often pretentious, and he's in love with his sister's lover. Most of the novel The Tragedy of Arthur consists of the character Arthur Phillips's introduction to the Random House publication of the play. It is 256 pages of memoir, hand-wringing, whining, blame casting, and trying to convince potential readers of the play that it is indeed a forgery. It's glorious. Shakespeare, despite Arthur's detestation of his work, is everywhere, in quotations, biographical references, and parallels to contemporary life. The last 100 and some pages contain the text of the play which in my not very well educated opinion reads pretty much like one of Shakespeare's own. Often funny and always smart, The Tragedy of Arthur is an erudite tour de force.
    • 4/5
      The genre-bending premise of the book is intriguing. It rolls together fiction, memoir, literary sleuthing, and a "newly discovered" play by Shakespeare. I enjoyed the introduction in which Phillips cleverly bends the conventions of each genre in a tale of heartbreak and bad choices. The play itself is a sufficiently convincing fake, although I found the footnotes more engaging than the play itself.
    • 5/5
      Arthur Phillips’ novel looks at the possibility of the novelist being unique as a creative person. It’s possible, though, that the artist only gives contemporary examples of old ideas. How does this paradox affect the sense of identity of the writer and the satisfaction of the fiction reader?The answer depends on how the story ends and whether the novelist and reader enjoy the time spent with the work. An argument against the ‘nothing new under the sun’ concept is that no single writer can capture everything about human nature even when limits are set by the restriction of plot and setting. Perhaps the all-knowing Shakespeare is only a myth promoted by scholars and others who want to keep special understanding exclusively their own. The question of how much of the writer’s personality is in his fiction is explored by Phillips’ presenting his novel as a memoir. Does the reader get caught up in the con because she wants to see the personal life of this talented writer? How far from the truth can he push events and still hold the reader’s attention, searching for clues to Phillips’ real life?How much doubt can be sustained about the truth of Phillips’ personal history and parallel doubts about the provenance of the Shakespearian play, The Tragedy of Arthur, in the novel? The two writers push the limits to absurd dimensions in both the memoir and the play and yet the reader still finds it hard to let go of the hope of truth in both.The memoir and play are humorous to the dimensions explored by Pynchon in Against the Day. Sexual exploits are featured in both parts of the novel with consequences that clank instead of ringing like a bell. 16th, 20th, and 21st Century allusions and information from the memoir appear in the play yet Shakespearian scholars resist calling the play a forgery. In both parts of the novel there are signs of a father’s legacy of love for his son. In both the memoir and play Arthur’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are determined by his interpretation of his father’s legacy. The son becomes the father of the novelist. I enjoyed reading the novel. It was interesting to me that my typical immersion in fiction was diminished by the material being presented as pseudo-factual. There is no myth-making in this book.
    • 4/5
      In this clever and spry novel, Arthur Phillips tells the story of a fictionalized version of himself and the "discovery" of a "lost" Shakespeare play. The fictional Phillips receives the only known copy of The Tragedy of Arthur from his father, a professional forger and inveterate con artist. Most of the novel concerns Phillips' moral dilemma in publishing a play that he comes to believe is fraudulent and navigating the delicate family dynamic between him, his father, and his twin sister, Dana.The novel is delightful, full of word play, clever anecdotes, believable characterizations, and fun allusions. At the same time, the relationships between the members of the Phillips family broke my heart. The tension between the fun and games of the academic and publishing worlds and the tragedy and banality of family life makes for a compelling and affecting read.I'm not a huge Shakespeare buff, but I have enjoyed Phillips's previous novels and enjoyed this one as well. I don't think you need to love Shakespeare as much as Phillips clearly does to appreciate the plot and his authorial cleverness. That said, I couldn't really make it through his pastiche play at the end of the book--while I'm sure it's a good facsimile of a Shakespearean play, seeing the parallels to Phillips's life and the too-cute jokes made it hard for me to stomach. Overall, I'd recommend reading the novel and leaving the play.
    • 4/5
      A comedy of Nabokovian proportions, the latest novel from Arthur Phillips is a fictional rendering of a long lost play purported to be by William Shakespeare. The play, however, is prefaced with a 256 page fictional memoir that tells the story of Arthur Phillips and his family and the trials and tribulations of his experience with Shakespearean tragedy. You know you are in for an interesting ride when the first line of the book is "I have never much liked Shakespeare." This is a narrator that you can trust to lead you on every chance he gets, and there are many of them. I enjoyed the wit, the wordplay, the sheer audacity of the story of Arthur with a father in jail much of the time and a twin, Dana, who "first fell for Shakespeare" when reading his plays about twins -- Twelfth Night and The Comedy of Errors. The question of authenticity is underlined when encountering references to James Frey's infamous memoir providing further clues to his project. As the memoir progresses it seems more and more imbued with the ghost of Shakespeare. With the addition of the annotated text of "Shakespeare's" The Tragedy of Arthur Phillips completes his most excellent and delightfully comical novel.
    • 5/5
      The Tragedy of Arthur is a unique and interesting novel. The novel is innovatively structured as the introduction to a "new" Shakespeare play and tells the story of the discovery of the play. The "introduction" is essentially Arthur's memoir and discusses his childhood growing up with a twin sister and a con artist father. The play is their father's legacy and Arthur struggles to untangle whether it is legitimate or just his father's last and greatest hoax. The novel ends with the entire play. Initially, I was unsure if I would like or would be able to get into this book. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The story was engaging and the play at the end was actually quite fun to read. I thought this book was a refreshing change of pace from more traditionally structured novels. Arthur Phillips is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.
    • 4/5
      A metafictional tour de force by the author Arthur Phillips about the writer/character Arthur Phillips, son of the forger Arthur Phillips who may have discovered or forged a lost Shakespeare play about Arthur ( not Phillips), King of England. A study of multilayered family relationships and betrayals, the novel both moving and hilarious. The play to which the novel acts as an introduction is not half-bad either.
    • 4/5
      Since I loved The Egyptologist and have enjoyed Philip's other novels, I was disappointed to find myself completely unable to get into this one. I started it 3 times and put it down 3 times before I tried it for a 4th (and final) time. And what do you know? The fourth time was the charm, I guess, because I found myself completely engrossed in it. Like The Egyptologist (and others of his novels), in this con-within-cons novel Philips explores the age-old question of "What is Truth?" With enough twists to give one whiplash, this faux-memoir is a pretty good story. You don't have to love Shakespeare, or know anything about him and his writing, to get this, though I think it would have helped me love, rather than just like, The Tragedy of Arthur. Still, I'm so glad I gave it that one last chance.
    • 5/5
      When I first heard about this book , I found myself thinking of Tyler Durden in the movie Fight Club, when he asks: “Oh I get it, it's very clever. How's that working out for you?” But then that is kind of the point of the book. In a sentence, the novel is a memoir of Arthur Phillips written as an introduction to what is either a previously undiscovered play by William Shakespeare or the incredibly cunning forgery perpetrated by Phillips’ criminal father Arthur Phillips. He also includes Shakespeare’s newly discovered play in its entirety.Phillips plays a very complicated game, spooling out a faux memoir which, at its core, returns to the theme that runs through all of his work to date: authenticity, meaning, and the fundamental opaqueness of the world to our senses and understanding. Phillips has mastered the use of a kind of negative narrative space where the characters grasp about for meaning and it becomes increasingly clear that they never understood what was happening around them. At his best, their lack of understanding builds around the subject of the novels until it slowly dawns on the reader what has been happening all along (my favorite example and the hook which made me a Phillip’s fan was the eventual inversion of the meaning of the game of Sincerity in the first few pages of Prague). The characters are revealed to us even as they slip further and further from any hope for clarity. This is made all the more challenging in this book because the character bears more than a passing resemblance to the author himself, indeed we are meant to believe he is the author. But this hardly begins to penetrate the complexities of this work, he (both character and author) reflects whether authorship reveals biography in any meaningful way. Do we know Shakespeare from his plays, does our protagonist know his father from his actions, do we know Phillips from this (or any of his) novels? Throughout, he teases the reader of his other books by creating a meta-narrative which allows us to reinterpret his earlier novels in light of the biographical detail we believe we are getting. Phillips (the protagonist) isn’t ignorant or stupid, but maintains an aura of practiced indifference which allows him to do whatever it is he wants even as he builds fantasies about who he is. In this he is clearly echoing his character John Price in Prague. His lesbian sister informs us about how he understands (or fails to understand) the lesbian women in that book as well. His father, who may or may not also be writing as Shakespeare, is leading the double fantasy-driven life which Ralph Trillipush from the Egyptologist would immediately recognize. But is this real or merely a narrative over the narrative? This time the “reveal” exists only in the world beyond the covers of the novel and in this he creates the kind of post-modern experience which begs the reader to attempt to sort fact from fiction on the web. Like I said, clever, but it really is working for him.
    • 3/5
      This is another novel that I found hard to rate. It had an interesting and creative premise. Unfortunately, the novel was hard going for me. In the end, I think Phillips's tone and style were the problems for me. He seemed perhaps too proud of his cleverness, and the novel suffered from his prolixity. I kept thinking, "Show, don't tell." It was hard to finish.The fake Shakespeare play, unlike the novel itself, was amusing and a quick, fun read. Go figure.
    • 4/5
      Except that I have to admit that I didn't read the entire "Shakespeare" manuscript to which the rest of the novel purports to be the introduction. The "did-he-or-didn't he" authorship tease that the plot seems to circle around is in fact only one aspect of an intriguing exploration of authenticity --in relationships as well as (or maybe even more so) than in literature.
    • 3/5
      Arthur Phillips’ new novel is a witty take on a play that Shakespeare may or may not have written. This book reads like a memoir. It is written by Arthur Phillips and tells the story of his life including many details of the relationship between him and his twin sister. We also meet the character of dad, who has been in and out of jail for various crimes of forging, cons, etc.The main part of the story is that Arthur's dad claims he has an original, undiscovered play written by William Shakespeare. Arthur is one of the few people who does not believe his father despite mounting evidence that the play is genuine.The book is clever. It had me second guessing what was real and what wasn't. I have never read a fictional memoir and you don't have to be a huge Shakespeare fan to enjoy this book. The "play" is included towards the end. At times, I felt I was reading very quickly to get through certain parts, but overall a clever, enjoyable read.
    • 3/5
      Giving up on this. I *love* the concept and there are so many thematic elements there that I am SO interested in – using forgery to interogate the concept of the authentic, problematizing the relationship between history and fiction, the idea of the copy vs. the double... and the writing is perfectly good, I mean, the sentences are nicely wrought. But I'm finding the story pretty dull, the characters thinly drawn and obnoxious... I don't have the patience for this one right now.
    • 5/5
      I've enjoyed Mr. Phillips' previous books (I've have yet to read The Song is You and Angelica), but never had an appreciation of his immense talent until I read this book. This book is just brilliant, there is no other way to describe it. My rational self realizes that this is a work of fiction, but I still find myself wondering how much of this 'memoir' is true. I would, at times, read this with my ipad next to me to look up references to the author's family, just to see... While I certainly do not profess to be a Shakespeare expert in any sense of the word (I've read a few of the plays and that is about it) the "Shakespeare" in this book certainly has a tone of authenticity to it (at least to me)This is now one of my favorite books, hands down!