Foster Community Library

Tag: novel in verse

  • “Bull” by David Elliott

    Audrey recommends: Bull by David Elliott

    Genre: Novel in verse

    Reading level: YA

    Summary: The Ancient Greek myth of Theseus, retold from the perspective of the Minotaur at the center of the labyrinth.

    Audrey says: David Elliott’s poetry sets a high bar for all other novels in verse. An ancient story finds a modern voice as he playfully mixes archaic vocabulary with modern colloquialisms. Elliott is inspired by established poetic forms, but plays with their execution. He further complicates the story by giving the “monster” a voice. This version of the story truly humanizes these abstract characters, which is ironic to say about a tale of gods and bull-men. Each is the hero in their own version of events.

    Greek myth retellings are everywhere now (think Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe, and Ariadne by Jennifer Saint) but none I’ve read have packed such an effective punch as this one.

  • “Amber and Clay” by Laura Amy Schlitz

    Audrey recommends: Amber and Clay by Laura Amy Schlitz

    Genre: Historical fiction novel in verse

    Reading level: YA

    Summary: In Ancient Greece, a stable-boy-turned-philosophy-student and a devotee to the wild goddess Artemis cross paths in the most unexpected way.

    Audrey says: “Hermes here. The Greek god — No. Don’t put down the book — I’m talking to you. If the lines look like poetry, relax. This book is shorter than it looks.”

    This book is truly a work of art. This hybrid novel combines poetry, prose, and artwork to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts. The book freely traverses between history and fantasy: we hear from real ancient philosopher Socrates, but also from the perspective of various gods of the Greek pantheon. The living world and the ghostly afterlife are treated with equal weight. Hermes quotes contemporary literary criticism. We read modern museum labels of historical artifacts, and then read Schlitz’s imagined provenance and what their significance might have been. This is genuinely the most unique book I’ve ever read.

    “This is their story. When it’s over, if you like, you can tell me what it means.”

  • “Enter the Body” by Joy McCullough

    Audrey recommends: Enter the Body by Joy McCullough

    Genre: Novel in verse

    Reading Level: Adult

    Summary: All the women who die in Shakespeare tragedies meet under the stage trapdoor to discuss the parallels between their lives, and how they might choose to rewrite their stories.

    Audrey says: The story focuses on Juliet, Ophelia, and Cordelia, three extremely different women who all died for the love of the men in their lives. Fiery Juliet is angry that people interpreted her hope for peace as youthful stupidity. Quiet, passive Ophelia mourns the mother that was never even mentioned in her play. Stoic Cordelia is resigned to her fate and derides anyone who believes otherwise.

    I can’t resist a hybrid form, so the half-script, half-poetry format appealed to me. I immediately clocked their distinct poetic styles; for instance, Cordelia almost always writes in carefully measured iambic pentameter, afraid to deviate from the norm, while Juliet speaks in impulsive fragments.

    I don’t consider this a remix or adaptation of Shakespeare’s work, but rather a commentary. It reads like a compelling essay, using the voices of the Bard’s doomed heroines to express how they have been used as plot devices and objects whose inner lives remain unknown to the reader. By staging this novel as a conversation rather than a manifesto, it’s clear that many different interpretations can exist at the same time, and all are correct.

    This title is available at Tyler Free Library.