Cooney, Caroline. 2007. Enter Three Witches.
Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
Act IV, Scene I
Caroline B. Cooney's latest novel, Enter Three Witches, is rich with Shakespeare. Told from the point of view of a young girl, Mary, the reader gets a new perspective of the ever-required play MacBeth.
Back to Enter Three Witches. Mary is a young girl, a daughter of one of the characters who is accused of treason and executed. She had been "adopted" for a time by the Macbeth family and had been staying with them for quite a while when the book (and play) opens. We first meet her visiting and chatting with the servant girls/kitchen staff. Although Mary has not revealed it to another soul, she's been experiencing weird tingles in her thumbs. She's almost convinced it's a sign. A sign that only the three weird sisters could interpret. But everyone is scared of the witches, right? Yet her curiousity leads Mary to be in just the right place to overhear a prophecy--a deadly prophecy given to Macbeth. (The reader will notice that this happens to Mary a lot. She always happens to be in the background, the shadows, listening and watching as all the big drama happens.)
What can I say about Enter Three Witches? It blends original characters with classic Shakespeare characters. It quotes a bit of Shakespeare now and then. While it is told mainly through Mary's point of view, it also includes a bit of the young prince's point of view--Fleance. It is very dramatic. Of course it has its dark moments. Lots of blood. Lots of schemes. Lots of villains.
Looking for another Macbethian novel to read? Try Something Wicked by Alan Gratz.
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
4 comments:
I like Caroline B. Cooney's books and this sounds pretty good. I'm not big on Shakespeare but Macbeth is one of my favs.
I read Macbeth in high school and again in college, but I must admit I understood it better after reading Enter Three Witches. I love the way she incorporated Shakespeare's language and I find it a good book to give eighth grade girls who love a challenge.
Maybe I'd better read this if it will help me unerstand Shakespeare better. Thanks for your review.
Someone reviewed this last year and I couldn't find a copy anywhere, will start looking again thanks for the reminder. Will see about getting it for my mum too.
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