Tuesday, October 15, 2019

William Shakespeare's Get Thee Back To the Future

William Shakespeare's Get Thee...Back to the Future! Ian Doescher. 2019. Quirk. 176 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Now gentles, pray, your patience for this play./ In heart and mind, let fancy hold its sway—

Premise/plot: At long last readers can finally experience what it would have been like if William Shakespeare had penned Back to The Future!!! This perhaps may be a most excellent example of a book you never knew you needed.

The prologue sets the stage and asks the audience to imagine themselves four hundred years into the future in the New World. “View wonders! On our stage do we arrive—E’en late October, nineteen eighty-five.”

The five acts that follow are delightful both for their familiarity and unfamiliarity. Marty plays the lute, for example. But you’ve never heard Earth Angel or Johnny B. Good quite like this.

My thoughts: I absolutely have to find my copy of Back to the Future now. It’s been too long since I’ve seen it. This was a favorite growing up though I didn’t love all the movies in the trilogy equally. This play was awesome, fun, silly, clever. I loved how the author thought through things as if it was a play that could be acted on stage (players must have time to change costumes) instead of just a gimmicky novelty. I also loved the pops of actual Shakespeare lines.

Quotes:

Do you believe in love? So do our youth, And this, the heart of rock and roll we’ll hear, This music that the pow’r of love releaseth.


It is this power makes the world go round. ‘Tis strong and sudden, sent by heav’n above, It May just save thy life, this pow’r of love.


I parry, dodge, and drive e’en faster yer, To keep their bullets from their target—me! Yet faster,car, drive on, be fleet of wheel, Like chariots of fire leave all behind And in a blaze of glory help me ‘scape.


Surrender, Marty, to this blazing light, That thou mayst live again another night!


Be not so timid, lass. Thou likest me, And wantest Biff to give himself to thee.


I shall—because thou to our school art new—Grant thee, This once, a merciful reprieve. Now make thou like a tree, and thither flee.


O mistress mine, Earth angel mine, O darling of my heart, I’m thine. Shalt thou be mine, this year or next, Why leave my loving heart perplex’d? Sing nonny heigh, sing nonny ho, Earth angel sweet, come dwell below. O mistress mine, Earth angel mine, One I adore, who doth so shine. ‘‘Tis only thee for whom I care, And I shall love thee, pet, fore’er. Sing nonny heigh, sing nonny ho, Earth angel sweet, come dwell below.


Be ready for audacious episodes—Whither we go, we have no need of roads. 



© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

1 comment:

Lark said...

:D This book sounds hilarious!