VINEGAR GIRL

by Anne Tyler

First of all, I love the Hogarth Shakespeare collection, both the idea, and all of the books I’ve read so far. If you want a  suggestion of one of  the great ones, click to read Liz’s review of Hag-Seed. Sadly, Vinegar Girl, based on The Taming of the Shrew, was not my cup of tea.  

The Taming of the Shrew is a famously problematic play to stage, because although the battle-of-the-sexes aspect is fun and the dialogue is some of Shakespeare’s best and funniest work, the ending, where Katherine is “tamed” and gives a long speech about how women should obey their husbands, just doesn’t work with a contemporary audience. Most attempts to subvert it with a knowing wink fall woefully flat. So here was a chance for Tyler to reimagine, reset and upend this difficult story, and she basically moved the plot wholesale into the 21st century without changing a thing. Clueless father sets up fiercely independent older daughter with “traditional” male partner, who eventually convinces her that doing things “his way” and sacrificing her life for his is the path to her happiness. If that plot excited you, please just read the Shakespeare–at least the banter is witty! (Lily)