I love Shakespeare - anyone who knows me well can tell you that - so when I saw this book I knew I had to read it. But, sadly, it was under whelming and quite the disappointment. Perhaps I put to much pressure on this book before reading it?

I haven't read King Lear yet, but I have been meaning to. I made sure to read over the synopsis and read some of the more "famous" pieces from the story online to get a better feel for it before I picked up this book. I wanted to understand the source material and see what Edward St. Aubyn would do with it. While he got the base of the story and plot correct, it just wasn't as great as it could have been.

Henry Dunbar (our King Lear) the media mogul is our lead, who has three daughters (two of whom seem out of their right mind 99% of the time, I feel like they should have been in the psych ward, personally), is currently in what appears to be a psych ward with a not-so-funny comedian. He plans to escape and prevent the two psychotic daughters from running his company/getting his trust money.

The two psychotic daughters appear to be too evil - like it's obvious, but their reasoning for getting the trust money doesn't seem like a good enough reason to be crazy. I would have liked to see the craziness pulled back a bit to make it more realistic, or interesting. I just found them to pull away from the great story of Henry and Florence. While Florence does seem to be a little too goody-goody, their scenes are really beautiful and seem to be the best part of this entire story.

St. Aubyn uses a lot of Shakespeare quotes - which I loved! They were used in the correct context too. My issue within this, is sometimes it seemed like he was trying to write in iambic pentameter or using language from that era when it just didn't fit in. The first chapter when Henry and his comedian friend are telling stories seem to be edging towards that era, but it just wasn't funny. If anything, it made me more confused and bored. I had to keep re-reading what they were saying just to try to understand what they are doing (and I was an ace at Shakespeare in English, so how could I not understand normal English?...Geez).

My overall review - just read the original. There are some FANTASTIC adaptions out there that can wow your socks off and rival the original, and this one isn't it. It's a great story, and if it entered a contest it could potentially win, but it's not the best I've seen. I gave up a few chapters in just to force myself through the book.

Edward is a great author, and while this might not be his strongest novel I'm sure he is great in other areas. I definitely want to give him another shot in the future with a book that's an original story because I'm sure he could shine there.

Two out of five stars.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. ( )

* I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book *

Edward St Aubyn reimagines the tragedy of King Lear as Dunbar, a modern-day media mogul who has handed his company over to his two rapacious daughters. The daughters, Abigail and Megan, conspire with Dr Bob to have Dunbar committed so that they can take the company private. Dunbar, however, escapes with the aid of TV comedian Peter and flees out onto the Cumbrian moors.

Dunbar's estranged daughter, Felicity, learns of his plight and flies in from the USA with loyal retainer Wilson to try and rescue her father from the depredations of her monstrous sisters. Thus ensues a ruthless race against time to locate and extract Dunbar ahead of the all-important board meeting where the company's future will be decided. There is treachery on all sides, and others keenly anticipating their chance.

This is another of the Hogarth Shakespeare series where the great plays are re-imagined by modern authors. St Aubyn's adaptation of Lear is interesting, pacy and highly readable, and one can easily see the parallels with Shakespeare's original. I would say that it seemed a bit lightweight compared to the crushing tragedy of the original, and I found the ending a little unsatisfying. ( )

Dunbar is a contemporary reworking of Shakespeare’s King Lear, with the eponymous sovereign inventively reimagined as Canadian media mogul Henry Dunbar. Dunbar’s elder daughters Abby and Megan ship him off to a retirement home in Cumbria whilst they engineer a take-over of his media empire. Their plans however go awry when Dunbar, with the help of retired alcoholic comedian Peter Walker, escapes from the care home and sets off on foot into the hills of the Lake District. As Abby and Megan hunt for their father, his youngest daughter Florence joins the family’s old and trusted lawyer Wilson (unfairly dismissed by Dunbar after years of service) and sets up a search party of her own in a bid to find and save her father before he comes to harm.

Much of the pleasure afforded by this novel is similar to that which comes from watching a “modern-dress” Shakespeare production. St Aubyn follows the plot of King Lear quite closely, and it’s fun to seek the often-ingenious parallels between this novel and the play which inspired it. Even considered without reference to Lear, the novel has its merits – it is fast-paced, borrowing as it does from the “corporate” or “legal thriller” genre and, particularly until Walker remains on the scene, it also has a considerable dose of (dark) humour.

Overall, however, “Dunbar” did not work for me. For a start, the novel’s characters and certain plot details were too over the top. Just to give an example, St Aubyn is not happy with casting Abby and Megan ‘merely’ as scheming and shady entrepreneurs. He also portrays them as sadistic nymphomaniacs, guarded by well-honed bodyguards ready to appease them at their beck and call. These elements turn the characters into grotesque caricatures, draining them of their humanity. As a result, instead of underlining Shakespeare’s continued relevance, the novel presents us with figures with whom it is hard to identify. What bothered me most of all, however, is that the narrative and dialogue lack that distinctiveness and originality which I would expect from a supposedly “literary” novel. There is the occasional arresting metaphor but, otherwise, the style struck me as workaday – surely, an author once nominated for the Booker can do better than this?

( )

Dunbar is a contemporary reworking of Shakespeare’s King Lear, with the eponymous sovereign inventively reimagined as Canadian media mogul Henry Dunbar. Dunbar’s elder daughters Abby and Megan ship him off to a retirement home in Cumbria whilst they engineer a take-over of his media empire. Their plans however go awry when Dunbar, with the help of retired alcoholic comedian Peter Walker, escapes from the care home and sets off on foot into the hills of the Lake District. As Abby and Megan hunt for their father, his youngest daughter Florence joins the family’s old and trusted lawyer Wilson (unfairly dismissed by Dunbar after years of service) and sets up a search party of her own in a bid to find and save her father before he comes to harm.

Much of the pleasure afforded by this novel is similar to that which comes from watching a “modern-dress” Shakespeare production. St Aubyn follows the plot of King Lear quite closely, and it’s fun to seek the often-ingenious parallels between this novel and the play which inspired it. Even considered without reference to Lear, the novel has its merits – it is fast-paced, borrowing as it does from the “corporate” or “legal thriller” genre and, particularly until Walker remains on the scene, it also has a considerable dose of (dark) humour.

Overall, however, “Dunbar” did not work for me. For a start, the novel’s characters and certain plot details were too over the top. Just to give an example, St Aubyn is not happy with casting Abby and Megan ‘merely’ as scheming and shady entrepreneurs. He also portrays them as sadistic nymphomaniacs, guarded by well-honed bodyguards ready to appease them at their beck and call. These elements turn the characters into grotesque caricatures, draining them of their humanity. As a result, instead of underlining Shakespeare’s continued relevance, the novel presents us with figures with whom it is hard to identify. What bothered me most of all, however, is that the narrative and dialogue lack that distinctiveness and originality which I would expect from a supposedly “literary” novel. There is the occasional arresting metaphor but, otherwise, the style struck me as workaday – surely, an author once nominated for the Booker can do better than this?

( )

Henry Dunbar was a corporate mogul, with a company and estate that could be described as nothing less than a kingdom. But a scheme by his two eldest daughters, Abby and Megan, might be his complete and total undoing. First, he needs to escape from the care home to which he's been committed and hope that Abby and Megan don't find him before the upcoming meeting of his board of directors. Henry's youngest daughter, Florence, is also on the lookout for him, but her sisters appear to have no reservations about trying to stop her in her tracks. It's a family affair--and the people who know you best can sometimes have the most information to use against you.

This story is billed as an adaptation of King Lear, and it certainly is, but you do not have to be familiar with Shakespeare's play to understand and enjoy the book. There's a bit of an adventure here in the plot, but there are also elements of suspense and family drama. It's an easy-to-follow read, and an engaging story, great for a rainy afternoon or a day of traveling.

[Disclaimer: This review is based on a copy of the book received from the publisher via BloggingForBooks.] ( )