Review of A Wounded Name: A Tragedy by Dot Hutchison

[obiebookworm]

Sixteen-year-old Ophelia Castellan feels more at home with death than life. After all, she nearly drowned in the lake that took her mother the same day only eight years earlier on the school grounds of Elisnore Academy, where she lives and goes to school, and where death is more than just an acquaintance. The story begins as Ophelia prepares to go to the funeral of Hamlet Danemark, the beloved Headmaster of Elsinore. Alone in her room and waiting for the funeral to commence, she tells of the ghostly figures that she sees and the keening she hears from the bean sidhe (Irish for “banshee”), who lament his death. She also sees her mother’s ghost, which constantly beckons her to join her in her freedom. Because of Ophelia’s connection with the spiritual realm, the administration (including her father, Polonius, the Dean of Curriculum) and her brother, Laertes, view her as emotionally unstable; as a result, she is put on medication.

Hamlet’s death is not only sudden, but an autopsy is also mysteriously waived to expedite the funeral arrangements. Young Hamlet, who is better known as Dane, is troubled at the loss of his father, and seeks comfort from the only person who understands him: Ophelia. They fall in love, but their relationship is none other than codependent: two emotionally distraught souls looking for release. Their love for one another is intense, but so is the pain that he inflicts upon her during his moments of rage.

To make matters worse for Dane, his conniving uncle, Claudius, has wasted no time to become the next headmaster, and proposes marriage to Dane’s mother. Ophelia, in the meantime, learns through Jack, the gardener, that he was not the only person to find Hamlet dead, but shows her a used syringe that he found near the deceased body. No doubt, fowl play is suspected and from none other than Claudius. But with no other evidence, it would be difficult to make a case against him. However, when Hamlet’s ghost appears, Ophelia notices not one but two apparitions: a gentler, kinder Hamlet and another filled with rage.

Horatio, a good friend to Ophelia and Dane, tells them that he has seen Hamlet’s ghost: the one filled with rage. The friends arrange to meet the subsequent evening, so Dane can speak with his father’s ghost alone. Words are exchanged and a plan devised, which includes killing Claudius, but Dane tells no one except Ophelia. He arranges a play that reenacts his father’s untimely death, which is presented before the administration. Claudius is furious, abruptly leaves the production, and immediately makes plans for Dane to leave for Germany, but not before Dane speaks with his mother, who is overwhelmed with the possibly of her only child leaving the country. She is encouraged to find out why he put on such a provocative play. Ophelia, meanwhile, is awaiting news of Claudius’s demise. Shots ring out during the night, but all that transpires afterward is contrary to her wildest dreams. Do not be quick to assume how the story ends, especially if you are familiar with Hamlet. You are definitely going to want to read this to the very end.

It takes a skilled writer to develop a plot around troubled characters that will keep readers engaged to its completion. The power of the pen lays heavily on Hutchinson, who has taken Shakespeare’s famous tragedy to another level by expertly reshaping and converting the plot and characters to conform to the 21st century. Many kudos to Hutchinson’s debut book!
Ages 18 and up.