Currently Reading: The Tragedy of Arthur


The Tragedy of Arthur within The Tragedy of Arthur is a lost Shakespeare play.  Confused yet?  Good.  This book is metafiction in all my favorite ways.  It is a similar set up as Nabokov's Pale Fire: An author writer an introduction to the play (or poem, in Pale Fire's case), which goes totally off tangent and becomes more of a personal journal.  Here, the author (of the novel) is Arthur Phillips, the writer of the introduction (the main character) is named Arthur Phillips, and the subject of the lost Shakespeare play is named Arthur.  The introduction is equal parts memoir, critique of Shakespeare, love story, and mystery.  There are so many things at play here, but they are all written harmoniously, with intellect and emotion.  Right now, I am almost wrapped up with the introduction (its a couple hundred pages) and about to move onto the play itself.  This novel has been a really fun read so far.  Bonus points for being something I could have read in my Metafiction seminar.         


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