Book Review: Macbeth by Jo Nesbø

October 24, 2017

About:
Macbeth by Jo Nesbø is a retelling of the Shakespearean tragedy, set in a small European town as a police drama. Mr. Nesbø is a prolific, smart author which is best known for his series featuring Harry Hole, a cop which the author puts to endless suffering.

  • 464 pages
  • Publisher:Hogarth (April 10, 2018)
  • Language:English
  • ISBN-10:0553419056

Book Review: Macbeth by Jo Nesbø
My rating for Macbeth – 5
BuyMacbeth from Amazon.com*
More Books by Jo Nesbø

Thoughts:
I’m not much of a Shakespeare fan, I had it shoved down my throat in high-school and learned not to like it. Now I’m rediscovering the plays, I still won’t read them but I am enjoying well done cinematic adaptations (which frankly, is how they meant to be enjoyed to begin with).

I am a firm believer that if Shakespeare was alive today he’d be making movies a la James Cameron.

I have read books by Mr. Nesbø previously, mainly some of his Harry Hole novels and when I found out Jo Nesbø was re-writing Macbeth I knew immediately that it was something I wanted read. This is the first book I read from the Hogarth Project, but if the rest are anywhere near this one I look forward to picking them up as well.

I did have to go and refresh myself with the plot of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, more than anything so that I’ll understand the subtle, and not-so- subtle, nodes the author wrote as a homage to the source material than anything else. I encourage you to do the same, not to read the whole play (I didn’t) but to find a nice, short synopsis.

This is a dark, violent, grimy and foggy tale, a noir tale of madness which only gets more and more paranoid as the story evolves. Every page has gloom and doom written all over it, and corrupt characters with little, or no, redeeming qualities whatsoever grace every page.
Or in short – a fantastic read.

Joe Nesbø did a tremendous job with this book, he came out swinging from beginning to end and hit a KO throughout.

Synopsis:
Sometime in the 1970s, somewhere in a small, rundown Scottish industrial town where it seems like it rains six month of the year, and gloomy the other six the police force is about to start a revolution. The police chief, Duncan, is a visionary and idealistic leader, but a nightmare to the local drug lord Hecate.

Hecate has a plan to rid himself of the pesky commissioner, which involves the manipulation of the head of the SWAT team, Macbeth.

BuyMacbeth from Amazon.com*
More Books by Jo Nesbø

Zohar — Man of la Book
Dis­claimer:I got this book for free.
*Ama­zon links point to an affiliate account

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One Comment

  • GinaOctober 24, 2017 at 11:31 am

    Though I’ve not read this author’s work, his reputation precedes him. Sounds like he put his talent to good use with great results and with adaptations, that’s not always the case! Thanks for the share!

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