Monday, December 17, 2007

Spanking Shakespeare

Shakespeare Shapiro's name has been the bane of his seventeen years of existence, as has his somewhat avant-garde family; high octane parents and a younger brother Gandhi. Spanking Shakespeare, by Jake Wizner, is an irreverent look into the trials and tribulations of Shakespeare's senior year.

"I should warn you. Some of the material you're about to read is disturbing. Some of it will make you shake your head in disbelief. Some of it will make you cringe in disgust. Some of it might even make you rush out into the stormy night, rip your shirt from your body, and howl, 'WHY, GOD, WHY?'"

"Then again, maybe you'll just sit back and smile, secure in the knowledge that your name is not Shakespeare Shapiro, and this is not your life." (p.6-7).

Shakespeare's senior project, Spanking Shakespeare 17 Down, is cleverly interspersed and visually apparent with different fonts, between the months comprising his senior year. His class memoir provides bright insight to daily happenings in Shakespeare's life at home and in school. No one is exempt from his musings and, most telling of all, Shakespeare's self awareness is portrayed with the same truth and revealing the growing confusion felt by a teenage boy. The result is an unashamedly cheeky book sure to please readers.

Tags: , , , ,

No comments: