Book Review: My Name Is Will by Jess Winfield
William Shakespeare Greenfield is a graduate student at UC Santa Cruz where he spends far more time focusing on drugs and sex than the thesis on Shakespeare that is long over-due for his master’s degree program. William Shakespeare, the glover’s son in Stratford on Avon has more than one mysterious man looking for him. And Jess Winfield, a new novelist, has written a rip-roaring book that chronicles the adventures of the two Wills–in 1582 and 1986, respectively, as both young men face various challenges as they go along.
Some will undoubtedly be mortified by Winfield’s depictions of the future bard of Avon having sex and trying drugs, just like his namesake grad student. But Winfield, co-creator of the hit stage show The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (abridged) does a remarkable job of bringing young Shakespeare to life and making the long dead poet and playwright totally relevant to contemporary audiences. Winfield is an adept story teller and My Name Is Will very effectively pivots between the two story lines which come together near the end of the 283 page book in an unusual double chapter wherein no one, including the reader can really say which bit is from 1582 vs 1986.
If you are a Shakespeare fan or if you enjoy well-plotted comic novels, My Name Is Will is definitely Recommended. Buy now $10.19
And a tip of the hat to my friend Rich Becker whose review of My Name Is Will on his slick new Liquid Hip site brought this volume to my attention.
I never made it to Ashland at festival time, and I confess that I have read very little Shakespeare myself. This novel really “brought to life” a long dead author I had never really been able to relate to before.
Hey, my name is Will! Heh. A well plotted comic novel about the Bard of Avon? Could be a worthwhile read indeed. I’ll check it out. Even though I read a lot of Shakespeare in college and for the last 15 years have lived 8 miles north of Ashland, Oregon, I have not read anything by, about, or attended a play at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in close to 10 years. No excuse for that last one, that’s for sure.