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Joker
by
Ranulfo
It spits, snarls, screams, curses, and laughs at the world. It mocks leaders and followers. Restores our faith in love and security or drives us mad.
Australian author Ranulfo has cracked open the story of "Hamlet." This is what he's glued back together.
Australian author Ranulfo has cracked open the story of "Hamlet." This is what he's glued back together.
Hardcover, 208 pages
Published
August 8th 2006
by HarperCollins Publishers
(first published August 1st 2006)
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Community Reviews
(showing
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119)
Mar 06, 2013
Talyn
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Shelves:
didnt-understand,
dislike-hated-it,
hate-the-main-character,
opinions-on-life,
psychological,
australia,
adults-are-stupid,
asocial-character,
asshole-parents,
became-confusing,
bitch-or-bastard-i-want-to-stab,
annoying-character,
family,
dysfunctional-family,
i-dont-care-about-this-book-at-all,
i-dont-care-about-your-suffering
I absolutely hated this book. Oh my God.
This is apparently a modern retelling of Hamlet?
If so, Hamlet or whoever the main character is can go f*ck himself. I have no sympathy for whiney teenagers and their "problems". I HAVE PROBLEMS. I'm a wussbag when it comes to my depressions and my worries on who I am and what I am to be in this world, but I don't go on and on about it like some little bitch. Seriously! Oh my God I wanted to shoot the guy in this book. Shut up, no one gives a flying crap ab...more
This is apparently a modern retelling of Hamlet?
If so, Hamlet or whoever the main character is can go f*ck himself. I have no sympathy for whiney teenagers and their "problems". I HAVE PROBLEMS. I'm a wussbag when it comes to my depressions and my worries on who I am and what I am to be in this world, but I don't go on and on about it like some little bitch. Seriously! Oh my God I wanted to shoot the guy in this book. Shut up, no one gives a flying crap ab...more
If you liked Baz Lurhman's film retelling of William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, you'll LOVE this version of Hamlet, “cracked” by Australian author Ranulfo. Modeled nearly act for act after the Bard’s tragedy, the novel is set in the post-September 11th "kingdom" of Elsinore High and features Matt, a boy of Danish ancestry. His mother has recently taken up with his father’s close associate Claude, driving the poor man nearly mad and causing him to haunt his once happy home and implore his son...more
Jun 03, 2008
Louise
added it
I took Honors seminars in Shakespeare as an undergrad, and guess what? I learned something about Hamlet from this funny, touching little novel. I'd love to see high school English teachers ask their students to read this along side Shakespeare's play. The book is a perfect companion, supplying what T.S. Eliot suggested the play lacks -- accessible motivation, an emotional touchstone.
Sep 29, 2009
Deb
marked it as abandoned
I loved the idea (this is a modern update of Hamlet) but I've learned that when you strip away Shakespeare's beautiful words, Hamlet is a whiney bitch. No writer that I've come across has managed to imbue Hamlet with any humanity, nor have they managed to portray the deep conflict that Shakespeare sends through the Dane. What is too often left, after the Shakespeare is gone, is a gross caricature of a crazy person.
What I'd like to read is the interpretation of the characters from some of the ama...more
What I'd like to read is the interpretation of the characters from some of the ama...more
Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com
Apparently, JOKER is the classic story of HAMLET, torn to pieces, set in modern-day Australia, and stuck back together again. Having never read HAMLET, I can't say anything about JOKER 's relationship to that story, but I can definitely say that it is a brilliant novel.
It's the real story of Matt, a teenage boy with problems like any other, and the story of Joker, one that blurs the lines of fact and fiction. Joker drives Matt to do things he would...more
Apparently, JOKER is the classic story of HAMLET, torn to pieces, set in modern-day Australia, and stuck back together again. Having never read HAMLET, I can't say anything about JOKER 's relationship to that story, but I can definitely say that it is a brilliant novel.
It's the real story of Matt, a teenage boy with problems like any other, and the story of Joker, one that blurs the lines of fact and fiction. Joker drives Matt to do things he would...more
Joker is a modern retelling of Hamlet, complete with insight into what this Hamlet is thinking while everything is happening. For a Hamlet fan (who hasn't read Hamlet in 3 1/2 years), this book was AWESOME. It was so different, but still had somewhat of the same story line, and still some surprises. I absolutely loved it, and recommend it to anyone who is a Hamlet fan, or just looking for an interesting book!
Found this at the library booksale, looked interesting when I read the authors's bio: "born in Bohol, Philippines, blah blah blah, lives in Syndey Australia, blah blah blah, wrote Nirvana's children, blah blah blah, various mental instituitions, blah blah blah, has cousins throughout America,---California...Texas...Tennessee...Hawaii--and one's over in Iraq (stay healthy, coz." Should be an interesting read.
I connected to this book in many ways the book joker is very intersting its about a teenage boy named matt and how his life was great he has both of his parents,his girlfriend,his bestfriend,an A and B student,football player,and popular but then all of that great stuff crushed into a gaint wall
he3 almost messed up his life, but he3 didnt
A modern day version of Hamlet. If it wasn't such a quick read, I might not have given it much of a chance. But, I sort of admire what the author was trying to do - it just seemed a little too serious for itself.
Insightful and relateable. I can sooo identify with how Matt thinks and how he behaves. My favorite book now, I think. :D
A retelling of Hamlet, set in modern day Australia. Very entertianing. YAs should enjoy it more than the original.
Macbeth is a present-day Austrailian teenager.
AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!
Mar 15, 2013
Max
marked it as to-read
Jan 12, 2013
Antony Nate
added it
Dec 15, 2012
Halle
marked it as to-read
Dec 02, 2012
Madison Villegas
marked it as to-read
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Ranulfo was born once upon a time in the Philippines on a little island called Bohol. He now lives on a big island called Australia in a little city called Sydney. He studied clowning and tap dancing. He has painted and exhibited his strange paintings throughout Australia. He has won a short-story contest about a silly cat that ate Sydney. He has worked in the Tax Office and a video shop and clean...more
More about Ranulfo...
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