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24th out of 208 books
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Nothing Like the Sun
'Nothing Like The Sun' is a magnificent, bawdy telling of Shakespeare's love life. Starting with the young Will, the novel is a romp that follows Will's maturation into sex and writing.
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
December 17th 1996
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published 1964)
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This is great fun. Burgess was channelling Shakespeare, so it's full of bawdy imagery, puns and alliterations, all that playful stuff, even poignant at times. There's often rhythm to the prose, and I keep expecting him to break into verse. I'm not knowledgeable enough about Shakespeare's life and work to judge whether Burgess' take is valid, or even remotely convincing. But in my ignorance, it's very enjoyable. Recommended.
Ellen, Elizabeth, have you read this?
Ellen, Elizabeth, have you read this?
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I am almost done reading Nothing Like the Sun, and it strikes me as a brilliant book: rough and sharp language, vibrant imagery, and definitely not a romanticized view of Shakespeare, thank goodness. But it is not a fun book to read. It is not easy to read. It makes me cringe occasionally, with its nakedness, its stark, dirty, sweaty prose. Forget Shakespeare in Love -- he was probably much more like this, and the book reminds us that great art sometimes ain't pretty.
A masterpiece of the English language, a clunker plot-wise. The parts where a young WS runs around chasing tail are infinitely more interesting than the ones where an older WS writes poems and plays. This says a lot for Burgess's stylistic talents, as precious few write as well about sex as they think they do. But it's also a mark against his imagination: making the life of Shakespeare seem hopelessly dull is quite a feat (not the good kind).
I have serious issues with the novel's mis...more
I have serious issues with the novel's mis...more
As impressed as I was that Burgess captured the Shakespearean tongue in novel format. The story never capitavited me or brought my interest below the surface. I didn't get into WS head or even learn more about his upstart or career. It's told in small vignettes, most of which aren't very interesting. It's an interesting approach, but I felt that chapter 7 in part 2 was the peak for the book, when the chapter is told through a series of journal entries. As far as criticizing a book of this magnit...more
Чтобы читать Берджесса нужна определённая смелость, а именно — готовность понять и принять те грани жизни, которые он нам открывает. То, что обычно пытаются тщательно завуалировать или обойти стороной, Берджесс показывает во всей красе да ещё и с шокирующими подробностями — иногда просто замираешь в испуге и восторге одновременно, испытывая разом и отвращение, и удивление, и, в конце концов, благодарность за столь сильные эмоции.
«Влюбленный Шекспир» или, в оригинальном названии, «Nothing Li...more
«Влюбленный Шекспир» или, в оригинальном названии, «Nothing Li...more
Summary:
Anthony Burgess’s Nothing Like the Sun is a highly fascinating, albeit fictional, re-telling of Shakespeare’s love life. In 234 pages, Burgess manages to introduce his reader to a young Shakespeare, developing into manhood and clumsily fumbling his way through his first sexual escapade with a woman, through Shakespeare’s long, famed (and contested) romance with Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton and, ultimately, to Shakespeare’s final days, the establishment of The G...more
I enjoyed seeing snippets of Shakespeare's plays and poems presented throughout the text. More than implying that even the greatest of artists are mere thieves of the lives that flow around them, Burgess takes these moments to inject interesting critiques of Shakespeare's work (e.g. the particularly Christian nature of Ophelia's madness). However, I'm no Shakespeare scholar and I probably missed most of these elements. Certainly, I did not gather enough of them to find a bold new framework for r...more
The language was gorgeous. I'd recommend it just for the language alone. If you haven't read a lot of Shakespeare, some Shakespeare biographies, and probably a bit of Marlowe and some other Elizabethan playwrights, oh yes, and some history of the period, you will miss a lot of the richness of the book.
On the other hand, you might not find Burgess's rather dodgy speculations about Shakespeare's character and his life, quite so improbable as I did, and would enjoy the book a lot more ...more
On the other hand, you might not find Burgess's rather dodgy speculations about Shakespeare's character and his life, quite so improbable as I did, and would enjoy the book a lot more ...more
Awesome, top shelf stuff. After reading the disapointing Malaysia Trilogy, I was dumbfounded. Could this be the same author who produced the genius of Clockwork Orange? So I gave Burgess another chance and it paid off. This is a fictional account of a bit of Shakespeare's life, his nutty wife, his rascally patrons, etc. The language is quasi-shakespearean and Burgess's imagination is up to the task. Wow. This rocked.
Not Burgess' best, and Dead Man in Deptford is the superior English playwright fictionalization. Burgess doesn't shy away from the unhygienic grit of 16th century life, but this is perfected in the latter novel, and tends to be overdone in this one. Burgess interprets the literary artist well, however, and makes some interesting assumptions about the obscure life of W. Shakespeare.
Nothing Like the Sun is a rich and downright sensuous novel that focuses on Shakespeare’s love life, particularly his relationship with the Dark Lady and Fair Youth of the sonnets. While the style has a learning curve, it’s quite rewarding, being poetic, seemingly spontaneous, and period-appropriate. If you enjoy Shakespeare or just wonderfully written books, I highly recommend this.
This book is so great. It takes you into the mind and times of Willie himself, all the bawdiness and intrigue and plagues and sources for all his amazing language innovations. It personalizes the man behind the image of Willie and is at once intimate and informative. Burgess knows language so well that he uses it as the perfect entry point
I really loved this book. You really have to know your Shakespeare history though, as I don't know that I would have enjoyed it as much if I hadn't read Will In The World. I thought the word play incredibly fun and thoroughly enjoyable; although I'm not sure the ending was as strong as I would have liked. Maybe just me...
I'm inclined to agree with Harold Bloom that this is the best novel ever written about Shakespeare -- although I can't say I've read many. Very lively, funny, bawdy, smart, and as is always the case in books like this, the more you know about the subject the funnier it is.
Burgess riffing Shakespeare. Lots of wordplay, and lots of fun, but like most Burgess novels, I'm not sure he totally pulls it off.
Read this while I was taking a college Shakespeare class. I enjoyed it then. I would like to reread it after 40 years tho...
Absolutely the best Shakespeare novel, and probably best historical, and possibly best novel ever.
Burgess is always brilliant and this is a great bit historical fiction re: Shakespeare's love life.
A great fictionalized life of Shakespeare.
I was worried that reading this book without having read a whole hell of a lot of Shakespeare was going to be tantamount to watching a '60s Godard film without having watched a whole hell of a lot of movies: it may be enjoyable but you're gonna miss out on, like, 95% of the in-jokes and references. Sure, I probably didn't catch all (or even 50%) of Burgess's allusions, but I still really dug this book. Fascinating and pretty naughty at times too.
Just gross. Unless your interested in a Clockwork Orange treatment of Shakespeare, skip it.
At times, Nothing Like the Sun is extraordinarily gripping. During certain scenes, such as WS writing a sonnet at home early in the book or WS witnessing the executions, the brilliance expected from Burgess is on clear display. Unfortunately, much of this book is sorely lacking this brilliance. As a great fan of Burgess, I was a little disappointed with this story, but it was still enjoyable.
Looking back, this might be a book that requires a second reading to truly appreciate.
Looking back, this might be a book that requires a second reading to truly appreciate.
A beautiful love letter to a deeply flawed but passionate Shakespeare.
Ok, I love reading Burgess & Shakespeare is brilliant- without clarification. But this NOVEL just seemed so forced and contrived. It is extremely hard to read, not just because it is written in pseudo-Elizabethian but also because it follows a stream of consciousness narrative that jumps or rather leaps. Burgess runs Shakes. through every sort of sexual romp short of the gerbiled anus game.
I really liked this book, and I suspect I would have liked it even more if I understood better what was going on half the time. It's a difficult book to read, and I think the better you know Shakespeare's work, the more one will like it. I got many of the references but must have missed even more.
A filthy, sweaty, balls-out, fictionalized account of the early life of William Shakespeare. Although parts of the story drag, the novel's language is an experience by itself.
The best chance to visualize a living, breathing William Shakespeare. Beautifully written.
Burgess's account of Shakespeare's love life and what inspired his plays and poems is full of great puns and knowing winks to the Bard's body of work.
Dana
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Read my review of Nothing Like the Sun.
an amazing book, one i want to read again, and i can't say that for many books
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Anthony Burgess was a British novelist, critic and composer. He was also a librettist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, travel writer, broadcaster, translator, linguist and educationalist. Born in Manchester, he lived for long periods in Southeast Asia, the USA and Mediterranean Europe as well as in England. His fiction includes the Malayan trilogy (The Long Day Wanes) on the dying days o...more
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