We review Shakespeare, but not as you know it – Macbeth by Jo Nesbo.
Macbeth – the blurb
He’s the best cop they’ve got.
When a drug bust turns into a bloodbath it’s up to Inspector Macbeth and his team to clean up the mess. He’s rewarded for his success. Power. Money. Respect. They’re all within reach.
But a man like him won’t get to the top.
An ex-drug addict with a troubled past, Macbeth is soon plagued by hallucinations and paranoia, He’s convinced he won’t get what is rightfully his.
Unless he kills for it.
Haven’t I read that somewhere before?
Macbeth has been rewritten by scandi noir King, Nesbo as part of the Hogarth Shakespeare project. In the project Shakespeare’s works are retold by acclaimed and bestselling authors of today. Think Tracy Chevalier and Othello. Margaret Atwood and The Tempest. I was immediately drawn to Nesbo’s Macbeth. I had studied the book at school and was interested to see how it would stand against a gritty modern background. Nesbo kept Scotland as the setting but skewed it slightly. We are in an alternative 1970s Glasgow setting where times are tough, ‘Brew’ a mind altering addictive drug has its powerful hold and no-one blinks an eye over a knife throwing cop.
Hallmarks
All the hallmarks of Shakespeare’s original are present. The three witches, Hecate, Lady Macbeth. Yet all slightly different. The latter, a reformed prostitute who owns a casino, is Macbeth’s lover and encourages his ambition. Despite it being very much the Shakespeare novel, it is a very modern piece of work and you can follow the story without being familiar with the original.
Water, water everywhere
It is some years since I studied Macbeth so my memory on the detail is a little bit misty. However is there much by way of water in the original? I ask as there are tonnes of references in Nesbo’s version. Whilst I could get away with the raindrops drifting over the city, the swimming, the disappearances in to water to be ‘reborn’ I found the descriptions of ‘the wetness of shining white teeth’ or ‘the moisture in her eyes’ to be very off putting. Stop. Just stop.
Inevitable downfall
If you’re familiar with Shakespeare’s tale then you know the ending of the book but I wont spoil it by presuming you are. I wasn’t sure who I was rooting for in the end. A fact Nesbo alludes to with his roulette reference. There is a lot of death, as all good crime thrillers have and a very fitting ending. If you are a fan of Nesbo you will enjoy Macbeth. At 600 pages it’s not necessarily an easy alternative to Shakespeare but it’s a worthy addition to the Hogarth project.
If you like your crime thrillers gripping, why not also try Eeny Meeny by M J Arlidge.
