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The Taming of the Werewolf
"BEFORE I MET YOU, I NEVER KNEW WOLVES COULD SMILE..." Was ever any gentleman thus grieved as Baptista Minola? An Italian lord with two daughters, the youngest of which cannot be married until the elder, Katharina, is wed... AND THEREBY HANGS ATAIL..." Because Katharina is cursed. She has a fearsome temper and a sharp tongue. And even sharper teeth... KISS ME KATE, FOR WE WILL BE MARRIED ON SUNDAY..." I'LL SEE YOU EATEN ON SUNDAY!" Petruchio is determined to win her hand. A large dowry is a rich incentive indeed for this less-than-gentleman fromVerona, even if there are...issues... The sexual politics of Renaissance Italy succumb to the true nature of the beast within. This is Shakespeare withTEETH.
104 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2011
335 people want to read
About the author
Sylvia Shults
33 books29 followersSylvia Shults has worked as a librarian, Bookmobile driver, flower seller, dancer, and art model. Her hobbies include baking, making wines and cordials, and reading (it's an addiction). She firmly believes there is no such thing as too many projects. She lives in Illinois with her husband, a certifiably insane Husky, a Belgian Malinois with no impulse control, and a whole bunch of books.
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February 13, 2025Oooh~! This looks promising :D
December 25, 2012
About the Book:
The simplest way to summarize this book is to simply say that it is Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, only Katherina is a werewolf. For those of you who don't know the plot of The Taming of the Shrew, you may want to read the rest of the "About the Book" section.
The plot of this well-known comedy is fairly simple. A wealthy man by the name of Baptista has two daughters, Katherina and Bianca. The latter has many suitors, but Baptista refuses to let her marry until Katherina is wed herself. The problem with this is that Katherina in known for having a fearsome temper (and in this version, she also happens to be a werewolf). However, a man who is willing to marry for money alone marries the ill-tempered Kate and uses his cunning to try to tame her.
Review:
I have to say that I had mixed feelings about this book, to the point where I am still unsure as to whether I actually liked it or not. I loved the bits where the author weaved her words with the great bard's, and I felt that she did an excellent job. Sylvia Shults mixed the modern and Shakespearean English brilliantly together, which I, honestly, was not expecting. I feared that it would be too much of a copy/paste or that her writing wouldn't hold any of that Shakespeare charm. I am pleased that my fears were for naught.
Well, that was what I loved in the book, but I also ended up despising Shults' writing. While I loved the intermingling of Shakespeare and Shults, I could not stand Shults when she was alone. There were times in the book when Shults would add her own elements that more as a modern style paranormal/historical romance. It was when Shults was on her own that I literally wanted to throw the book across the room. I didn't since this was not my personal copy, but I constantly had to stop reading and calm myself. The first time this happened was when Shults gave Kate a love story where she falls in love with a servant boy by the name of Amadeo. First off, the loving outside of your class is extremely overdone. That's not to say I dislike it, but it can get very old, and when you see something played out all the time, the author need quite the talent to make it seem more worthwhile to the reader. However, I think it was the "he'll be the only love in my life," tripe that had me grinding my teeth.
The other thing that bothered me when the author was writing "alone" was when Kate turns into a wolf. She still seemed human to me. Now, I am in no way saying that every werewolf should lose all it humanity. I think the human/wolf mindset is brilliant, but in my experience, few authors have been able to pull it off well. Sure Kate says she longs to take a bite out of a living rabbit, but it always felt like simple words to me. I never felt the wolf's passion in Shults' writing. Now, I do like the fact that the author integrated real wolf traits in her character. I liked that she made her werewolf more wolf like than monster like. What's more is she seemed to do her research on how wolves act (though I did find a couple of mistakes). As I said, her werewolf just too human minded for my liking.
Everything else was a tossup to me on whether I enjoyed it or not. Part of this was Sylvia Shults' giving Kate a reason to be a shrew (because being property isn't reason enough) and to dislike Bianca. I liked that she tried to flesh out Kate more, but I disliked that the author had Kate start out as your typical Renaissance woman. Personally, I liked the idea that Kate was always this stubborn woman, but that's neither here nor there. The main tossup I really had involved the ending. In the original The Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio, more or less, turns Katherina into what would have been considered the perfect female: mild, complacent, and completely obedient to her husband while in The Taming of the Werewolf, Kate and Petruchio are in love. Yes, she is still "tamed," but it is more her choice in Werewolf while in Shrew, this isn't necessarily the case. While the original work is extremely sexist to the point where it had me grinding my teeth, I also realise that this was how those times were. So yes, I wanted to punch Petruchio, but at the same time, this if 16th century Italy. With The Taming of the Werewolf, it is a lot less sexist but the whole falling in love at the end really bothers me. Sure I like Petruchio a lot more, but as I pointed out, this is 16th century Italy. Sure love is possible, but considering that Petruchio and Katherina have only been together for a few days and that Petruchio originally married Kate for money alone, it seems damn unlikely. So what's better? Having it be more authentic or having Petruchio be less of a dick and letting women (and some men) have that romantic fantasy?
Overall, this was a book of extremes for me. There were a variety of things I loved and a multitude of things I despised, making this quite the see saw. Does this book have issues? Clearly. Is it worth reading? I'd say yes. Is it worth buying? I'm not sure on that. I guess it would depend on the price for me.
The simplest way to summarize this book is to simply say that it is Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, only Katherina is a werewolf. For those of you who don't know the plot of The Taming of the Shrew, you may want to read the rest of the "About the Book" section.
The plot of this well-known comedy is fairly simple. A wealthy man by the name of Baptista has two daughters, Katherina and Bianca. The latter has many suitors, but Baptista refuses to let her marry until Katherina is wed herself. The problem with this is that Katherina in known for having a fearsome temper (and in this version, she also happens to be a werewolf). However, a man who is willing to marry for money alone marries the ill-tempered Kate and uses his cunning to try to tame her.
Review:
I have to say that I had mixed feelings about this book, to the point where I am still unsure as to whether I actually liked it or not. I loved the bits where the author weaved her words with the great bard's, and I felt that she did an excellent job. Sylvia Shults mixed the modern and Shakespearean English brilliantly together, which I, honestly, was not expecting. I feared that it would be too much of a copy/paste or that her writing wouldn't hold any of that Shakespeare charm. I am pleased that my fears were for naught.
Well, that was what I loved in the book, but I also ended up despising Shults' writing. While I loved the intermingling of Shakespeare and Shults, I could not stand Shults when she was alone. There were times in the book when Shults would add her own elements that more as a modern style paranormal/historical romance. It was when Shults was on her own that I literally wanted to throw the book across the room. I didn't since this was not my personal copy, but I constantly had to stop reading and calm myself. The first time this happened was when Shults gave Kate a love story where she falls in love with a servant boy by the name of Amadeo. First off, the loving outside of your class is extremely overdone. That's not to say I dislike it, but it can get very old, and when you see something played out all the time, the author need quite the talent to make it seem more worthwhile to the reader. However, I think it was the "he'll be the only love in my life," tripe that had me grinding my teeth.
The other thing that bothered me when the author was writing "alone" was when Kate turns into a wolf. She still seemed human to me. Now, I am in no way saying that every werewolf should lose all it humanity. I think the human/wolf mindset is brilliant, but in my experience, few authors have been able to pull it off well. Sure Kate says she longs to take a bite out of a living rabbit, but it always felt like simple words to me. I never felt the wolf's passion in Shults' writing. Now, I do like the fact that the author integrated real wolf traits in her character. I liked that she made her werewolf more wolf like than monster like. What's more is she seemed to do her research on how wolves act (though I did find a couple of mistakes). As I said, her werewolf just too human minded for my liking.
Everything else was a tossup to me on whether I enjoyed it or not. Part of this was Sylvia Shults' giving Kate a reason to be a shrew (because being property isn't reason enough) and to dislike Bianca. I liked that she tried to flesh out Kate more, but I disliked that the author had Kate start out as your typical Renaissance woman. Personally, I liked the idea that Kate was always this stubborn woman, but that's neither here nor there. The main tossup I really had involved the ending. In the original The Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio, more or less, turns Katherina into what would have been considered the perfect female: mild, complacent, and completely obedient to her husband while in The Taming of the Werewolf, Kate and Petruchio are in love. Yes, she is still "tamed," but it is more her choice in Werewolf while in Shrew, this isn't necessarily the case. While the original work is extremely sexist to the point where it had me grinding my teeth, I also realise that this was how those times were. So yes, I wanted to punch Petruchio, but at the same time, this if 16th century Italy. With The Taming of the Werewolf, it is a lot less sexist but the whole falling in love at the end really bothers me. Sure I like Petruchio a lot more, but as I pointed out, this is 16th century Italy. Sure love is possible, but considering that Petruchio and Katherina have only been together for a few days and that Petruchio originally married Kate for money alone, it seems damn unlikely. So what's better? Having it be more authentic or having Petruchio be less of a dick and letting women (and some men) have that romantic fantasy?
Overall, this was a book of extremes for me. There were a variety of things I loved and a multitude of things I despised, making this quite the see saw. Does this book have issues? Clearly. Is it worth reading? I'd say yes. Is it worth buying? I'm not sure on that. I guess it would depend on the price for me.
Read
July 5, 2011 It is fairly well-known that most of Shakespeare’s works were not original. Rather, he took already existing stories and then retold them in such a way that they have endured through the ages. It is only appropriate, then, that another writer has taken “Taming of the Shrew” and retold the tale for this generation. It is not a timeless work like Shakespeare’s, but it is a fun and clever interpretation.
For those of you not quite remembering the plot, Katharina is the eldest daughter of a rich gentleman who is required to be wed before her younger sister, Bianca can marry. While Bianca has several callers, Katharina is known far and wide as a “The Shrew” and revels in her wretchedness. Finally, a man named Petruchio presents himself and proceeds to tame Katharina through atypical, often cruel means, eventually resulting in a docile wife and a triumphant suitor.
In Shults’ telling, Katharina’s current anger is fueled by an attack she endured as a teenager which left her suspended between two worlds, the human and the wolf, but belonging to neither. The author weaves this explanation seamlessly into the existing story, and her writing ability carries us through to an ending that suggests more of a marriage among equals, which will resonate better with modern readers. I admire her rendition of the main plot.
However, the lack of subplots leaves the overall work a bit wanting. In the play there are several interludes, especially with Bianca’s suitors, that help round out the story and give the play some comic relief. Not having these tangents in Taming of the Werewolf at best leaves the novel used up too quickly, at worst creates some noticeable holes in the plot. The most glaring example of this is how Petruchio recognized Vincentio, the father of one of the callers, on a road. (Huh? Not only had he never met the father in this retelling—he never met the son, either!) If only Shults had spent a little more time further developing the story…but alas.
Consider the e-book for your electronic inventory—it’s worth the $2.99—but I would skip the paper copy. Recommended for Shakespeare fans, romance fans, and anyone who ever wondered why Bianca’s hands were tied at the beginning of the play.
Contains: brief sex scene
Reviewed by: W.E. Zazo-Phillips
For those of you not quite remembering the plot, Katharina is the eldest daughter of a rich gentleman who is required to be wed before her younger sister, Bianca can marry. While Bianca has several callers, Katharina is known far and wide as a “The Shrew” and revels in her wretchedness. Finally, a man named Petruchio presents himself and proceeds to tame Katharina through atypical, often cruel means, eventually resulting in a docile wife and a triumphant suitor.
In Shults’ telling, Katharina’s current anger is fueled by an attack she endured as a teenager which left her suspended between two worlds, the human and the wolf, but belonging to neither. The author weaves this explanation seamlessly into the existing story, and her writing ability carries us through to an ending that suggests more of a marriage among equals, which will resonate better with modern readers. I admire her rendition of the main plot.
However, the lack of subplots leaves the overall work a bit wanting. In the play there are several interludes, especially with Bianca’s suitors, that help round out the story and give the play some comic relief. Not having these tangents in Taming of the Werewolf at best leaves the novel used up too quickly, at worst creates some noticeable holes in the plot. The most glaring example of this is how Petruchio recognized Vincentio, the father of one of the callers, on a road. (Huh? Not only had he never met the father in this retelling—he never met the son, either!) If only Shults had spent a little more time further developing the story…but alas.
Consider the e-book for your electronic inventory—it’s worth the $2.99—but I would skip the paper copy. Recommended for Shakespeare fans, romance fans, and anyone who ever wondered why Bianca’s hands were tied at the beginning of the play.
Contains: brief sex scene
Reviewed by: W.E. Zazo-Phillips
May 5, 2016
So fun!
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