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Two Gentlemen of Lebowski: A Most Excellent Comedie and Tragical Romance

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What if . . .  William Shakespeare had written The Big Lebowski?

 

The Dude has met the Bard—and he doth abide.

Join “The Knave” and Sir Walter on a wild tale of mistaken identity, kidnapping, bowling, and a rug that, in faith, really tied the room together—in a sidesplitting Shakespearean comedy of errors and ninepins, told in five glorious acts of iambic pentameter and impeccable period prose.

Already a theatrical hit and a worldwide viral phenomenon, Two Gentlemen of Lebowski comes alive anew in this definitive and lavishly illustrated edition, featuring recently discovered historical engravings, scholarly annotations, and a revelatory afterword from the author.

223 pages, Paperback

First published October 26, 2010

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Adam Bertocci

38 books16 followers

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
Profile Image for Bettie.
9,977 reviews5 followers
February 17, 2019

(35) aggression uncheck'd: possibly a reference to a lost early draft of Queen Elizabeth's speech to her troops at Tilbury in 1588 in which she exhorted them to defend against the Spanish Armada.

Description: Join “The Knave” and Sir Walter on a wild tale of mistaken identity, kidnapping, bowling, and a rug that, in faith, really tied the room together—in a sidesplitting Shakespearean comedy of errors and ninepins, told in five glorious acts of iambic pentameter and impeccable period prose.

Already a theatrical hit and a worldwide viral phenomenon, Two Gentlemen of Lebowski comes alive anew in this definitive and lavishly illustrated edition, featuring recently discovered historical engravings, scholarly annotations, and a revelatory afterword from the author.




What if . . . William Shakespeare had written The Big Lebowski?
The Dude has met the Bard—and he doth abide.



THE KNAVE [the Dude]: Sir, I possess a rug that, in faith, tied the room together'

What a breath of fresh air in these troubled times, an unnecessarily funny read, cram-packed full of quotable quotes (!) and context columns, take this definition as example:





Profile Image for Clay.
137 reviews13 followers
October 27, 2014
I am a fan of the Coen brothers’ film The Big Lebowski. Nothing Earth-shattering there – I think most anyone who’s seen it would say that. It’s light, it’s easy-going, it’s irreverent yet witty with a twisted sense of bawdy vulgarity and a dark, somewhat disturbing sense of humor; In essence, it’s perfect. And so when I discovered that Adam Bertocci had written a Shakespearean version of the screenplay, I went promptly to Amazon, purchased and downloaded it to my Paperwhite. I was not disappointed.

Two Gentlemen of Lebowski styles itself under the pretense that The Bard wrote it as a tragic romance back in the 16th century and the Coen Brothers found it and updated it and adapted it to the big screen. As such, it’s entertaining to see just what Bertocci did to de-modernize this tale. Gone are the automobiles and .45 caliber Government 1911’s – what you have in Two Gentlemen of Lebowski is the story, the characters and the dialog; nothing more. What I discovered is you don’t need anything more. The drama and the humor of The Big Lebowski is both timeless and delightfully entertaining.

One of the most delicious elements of this short novel is the subtle alterations made to conform to Shakespearean language. The Dude has become the Knave, Walther of the Viet Nam War has become Sir Walther of the Orient Wars and so on and so forth. I loved turning each page to find out how Bertocci would handle each ensuing scene. I was not let down. The exchanges between characters were a treat, the monologues were entertaining and the homage to the film’s quirky sense of humor was spot-on-perfect.

I will admit that after the first few acts, the novelty does wear itself out a little and it begins to get a wee bit tedious and a tiny bit tired. But the story itself is what delivers this novel from becoming a mere long-winded gimmick. Time and time again I was delighted by the handling of new scenes and plot elements. Just when I thought I’d discovered all the author had to offer I was struck by a new perfectly twisted piece of dialog that reinvigorated my enthusiasm for this work. It was tons of fun to read!

One caveat: This novel is written in the style of William Shakespeare. So many of the euphemisms and turns of phrase are outdated and meaningless to modern readers. Never fear. Bertocci has included a handy glossary of Shakespearean terms which provides background on many of the phrases which have gone out of style. The Kindle version I was reading even had direct links allowing me to tap the phrase and immediately read its glossary entry without ever leaving the page I was reading. Thanks ebook formatting!

The text is intermingled with period styled artwork and illustrations helping to set the mood and reinforce the medieval setting while offering some additional clarity on the outdated events and objects being described. The addition of these illustrations tends to add more volume to what is, admittedly, a very short book. Being an adaptation of the Big Lebowski screenplay, Two Gentlemen of Lebowski can easily be read in one sitting or a few short hours. However, were it any longer, I may have lost a bit of interest. Its brevity is what keeps it so fresh and fun.

Four stars for Adam Bertocci’s Two Gentlemen of Lebowski. Marry! ‘Twas verily a delicious diversion fair!
Profile Image for Dan Venning.
41 reviews6 followers
August 8, 2013
I recently finished William Shakespeare's Star Wars and was moderately impressed. Amazon then suggested this one to me, and I jumped at the chance. Two Gentlemen of Lebowski is extremely well done. It just works. The mix of verse and prose is great, and it incorporates lines from the movie in a thoroughly creative way while also being genuinely Shakespearean in style.

Part of the success is in what Bertocci chooses to leave offstage, or how he fills in gaps for them. Not every scene from the movie appears onstage. Instead, some are replaced by exposition, songs, or other elements. This isn't a negative for me--it reflects the genuine challenges of adaptation.

One of the best elements is that the book is composed of facing pages of text (the odd pages, on the right) and explanatory notes and illustrations (on the even pages, on the left). The images are downright amazing (especially one that the author got from the Folger), and some led to rib-busting laughs. But the notes at other times form a sort of bizarro meta-commentary on both Bardolatry and Shakespeare criticism and Lebowski fandom. There was some Nabokovian Pale Fire-esque stuff going on here, and it was superbly conceived.

Where I felt the book was most problematic was that Bertocci seemed compelled to throw in nearly every famous Shakespearean line in the canon. At many points, these famous lines in fact didn't add to a scene, and distracted from the text without contributing to the scene or character's speech. At other times, they worked, creating a moment that was both appropriate and commenting on itself. This issue almost made me give the book four stars, but ultimately I feel it's a minor problem, and an element some others might enjoy.

All in all, I think this is the best of the three "modern Shakespearean adaptations" I've seen/read recently. And Bertocci's "Afterword" is spot-on: part of the reason it works so well is that the source material, the Coen brothers' The Big Lebowski is indeed rather Shakespearean in its own style.
Profile Image for Corto.
305 reviews32 followers
April 9, 2016
I'm on my second Caucasian of the afternoon Jackie, so forgive the coherence of this review.

First off, this is a brilliant work of literature.

Second? That's not the issue, man!

This is an extremely clever interpretation of the film in question, and Adam Bertocci did an amazing job of "Bardolating" it. (If you're asking, "What film?", hie thee to thine Amazon Prime, man!)

Even though I only dabbled in Shakespeare in college (just one class, man), I was so thoroughly and completely amused by this telling of the tale that my Special Lady Friend asked me to stop reading it in the late hours of a work night...

Lots of in-jokes, lots of puns...just brilliant, and when you go back to your college reunion Bertocci, you should consider yourself an Achiever. (Because this "Bardolating" of what can arguably be considered a Shakespearean tale, is truly a work of art- even though there are a couple of scenes that are missing, that I would've liked to have read.)

5 Stars. It really tied this year's stack of books together.

Profile Image for Alice Barrett.
35 reviews
August 12, 2023
Who tapped into my inner psyche and created this masterpiece?! I love the author’s observations on Shakespearean plays and the Big Lebowski: both mix low and high culture superbly and both prioritize microcosmic moments over the macro. My own observations: both are extremely “bodily,” both employ classical theater character tropes, both often rely on location but are not confined by location… I could go on! This seemingly random pairing is not so random!
Profile Image for Christopherseelie.
230 reviews24 followers
January 19, 2014
Flawless conceit. This is probably one of the cleverest things you can read if you loved "The Big Lebowski" and had to read Shakespeare in high school.
Profile Image for Skallagrimsen  .
398 reviews106 followers
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October 17, 2023
The Dimwit's Dictionary: 5,000 Overused Words and Phrases and Alternatives to Them, by Robert Hartwell Fiske, defines "between a rock and a hard place" as "a moribund metaphor," and suggests "at risk," "endangered," "hard-pressed," "imperiled," "in a predicament," "in a quandary," "in danger," "in peril," and "jeopardized" as acceptable substitutes.

To this list I'd add: "My only hope is that the big Lebowski kills me before the Germans can cut my dick off."

That is, if you're not into the whole brevity thing.

Or alternately: "My only hope remains/ That in his anger, the Lebowski big/ Kills me ere these Germans cut my lance."

That is, if you prefer the original Shakespeare.
Profile Image for Alex Buschmann.
74 reviews1 follower
July 19, 2018
This book is exactly what you would expect it to be. It's fun, and far more challenging to read than I had originally given it credit for, probably because I haven't read Shakespeare since H.S. Despite that, I still found myself laughing and remembering this timeless classic movie and enjoying partaking in the Dude abiding in a way that would make Shakespeare proud.
Profile Image for Chris.
68 reviews
December 5, 2025
There aren't nearly enough reviews for this book. It's spot on and captures all the critical things happening throughout The Big Lebowski.

My only minor gripe is that they still referred to the Dude's car, which doesn't seem fitting for the rest of the implied time. For example, the author doesn't write Lebowski is in a wheelchair, but a cart. Why not turn the car into a wagon?

Fuck it. Life goes on, man. The Knave abideth.
Profile Image for Jake.
2,053 reviews70 followers
July 12, 2022
Entertaining and fun. Perfect for Lebowski fans. I wish he hadn't included so many Shakespeare references from other plays. The notes were a bit cloying as well. But still, I enjoyed this.
Profile Image for Keith Moser.
331 reviews13 followers
January 31, 2017
My wife bought this for me two or three Christmases ago and I started reading it several months ago, but I knew the best way to enjoy it was after a rewatch of the film.

I actually chose to read it while watching the film (pausing after each scene when necessary) to truly understand the genius of Adam Bertocci. When I read the first dozen pages or so, I definitely heard Sam Elliott during the prologue and recognized some of the lines from the opening scene, but I knew there were more "Shakespearean" translations going on.

And so, here I sat, after the Fourth of July picnic ended and all our family left, while my wife lay on the couch napping, watching The Big Lebowski while reading Two Gentlemen of Lebowski. And it was totally worth it. Some scenes were nearly identical translations while others had some clever additions (e.g. longer monologues or soliloquies which included references to movie scenes cut from the play or even quoting the soundtrack!). It took me well over 2 hours with all the pausing and reading I did, but Bertocci did some amazing work.

There are plenty of references to basically every classical Shakespearean quote you've heard of (my favorite was how he tied in "Exeunt, pursued by a Bear") and plenty of reworkings of classical Big Lebowski quotes (like "This befalleth when thou firk'st a stranger 'twixt the buttocks, Laurence!").

My only regret in reading the play while watching the movie is I did miss out on half the novel. Like any good Shakespearean text, the entirety of the play is written on the odd, right-facing pages with footnotes and annotations on the even, left-facing pages. When I read those first 20 or so pages six months ago, I diligently read every word in the play and note on the side. However, while reading with the film, there's just no time for the footnotes. I snuck a look at some here or there, and even these are written just as a true Shakespearean play would have them. There are references to other "contemporary" texts and false explanations of some of the more lewd jokes (e.g. "firk'st: to beat or strike").

Great idea executed perfectly. If it wasn't such a beast (to read while watching or shortly after rewatching) I'd wish Bertocci would tackle other cult films. Although, as he posits in the afterword, perhaps this works best because The Big Lebowski is a noir comedy that almost feels Shakespearean on its own, what with all of its mistaken identities, double crosses, dick jokes, and "wise fools."
Profile Image for Mike.
16 reviews6 followers
July 26, 2011
Merely as a exercise in "mashup literature" this work stands out as one of the most original and well-conceived in recent memory, right up there with "Pride & Prejudice and Zombies". But what sets this book apart from Seth Grahame-Smith's work is that it was not done as a comedy in and of itself; rather, it just so happens that the source material was comedic on its own. What's more, the seamless melding of the two genres (cult indy stoner flick & Shakespere's Comedy of Errors) actually enhances the humor in ways that are totally unexpected and that add a layer of complexity and interest.

Adam Bertocci has achieved what is probably the highest level of success when it comes to mashup literature: He has written a book that draws you in and gives you a sense of expectation - and an urge to turn the page as quickly as possible to see what comes next - even though you already know how it ends. (Hell, most readers probably know every scene of the movie by heart and can recite it backwards.)

The only quibble that I have with this play is that it doesn't totally stand on its own. You really have to have seen The Big Lebowski at least once to be in on the joke, and those of us who have happily sat through multiple viewings will be much more apt to enjoy it than Dude Neophytes. I normally would have knocked a star off of my rating for this, but the sheer originality of the work and skillful meshing of the two genres more than earns back an extra star.
Author 3 books1 follower
December 28, 2025
“To be or not Lebowski. That is the question.” A hilarious adaptation of the Coen bothers’ cult film, Two Gentlemen of Lebowski: A Most Excellent Comedie and Tragical Romance is incredibly entertaining and full of laughs. Written in the style of a Shakespearian play, The Dude becomes “The Knave,” an avid player of 9-pins with his friends Sir Walter and Sir Donald, who becomes embroiled in the rescue of a young maiden at the behest of her husband Lord Lebowski. Author Adam Bertocci does an extraordinary job at translating the characters and story to a 17th century England setting. And the use of langue is brilliant; having a real authentic Shakespearian feel. Additionally, Bernard Setaro Clark gives an inspired reading. Two Gentlemen of Lebowski: A Most Excellent Comedie and Tragical Romance recaptures all the fun and wit of the Coen brothers’ film in an exciting new way.
7 reviews1 follower
February 1, 2011
Hilarious Shakespearean adaptation of The Big Lebowski. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but I know the film in and out. I suspect that those less familiar with the movie would appreciate it as well, but many of the references might be lost. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys both Lebowski and Shakespeare.
Profile Image for Ronn.
513 reviews1 follower
May 12, 2018
Sometimes thou exits in pursuit of bear, and sometimes he doth pursue thee.

The knave abideth!
1,327 reviews5 followers
May 20, 2020
I am not really a fan of reading plays... but I like to see interpretations and influences of Shakespeare. This was an interesting mash up of style and storytelling, with the author taking the approach that since Shakespeare's works were all dramatizations of other people's stories, he would have adapted this one himself. I agree with the idea- it is a bit silly and bawdy, and Shakespeare would have seen its potential. But I have only seen this cult movie once, and couldn't remember most of its twists and turns, so I had to concentrate more than I wanted to get through it. The pages with interpretive comments were a really nice addition.
13 reviews1 follower
Read
June 18, 2021
The Dimwit's Dictionary: 5,000 Overused Words and Phrases and Alternatives to Them defines "between a rock and a hard place" as "a moribund metaphor," and suggests "at risk," "endangered," "hard-pressed," "imperiled," "in a predicament," "in a quandary," "in danger," "in peril," and "jeopardized" as acceptable substitutes.

To this list I'd add: "My only hope is that the big Lebowski kills me before the Germans can cut my dick off."

That is, if you're not into the whole brevity thing.

Or alternately: "My only hope remains/ That in his anger, the Lebowski big/ Kills me ere these Germans cut my lance."

That is, if you prefer the original Shakespeare.
Profile Image for Howard.
109 reviews2 followers
October 29, 2017
I saw The Big Lebowski a few years ago. It wasn’t really my thing. Since then, listening to the commentary, I’ve had a grudging respect for the movie, though I wasn’t sure I want to watch it again. Then I read this book. The Big Lebowski in Shakespeare’s tongue puts such a new light on the innuendo, the comedy, the mistaken identity - it’s a Shakespearean tragedy for sure. It was delightful! I’m looking forward to watching the movie again. If anyone ever makes this book into a live performance, I would see it in a heartbeat.
Profile Image for Aili.
51 reviews3 followers
September 2, 2018
I cannot get over how good this is. I didn't expect it to be brilliant, because I've read lots of these "What if Shakespeare wrote Star Wars" things. But this one is different. It is obvious that the playwright knows Shakespeare well. He quotes Shakespeare constantly. His verse is right on point, but lacks the rigidity one associates with lesser attempts. The script is truly playable. Just awesome.
Profile Image for Courtenay.
600 reviews6 followers
April 22, 2019
Extensive annotations help the reader understand the book, with afterward to help the reader understand the author & his purpose. As more of a Shakespeare fan than follower of The Dude, I was appreciative of the format, rhythm and rhyme and amazed at how flawless the interweaving of Lebowski’s story. Rather than read it, I’d rather see it performed. THAT would be a 300 - the perfect game to bowl me over.
Profile Image for John Gastil.
Author 15 books10 followers
August 15, 2020
Yes, this book really is *that* funny. Imagine if Weird Al wrote into a song but a whole novel with the same parodic precision, line for line. This was a remarkable undertaking, and I bought two copies on the hope that we'd perform it at a local bowling alley one of these days. Alas, that day hasn't come to pass, but there's no reason it can't. Someday.
47 reviews
April 8, 2020
A fun homage to both The Big Lebowski and Shakespeare, this play takes the Dude, here The Knave, along with Sir Walter and Sir Donald and puts their caper to find Bunny (here Bonnie) back in the medieval times - at least via the language. As for In’N’Out - those are fine beefsteaks, Knave.
105 reviews10 followers
April 18, 2020
The book may be really good for some people, not for me, though.
Written in old English and as play, it's very difficult to understand and follow for me.
I was expecting something like Abraham Lincoln vampire slayer or Pride, prejudice and zombies. It is not anything like that.
Profile Image for Glaiza.
279 reviews3 followers
November 1, 2017
It was funny to read it in such a language and it definitely made me want to watch the movie again.
Profile Image for Andrea.
30 reviews
March 11, 2018
“Yea, well, that be, forsooth, thy opinion, sir.”
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