Mai Min Li reviews Shylock's Daughter

Mai Lin Li's review:

I first read The Merchant of Venice while studying for GCSE English. Roughly half of the population of my school was Jewish, the other half predominantly Christian, so as you can imagine the play provoked a great deal of debate. Had Pressler's book been published ten years ago, I think it could have made a useful contribution to the discussions that ensued.

In a serious and thoughtful book, Pressler develops themes present in the play, such as racial and religious bigotry, familial and sexual love and perceptions of justice, while indirectly reminding us of their modern resonance. Where I think the book departs radically from the play is in the shift from the original focus of ambiguity i.e. the question of Shylock's status as victim or villain. The balance is tipped distinctly in his favour by Pressler's decision to attribute the insistence on a flesh bond to Antonio and allowing Shylock to observe that it was a known Christian practice. In Pressler's narrative this ambiguity is replaced by another important question; who is more compromised (and made more wretched) by their decisions and behaviour, the self-exiled Jew Shylock, or his converted daughter Jessica? Another innovation is the creation of Dalilah, who proves herself to be a good and dutiful Jewish daughter to Shylock, despite being habitually eclipsed in his affections by the proud, beautiful Jessica. Interestingly, while travelling through the countryside in order to return Jessica to her father, Dalilah becomes the only Jewish character to experience kindness and 'Christian' charity, though it is significant that this happens when she is in disguise and divested of any outward signs of her Jewish status. I enjoyed the description of this interlude, but while Dalilah's story is skilfully interwoven with that of Jessica, I think that some readers may find that it distances and weakens the relationship between Shakespeare's play and Pressler's otherwise impressive and atmospheric novel.

Mai Lin Li is a librarian in Nottinghamshire.

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Laraine Barker Pauline Chandler Posey Furnish Mai Lin Li Sophie Masson Beverley Naidoo Rachel Newcombe Glynis Nickerson Liz Rose Ann Sharman Michael Thorn	Mai Lin Li's review: I first read The Merchant of Venice while studying for GCSE English. Roughly half of the population of my school was Jewish, the other half predominantly Christian, so as you can imagine the play provoked a great deal of debate. Had Pressler's book been published ten years ago, I think it could have made a useful contribution to the discussions that ensued. In a serious and thoughtful book, Pressler develops themes present in the play, such as racial and religious bigotry, familial and sexual love and perceptions of justice, while indirectly reminding us of their modern resonance. Where I think the book departs radically from the play is in the shift from the original focus of ambiguity i.e. the question of Shylock's status as victim or villain. The balance is tipped distinctly in his favour by Pressler's decision to attribute the insistence on a flesh bond to Antonio and allowing Shylock to observe that it was a known Christian practice. In Pressler's narrative this ambiguity is replaced by another important question; who is more compromised (and made more wretched) by their decisions and behaviour, the self-exiled Jew Shylock, or his converted daughter Jessica? Another innovation is the creation of Dalilah, who proves herself to be a good and dutiful Jewish daughter to Shylock, despite being habitually eclipsed in his affections by the proud, beautiful Jessica. Interestingly, while travelling through the countryside in order to return Jessica to her father, Dalilah becomes the only Jewish character to experience kindness and 'Christian' charity, though it is significant that this happens when she is in disguise and divested of any outward signs of her Jewish status. I enjoyed the description of this interlude, but while Dalilah's story is skilfully interwoven with that of Jessica, I think that some readers may find that it distances and weakens the relationship between Shakespeare's play and Pressler's otherwise impressive and atmospheric novel. Mai Lin Li is a librarian in Nottinghamshire.