Nutshell

‚So here I am, upside down in a woman.‘

Nutshell is the 14th novel by English author and screenwriter Ian McEwan published in 2016. It retells William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet from the point of view of an unborn child.

Trudy has betrayed her husband, John. She’s still in the marital home — a dilapidated, priceless London townhouse — but John’s not here. Instead, she’s with his brother, the profoundly banal Claude, and the two of them have a plan. But there is a witness to their plot: the inquisitive, nine-month-old resident of Trudy’s womb.

Trapped in the womb rather than his dreams, this Hamlet suffers his story in reverse: he wonders if he should be born rather than if he should die; he starts with his father’s life and goes on to his ghost; he begins in silence but ends in chaos. But the familiar story retains a strong forward momentum.

You will find a copy waiting for you at the bookshop il libro.

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