Release Date: June 4, 2024
Bea is an astronomy professor at a small college in Washington State; Ben is the college's special collections librarian. They hate each other due to a misunderstanding when they were undergraduates at the same school. This contemporary retelling of Much Ado About Nothing originally seems like just that--one of Shakespeare's most romantically compelling and simultaneously troubling comedies translated into contemporary American academia.
However, gradually, the book, told from the perspectives of Bea and her cousin Heron, reveals itself to be quite a lot more. This is not merely the modern retelling that the names and relationships suggest, but a deeper, feminist and humanist exploration of modern campus life for students and faculty, and a much-needed commentary and alternative ending to the Claudio/Hero storyline that rightfully haunts all feminist Shakespeare scholars.
Beatrice and Benedick are my favorite of all Shakespeare's lovers, but in this book, Heron actually became my favorite character. Her storyline gains a lot of depth, and I enjoyed the anxiety rep but also the courage with which Heron faces her fears and rewrites her own story. I loved watching Heron come into her own as a protagonist, surrounded by supportive cousin Beatrice, bff Maggie, and stepmother "Toni" (IYKYK).
I was impressed that the author writes knowledgeably about subjects from astronomy to dressmaking (did you know diamonds rained on Saturn? I didn't), and so many moments and lines in this book rang true to me, from jargon:
[We] should come back from the symposium with a plan for expanded 'cross-disciplinary curriculum development to enhance student learning outcomes'
to more personal observations:
holding her stomach muscles in because a gal could only confront so many insecurities in one evening.
One particular observation, however, was quite jarring in its inaccuracy; the phrase "top drawah" is misidentified as a "Mid-Atlantic accent." As someone with an actual Mid-Atlantic accent, I have to point out that that phrasing is definitely a New England accent! The author is from Washington, as are her characters, and can perhaps be forgiven for a single slip 😜.
Overall, I found this retelling a fun and thoughtful read, which I actually enjoyed more and more as it continued and deviated from the Bard's plot. One quibble is that I almost would rather have it further removed from the Much Ado inspiration--like giving the characters different names and more different relationships to each other. As someone very familiar with the play, it's easy to draw parallels, which I'm sure is the intention, but for me, it actually distracted a bit from the nature of these characters and their relationships to each other. However, I understand that the similarities may have improved marketing opportunities, and others may find them a boon.
I would recommend How to Align the Stars to fans of Shakespeare and contemporary romance, and I also think a lot of academics would get a chuckle out of it. Going forward, I'm definitely going to assume "gal" is common in Washington State accents (kidding...unless it is?).
Received for review from LibraryThing; all opinions are my own.
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