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Shakespeare & Beyond

Excerpt: 'Macbeth' by Jo Nesbø

MacbethIn his new novel, Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbø transforms the protagonist of Shakespeare’s Macbeth from a Scottish thane to the head of the SWAT unit in a 1970s industrial town torn apart by the drug trade.

This gritty retelling of Shakespeare’s play for the Hogarth Shakespeare series was published April 10.

Readers familiar with the source material will recognize many of Nesbø’s character names: Duncan is the chief of police, Malcolm is deputy chief, and Duff is leader of the narcotics unit.

Hecate is a powerful drug lord who sends three sisters to Inspector Macbeth to convey a prophecy that he will become head of the Organized Crime Unit and then Chief Commissioner.

In the excerpt below, Lady (Macbeth’s love interest and owner of the Inverness Casino) plots Macbeth’s path to the top post.

Comments

Sounds Interesting

james oneill — April 18, 2018