By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

 

My thoughts

This book will be in my top favorites for the year. It is my favorite Jodi Picoult book ever. I had a hard time putting it down and at the same time hated for it to end. It's long but was a fairly quick read for me. I was so invested in this book. It's so well written and all of the extras were great. I received a paperback copy from a Book Reporter zoom event back in July. I also received an ecopy from NetGalley. To say this book is great is selling it short. It's fantastic. I enjoyed every single minute of it. Though some parts did make me cringe. Some parts made me weep. Some made me feel warm emotions and others just touched my heart. Reading this book was a joy.

Told from two different women and two different time periods. One was 2023 told from what Melina experienced. The other in 1581 told from Emilia. These two women are related. Both are writers and both are discriminated against because they are female. Back in 1581 it was unheard of for a female to become a play write. Or to publish anything. It was a man's world. (sound familiar?) Some things haven't changed all that much but should. In 2023 when Melina writes a play telling her story of By Any Other Name, it fell to a man to use his name to get it on stage. So no, not a lot of change. Some yes but mostly still men in charge. 

This book takes you into each of these women's lives. You get to know them well. Their likes and dislikes. Their loves. Their pain. The sadness they each have. Losses. And finding themselves. I absolutely loved how the author wove Emilia into the ending of Melina's story. I thought Emilia was such a wonderful character. I liked them both but was a bit partial to Emilia. She went through so much and it started at such a young age. This book had me weeping for her in so many places. She certainly had a life. 

This is a great story and one that I think anyone that loves literature will adore. Yes it's long but it's also a fast read. I found myself so immersed in the story that I forgot to do other things. That has not happened in a long time. Worth every hour of reading. Every page. And the Author's Notes at the ending are so worth reading. Lots of info there.

Thank you #NetGalley, #RandomHousePublishingGroup-BallantineBooks, for this ARC. This is my own true and honest thoughts about this book.

Five huge stars. Grab it and devour it.

About

From the New York Times bestselling co-author of Mad Honey comes an “inspiring” (Elle) novel about two women, centuries apart—one of whom is the real author of Shakespeare’s plays—who are both forced to hide behind another name.

Young playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. But seeing it performed is unlikely, in a theater world where the playing field isn’t level for women. As Melina wonders if she dares risk failure again, her best friend takes the decision out of her hands and submits the play to a festival under a male pseudonym.

In 1581, young Emilia Bassano is a ward of English aristocrats. Her lessons on languages, history, and writing have endowed her with a sharp wit and a gift for storytelling, but like most women of her day, she is allowed no voice of her own. Forced to become a mistress to the Lord Chamberlain, who oversees all theatre productions in England, Emilia sees firsthand how the words of playwrights can move an audience. She begins to form a plan to secretly bring a play of her own to the stage—by paying an actor named William Shakespeare to front her work.

Told in intertwining timelines, By Any Other Name, a sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire centers two women who are determined to create something beautiful despite the prejudices they face. Should a writer do whatever it takes to see her story live on . . . no matter the cost? This remarkable novel, rooted in primary historical sources, ensures the name Emilia Bassano will no longer be forgotten.