Synopsis
"Kate Battista feels
stuck. How did she end up running house and home for her eccentric
scientist father and uppity, pretty younger sister Bunny? Plus, she’s
always in trouble at work – her pre-school charges adore her, but their
parents don’t always appreciate her unusual opinions and forthright
manner.
Dr. Battista has other problems. After years out in
the academic wilderness, he is on the verge of a breakthrough. His
research could help millions. There’s only one problem: his brilliant
young lab assistant, Pyotr, is about to be deported. And without Pyotr,
all would be lost.
When Dr. Battista cooks up an outrageous plan
that will enable Pyotr to stay in the country, he’s relying – as usual –
on Kate to help him. Kate is furious: this time he’s really asking too
much. But will she be able to resist the two men’s touchingly ludicrous
campaign to bring her around?" (Goodreads)
A Modern Retelling of a Classic Play
Anne Tyler is a Pulitzer-winning author with a pretty extensive backlist, so I'm kind of embarrassed that this was my first time reading her work. This book, which is part of the Hogarth Shakespeare series, is a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew, a classic work that has been retold and reworked in many ways (It loosely inspired the movie 10 Things I Hate About You!). I was so curious to see how this play from the 1500s would translate to the modern day, so I was excited to receive a copy from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review!
Let's Talk About Kate
Kate Battista, our main character, is 29 years old (like me!) and pretty stuck in her life. She sort of serves as the matriarch of the family since her mother has passed away. Kate is not a warm person. She doesn't go out of her way to be nasty, but sees no point in being anything but honest. In some ways, I related to her. She seems to find it easier to stick to a routine than to change anything in her life or try to do anything more. Mostly, though, I giggled at how completely blunt she was, especially to the 4 year old kids she cares for as a teaching assistant! Being that kiddos are usually quite blunt themselves, they admire her. However, the faculty and parents are less than thrilled.
I think the title of Shakespeare's play is pretty telling of what is meant to happen in the story. Kate can be seen as cold, crass, and not-very-ladylike, not the way a young woman is expected to present herself. No one sees her as someone with romantic prospects, so her father feels that it's fine to pawn her off to his assistant Pytor, whose work visa is close to expiring (sneaky, that dad is!).
Kate is both offended and repulsed by the thought of marrying this man. He's not a bad guy, but she obviously doesn't love him and she is being asked to give away a bit of her freedom for the needs of others. However, she is ultimately quite selfless when it comes to her family, so it just makes sense for her to go with it.
Can You Tame a Shrew?
The original work Tyler retells is pretty sexist. A lot of people argue this fact all the time. Why should a man change a woman? Can a woman be changed? Do all women have to be a certain way? We know the answers to these questions. I appreciated that Kate would put down Pyotr's occasionally sexist comments. Pyotr finds humor in Kate's sarcasm. He doesn't exactly say he wants to change her, but he does hint that she might change way once they are married. The marriage, according to Kate's father, is never supposed to be about romance. Kate gets this, but Pyotr doesn't. However, as the wedding date draws nearer, Kate seems to withdraw. She is calmer. She accepts everything instead of fighting against it. It was a pretty quick turn and the abruptness of the change bothered me.
Overall
This was a quick and engaging read, but it ultimately let me down. I was rooting for Kate, but I ended up feeling completely disconnected from her by the end. Maybe that's the point? Anne Tyler obviously couldn't veer to far from the course when doing this work. This classic tale just isn't easy to modernize without changing, and it shows.
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