The reach of grace: The power of old stories
Students of Shakespeare know that the bard didn’t create his material solely out of his own imagination, but instead masterfully recrafted stories that were centuries old. And Shakespeare’s own dramas have been repeatedly reimagined in contemporary settings. Two novels receiving critical attention these days are both based on Hamlet: Lin Enger’s Undiscovered Country is set in small-town Minnesota, and David Wroblewski’s The Story of Edgar Sawtelle takes place on a Wisconsin farm.