Book Twelve
Starting Time: 4:30 pm
Ending Time: 7:25 pm
Title: Exposure
Author: Mal Peet
Genre: Athletics sociopolitical crime drama? Also, Shakespeare fanfic again.
Pages: 430
Summary: When Otello, a black soccer player in a racially-divided unnamed South American country, and pop star Desmerelda meet, it’s love at first sight, but the machinations of Otello’s two-faced agent Diego may destroy them both.
Thoughts: Really interesting world, really interesting exploration of racial dynamics. I liked Paul Faustino, the sports journalist who apparently is the connecting thread in several of Peet’s books, and his subplot with a handful of doomed street kids. But the transition from Othello wasn’t quite as smooth. Diego’s complete lack of motivation for his evil is less acceptable in a modern book than Iago’s is, and, well, spoilers: show
The jealousy thing is basically suggested and then dropped – Otello refuses to take the bait, which makes him a much more likable character than Othello. But then what happens is that Diego murders a street kid named Bianca and implicates Otello in it; charges are dropped, but Desmerelda leaves him and both of their careers are ruined. Diego gets off scot-free. All of which sort of seems to miss the point of
Othello, to my way of thinking – but then, I hate
Othello, so maybe that’s a good thing? What really bothered me was that while Desmerelda is much pluckier than Desdemona, walking out on Otello to protect herself and her child, Emilia – pretty much the only character I like in the original, and in many ways the HERO – is silent for the entire book, and it turns out to be because she’s SOME KIND OF LIZARD. And Bianca’s a none-too-bright tween who gets murdered and her killer is never brought to justice. So of the three female characters brought over from the play (the only other major female character, street kid Felicia, never does anything of note), one is a victim and one is A LIZARD. Not a brave woman who exposes the villain and restores justice to the setting, but A LIZARD.
Can you tell I’m mad?
Two and a half cupcakes
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