By Any Other Name is the newest offering from literary powerhouse Jodi Picoult. This book follows the dueling perspectives of Emilia in 1500s England and her descendant Melina in modern day New York. Both women are aspiring playwrights held back by the hurdles women face in the industry. Both are writing under pseudonyms to placate male interests and societal expectations so that they can see thier work onstage. Emilia’s story is particularly fraught. With a heavy dose of Shakespearian influence (iykyk), this is both thought provoking and entertaining.
I’ve not read much by Picoult, but this one interested me. Even though I studied engineering in college, I took an extra class so that I could take Shakespeare. (Literature is not in the standard engineering curriculum and I was generally seen as a weirdo, guilty, for enjoying it.) By Any Other Name does a fantastic job of looking at how far we’ve come in diversifying viewpoints in media but also how far we still have to go before there is an equitable consideration for all stories. I think this is a timely novel as more and more books face banning across the country with specific people’s stories being targeted.
Don’t miss this one. And look out for all the Shakespearian references. There’s even a guide at the back to see if you caught them all. I did not catch them all. Not even close.
Get it at Bookshop.org Amazon
Thank you to Penguin Random House, Edelweiss, and Jodi Picoult for the Advance Review Copy.
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