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    Iago: A Novel
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    Iago: A Novel
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    Iago: A Novel
    Audiobook15 hours

    Iago: A Novel

    Written by David Snodin

    Narrated by John Lee

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    An unforgettable adventure beginning where Shakespeare's Othello leaves off

    Wounded in love, tormented by his past, Shakespeare's most complex villain is brought magnificently to life in this tale of two adversaries—one an accused killer; the other, one of the most powerful men in Venice. Having escaped from Cyprus, accused of the murders of the governor, known as the Moor, and his lovely young wife, Iago is now locked in battle with Annibale Malipiero, known as Il Terribile, the chief inquisitor of Italy's greatest city.

    Malipiero is repelled by the more brutal tasks of the interrogante. His obsession is with the very nature of evil. What makes a man into a murderer, he longs to know? Is Iago a lone psychopath, or does he lie at the heart of a more widespread Ottoman conspiracy? Malipiero knows that torture will not provide him with the answers he seeks. But there is, perhaps, a more audacious and unusual route to the truth . . .

    Exuberantly inventive, thrillingly complex, and richly entertaining, Iago will captivate fans already familiar with Shakespeare and appeal to anyone who loves a rich historical novel. Iago marks the emergence of a remarkable new literary voice.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateJan 3, 2012
    ISBN9781427214720
    Author

    David Snodin

    David Snodin was William Shakespeare's script editor. He worked on the BBC's epic series of Shakespeare's plays, and his award-winning television production credits also include Jane Austen's Persuasion, Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, and Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles. He lives in London and Crete.

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    Reviews for Iago

    3.5/5

    47 ratings19 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Although this book gives a vivid portrayal of sixteenth century Italy, I was rather disappointed in its addressing of Iago himself. Although the author does fill in some information about his background, we never learn as much as I would like (nor, I think, as much as the Inquisitor would like) about the workings of his mind. Do we even know that what we supposedly learn is true? Personally, I wouldn't trust Shakespeare's Iago to tell me a real sob story. How can we be sure that what Iago reveals to the other characters is meant to be correct? Why shouldn't we assume that he would manipulate them through pity? And for a mastermind who manipulates other people into performing murder for him, his planning in this book never seems either particularly wicked nor particularly complex.
    • 3/5
      I cannot think of a work of Shakespeare's that I have not enjoyed and when I received Iago by David Snodin, I was quite enthusiastic. Iago is, in this reviewers opinion, Shakespeare's greatest villain and I have lost count how many times I have read Othello, so I could not wait to see where Snodin would take the character of Iago. Unfortunately I did not care for this book, as much as I had hoped I would, however, I do believe Snodin did an exceptional job with the historical details of the book. While this book did not live up to my expectations, I would recommend it to fans of Shakespeare's Othello
    • 4/5
      I found this book oddly frustrating and gripping at the same time. Enjoyable read though.
    • 2/5
      I actually finished this book in January but went over it again as I found it hard to read. I re-read Othello hoping it would help me understand [Iago] better but it didn't. I'm still not sure what this book is suppose to be about.
    • 3/5
      David Snodin approaches Shakespeare's most famous villain by imagining his life after the end of Othello. Though he takes some liberties with Shakespeare's play, the problem Snodin approaches in the novel is the problem of the end of the play: what is Iago's motivation?To get at an answer, Snodin must first tackle Iago's final declaration in Othello that he will remain silent. Snodin first has Iago escape from the authorities in Cyprus, but this allows him to remain silent. He ends up in the hands of the Inquisitors in Venice, but he maintains his stubborn silence.Snodin finally begins to open Iago by introducing a main plot involving a young, Venitian noble. Gentile Stornello is a teenager who gets pulled into a plot get at Iago's motivation by getting close to him and helping him escape from Venice.All of this takes too long to happen, and as a result, a book that wants to be a historical thriller gets bogged down. It doesn't help that Gentile, the main character, comes across more as a mooning kid than an interesting young man. The book picks up pace in the final 100 pages, but it isn't enough to bring this book to a strong conclusion. Once we get an inkling of Iago's motivations, it's a bit of a letdown.
    • 2/5
      This was basically a silly tale. I had expected much more when dealing with one of Shakespeare's great characters. The inquisitor was such an obtuse character. Why the obsession with Iago's motivation when he was clearly such an evil criminal? Very disappointing.
    • 2/5
      Although I'm a Shakespearean, I'm not the stuffy kind who puts the bard on pedestal and thinks that taking any liberties with the plays is sacrilege. I enjoy spinoffs and productions that set the plays in unusual times or places. Heck, I even directed a version of Hamlet set in a 1990s North Sea oil conglomerate. So I was willing to play along with Snodin's extension of Othello and take it on its own terms. But I was sorely disappointed. On the syle: Maybe Snodin was trying to recreate in prose the feeling of an ornate 15th-century Venice. If so, it didn't work. The writing was clunky, stiff, and convoluted, and it was one of the main reasons that this books rambled on irritatingly for at least 200 hundred pages more than was necessary. I simply got bored with being bombarded by details that were neither necessary nor, in many cases, interesting. Every Shakespearean character here seemed to have twenty-five relatives, and we were dragged through descriptions of and exposition for each one of them, however insignificant. I got the feeling that instead of writing the story that needed to be told, the author kept repeating a mantra to himself while writing: "Epic--I'm writing an epic." The style was also the reason that the main characters, including Iago, never got off the page or engaged the reader's interest. The initial premise is good: discovering what turned Iago into a villain. But again, we're given far too little to come to any valid conclusions. Snodin gets bogged down in writing a combination of crime story, coming of age story, historical novel, and thriller. It's all action--too much action--at the expense of any real insights or psychological depth. Just not my cup of tea, I'm afraid, and it took quite an effort to force myself to finish it.
    • 4/5
      This is an Early Reviewer Book. It contains spoilers.The story begins where Shakespeare's Otello ends. Iago is suspected of killing the Moor and Desdemona and has been captured and held in a prison. The governor of Cyprus goes to see him with other Venetian officials only to discover Iago has escaped. There follows a cat and mouse search across the countryside of Cyprus. Then the action returns to Venice and we discover that Iago has been recaptured and brought in deepest secrecy to be interrogated by the Inquisitors. Later, Iago is allowed to escape since the Interrogators haven't been able to learn anything from him.Parts of this were quite good, but I hated the parts when Iago and a young boy were being tortured. I found it brutal, which in and of itself weren't unexpected, but I found the reasoning behind that part of the book suspect.I also had difficulty identifying with any of the characters or caring about them. Iago, in particular, is shown as a cipher and you learn very little of him throughout the book, up until the very end. Knowing some of that earlier on would have helped.All in all an interesting read which I'm glad I read but not outstanding.
    • 4/5
      David Snodin brings renaissance Venice alive in his imagined continuation of Shakespeare's "Othello". One needn't be familiar with the classic play - a quick Google search for the summary of the story will suffice, and readers will easily catch up with the events preceding Snodin's book. Opening on the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean, we find that one of Shakespeare's most inscrutable characters, Iago, has managed to escape from a mountain-top prison where he'd been held for the murder of Othello, his wife Desdemona, and several others. This leads to a cross-island chase, and a number of near-miss captures, led by Venice's General of the Sea, Graziano Stornello. Iago, in fact, didn't do much killing himself, but through his own cult of personality, he created an atmosphere of jealousy and rage. The interim governor of Cyprus describes Iago as "...the worst kind of villain. The sort who does not soil his own hands in the practice of his despicable endeavors. He may not squeeze the life out of a young woman. He may not be present when the men of the garrison are busily stabbing and killing one another. But he is the killer nonetheless." Iago doesn't make a significant appearance in the story until about half way through. But his presence is felt as he covers the story like a shadow, or an unshakable memory. He invades the activity around which he orbits like a bone-cold winter drizzle. The governor characterizes Iago rather passionately: ""He is...like a pestilence...An infestation that can invade and kill you before you even know you are sick." In Venice, we're introduced to Graziano's nephew, Gentile, a very smart and sweetly innocent teenage noble. Snidon successfully portrays Franceschina as the unrequited paramour to the nebbishy and appropriately named Gentile. Graziano captures Iago and brings him to the high inquisitor of Venice, Anibale Malipiero. Malipiero isn't your run-of-the-mill torturer. He takes a more intellectual perspective on the crimes and criminals he investigates. And Malipiero’s attempts at unlocking the enigma that is Iago becomes the driving force of Snidon's plot. In this, Snidon builds on a Shakespeare legacy; the nature of Iago has been one of The Bard’s most enduring questions. Venice's Doge meets with Malipiero and deftly summarizes Malipiero's obsession: " ...you are less interested in the nature of a crime than in its motive...you wish to know what demons lurk within his dark soul." Snidon's motivational concept for “Iago” is strong. Iago is a little like Hannibal Lecter - a core of extreme violence and conscious-less rage, wrapped up in an exterior of calm and nobility. Unfortunately, Snidon doesn't capture the intensity and psychological nuance that would make the interplay between Iago and Malipiero most effective, and the result is only a hint at the potential of the story. Snidon covers themes such as love, class differences, and the nature of human evil. The relationship between Gentile and Franceschina is one of the highpoints, though it too lacks the subtlely that would make for something special. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Snidon is at his best when creating a renaissance mood that surrounds the story. His writing is crisp and the plot never drags. While there's enough action to propel the plotlines, the base motif is a pair of character studies - focused primarily on Iago and the rapidly maturing Gentile.I received this book as part of Amazon's Vine program.
    • 4/5
      At the end of Othello, Iago is bleeding yet alive, this novel picks up where Shakespeare left off. Rumors are spreading throughout Venice, what or who really killed Othello and Desdemona?Iago is on the run and Annibale Malipero, AKA il Terribile- the chief inquisitor, is on his tail and ready to pounce. A young adolescent named Gentile Stornello, cousin to Desdemona, ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Malipero wants to find out what makes Iago tick, so he takes control of the situation. His plan for Iago and Gentile will set them on a wild ride that neither will forget, but will Malpiero get what he is looking for? I did enjoy Iago however it took me a bit to get into the story. I felt I was missing something 'Shakespeare-y' during the first section of the book, maybe I was trying to hard to see a deeper connection than what was there. I think the book would have been better as a stand alone novel versus a 'continuation of Othello'. The characters were well developed but Iago was the only thing that tied it to Shakepeare for me, at times I had to remind myself about Iago's 'crime'. Overall, I would recommend it to fans of Shakespeare, but I would offer this small warning along with it. (I too hope they catch the typo's before publication!)
    • 4/5
      Shakespeare's Iago is literally 'a green-eyed monster' in this book by David Snodin. The story opens after the deaths of Desdemona and Othello, as her uncles journey to Cyprus to find out what happened there. From the moment they arrive we are embarked on a hair-raising chase of the mysterious Iago. While most of the interested parties are seeking revenge for friends and family, one man, the inquisitor "Il Terrible" wants to find out what makes Iago tick. With the help of one of Desdemona's male cousins and the girl he is infatuated with, he pursues and studies his prey. Along the way we learn much about the political and social intrigue of Venice in the 1500's as well as what everyday life was like at that time.This book is wonderfully detailed and descriptive; I could see each scene as it unfolded before me. The author does an excellent job with the characters and their motivations, although Iago himself is left until the bitter end. Perhaps that is as it should be.
    • 3/5
      "Demand me nothing. What you know, you know.From this time forth I never will speak word." Iago, from Othello, Act V, Scene 2Not content to let Iago continue down through the ages in silence, David Snodin has decided to bring the old villain to justice with this richly imagined, if very flawed, exercise in what-happened-next.Now, I'm certainly not opposed to a writer riffing on another writer's work. Shakespeare himself borrowed liberally from a multitude of sources. In fact, I've recently enjoyed two other books that used a great work of literature as a jumping off place - Jon Clinch's [Finn], which takes inspiration from Twain's masterpiece and Louis Bayard's [Mr. Timothy] from [A Christmas Carol]. Finn borrows characters from the old work and then takes them back in time in an attempt to explain how they became the people we encounter in the original. Mr. Timothy, on the other hand, takes us forward in time to tell us what happened to the familiar characters after the events of the parent book. In Iago, David Snodin tries to do a bit of both. The events of the novel take us forward in time from Shakespeare's play, yet Snodin also wants to give us Iago's back story, in an attempt to explain why he left a trail of corpses in Cyprus. We certainly have to give Snodin an A for ambition, but I'm afraid that, unlike his protagonist, he falls short of the mark in execution. Snodin concocts a plot that involves a young Venetian nobleman, a stereotype of a love interest and a wily inquisitor, nicknamed Il Terrible, saddles them with more improbable plot twists, chance encounters and loose ends than even old Bill could imagine and still never manages to give us an Iago that makes much sense or is even consistent with Shakespeare's. Most surprisingly, given contemporary views about Othello, race hardly figures in the story at all. So, why two and half stars? Well, despite all that, the story is actually kind of fun. Pages turned and I was reasonably entertained. One almost wishes that Snodin, having hit on an idea for a story, could have seen his way clear to abandoning Iago altogether and substituted a villain of his own devising, thus shedding the weight of comparison. I think he would have found an altogether more favorable reception. One final note: I do hope this goes through another round of proof reading before publication. I can't remember when I've encountered an ARC more in need of it. Shocking, really.
    • 4/5
      I first have to admit that I am somewhat of a Shakespeare addict so I was intrigued when this book arrived. Iago is obviously one of Shakespeare's notorious villians and I was wondering how Mr. Snodin was going to approach this subject. I was also aware that Snodin is very familiar with the plays of Shakespeare.The main characters include Iago but there are other interesting characters and many other story lines, as well. I rather liked a fifteen old boy named Gentile Stornello who happens to be a distant relative of Othello's Desdemonna and much of the early story concers his adventures with rivals and his fascination with a beautiful woman that appears out of his reach. The other main character is Annibale Malipiero (known as Il Terrible), the main investigator, who is obsessed with the very nature of evil in a person like Iago. What causes a man to become a murderer?The story becomes a classical chase story as Iago with 3 of his captives including Gentile and his mystery woman flee from the authorities and all the while Malipiero is following at a close distance to listen to their conversations in his effort to unravel the true nature of Iago's personality.Snodin certainly knows his territory well as the fugitives travel through Cyprus, Venice, and Mantua. Overall, I liked the story very much and look forward to Snodin's next book. How about Aaron from Titus Andronicus? Of course, I believe Shakespeare left him buried chest deep to die of thirst and starvation.
    • 4/5
      Following the violent deaths of, among others, the Moor and Desdemona, the villain Iago escapes his Cypriot prison only to be brought to Venice. Going head-to-head with Annibale Malipiero, the chief inquisitor of the city, Iago embarks on a journey across Italy with a young prisoner and two other unlikely companions. Malipiero seeks to unlock the mysteries of such a murderer's mind, while Iago is willingly to do anything it takes to become free of the control of others in this continuation of Shakespeare's tragedy Othello.Though I found this novel generally slow in plot development, I never considered it to be boring. Snodin does more than just examine one of Shakespeare's most notorious villains by writing a historical novel which also tells of life in Renaissance Italy, at times dealing with political and familial issues, education, war, love, and religion. I found myself just as interested in fifteen-year-old Gentile Stornello's adventures as I was with the psychological evaluation of Iago's motives and vicious deeds, which was good because of the prominent role Gentile plays in Snodin's tale. I have never read Othello and expected more time and depth to be invested in the examination of Iago, but I was not displeased with this book and quite enjoyed reading it.
    • 3/5
      I was pleasantly supprised to find this book so readable inspite of the heavy subject matter and setting. To be honest, when I requested the book I expected it to have a contemporary setting for the story of Iago for some reason. When the book arrived and I saw that it was set in the fifteenth century, I immediately thought that it would be dull and dense! Instead, it reads very easily. Snodin creates a whole host of other characters and storylines to flow with the hunt for Iago the murderer. The Venetian and Cypriot setting is a fantastic backdrop for the hunt and renaissance life is succesfully recreated. All in all, this is the sort of story you would expect from a Shakespearian expert.
    • 4/5
      IagoDavid SnodinIt’s early 16th C. In Act V Scene 2 of Shakespeare’s “Othello”, we find ourselves on the island of Cyprus in the bloody bed chamber of the now dead Moor (Othello), Desdemona (his young wife), and Emilia (Desdemona’s maid and wife to Iago). Three men come upon the scene - Lodovico and Graziano Stornello (sent to Cyprus by the Venetian government, and uncles of Desdemona) and Cassio (next in rank to Othello). They are aghast at the bloody scene, and just miss seeing Iago kill his wife Emilia and run from the room. Immediately, Lodovico tells Cassio “To you, Lord Governor, Remains the censure of this hellish villain, O, enforce it!”These few facts are seamlessly blended into David Snodin’s “Iago”, but it is not until approximately ½ of the way through the book that we hear directly from the hellish villain himself. When he is presented to us, it is in a dark dungeon, and we “see” him at first through our narrator, Gentile Stornello. Yes, Gentile is the nephew of the two gentlemen sent to Cyprus. This book is also young Gentile’s coming of age story, which is why we have been so long getting to Iago himself. Learning about Gentile and observing his world, through his eyes, has given us a rich understanding of Venice in the 1500s so that the story now has a full backdrop.Mr. Snodin gives dimension and life to all his characters from Gentile to Iago, and from the Chief Venetian State Inquisitor to the loveable uncle, Ubaldo. They all come to life in the richly drawn tapestry of his story. If I am allowed one comment that is less than complimentary, it is only that the ending was too good.
    • 3/5
      Although this book gives a vivid portrayal of sixteenth century Italy, I was rather disappointed in its addressing of Iago himself. Although the author does fill in some information about his background, we never learn as much as I would like (nor, I think, as much as the Inquisitor would like) about the workings of his mind. Do we even know that what we supposedly learn is true? Personally, I wouldn't trust Shakespeare's Iago to tell me a real sob story. How can we be sure that what Iago reveals to the other characters is meant to be correct? Why shouldn't we assume that he would manipulate them through pity? And for a mastermind who manipulates other people into performing murder for him, his planning in this book never seems either particularly wicked nor particularly complex.
    • 5/5
      This is a historical novel set right after the ending to Shakespeare's Othello after the main characters had been murdered by Iago. Not having read Othello myself I was wondering if I would be able to understand the plot but I had no trouble following it at all. In fact I enjoyed this book so much I finished it within 2 days of receiving it. Unlike the plays of Shakespeare this was written in today's English and not in prose either so even someone who has trouble understanding Shakespeare (like me!) can easily read this book. It is a modern take on what the author thinks could have happened after the play Othello ended. It is basically involves three characters, one is chasing the other and a 15 year old boy, who through a set of bizarre circumstances, becomes involved with both the Inquisitor of Venice (who is not only chasing Iago for the crimes he committed but wants to know WHY Iago became a killer) and Iago himself. It is a novel that asks the question why and how a killer becomes a killer. There are a few unexpected twists which kept me guessing and there is a love story involved as well. There were a few grammatical errors and typos but I was warned about that in advance and as this was an advanced readers copy I expect that they will be fixed. I have to say that I wasn't expecting to love this story as much as I did. It was very well written and I highly recommend it to lovers of Shakespeare and historical fiction in general.
    • 3/5
      This review is based on an Advance Readers' Copy through the LibraryThing reviewers program. I will say with all respect to Henry Holt and Company, that the ARC was plagued with many errors - quotation marks that were never closed, funky capitalization, and sometimes sentences with clearly missing words - that I hope will be removed before the final printing, because they did detract somewhat from the flow of the novel.That being said, Iago was a pleasant surprise and a mostly enjoyable read. The author has taken the story of Iago after the events of Shakespeare's Othello, and has envisioned the world of 16th century Venice as a launching pad. The hunt for Iago begins in Cyprus, of course, where relatives of Desdemona - some of her many powerful uncles - have come to restore order, defend against Turkish invasion - and learn the name of the villian and the true fate of their niece. The hunt begins there, but wanders back and forth between Cyprus, Venice, and eventually other Italian cities. Several threads combine in the book, which is told from several points of view; on occasion, it's not initially clear who is speaking, but the author always offers sufficient clues that I never went more than a sentence or two without figuring it out. However, that format and the Italian phrases continually intermingled in the book may frustrate some readers who like more clarity and plain English - on the other hand, readers with some knowledge of Romance languages should be able to figure the phrases out and might enjoy the integration, finding it adds a little more local character to the tale. The uncles of Desdemona are hunting Iago for simple vengeance. One of Venice's Inquisitors, from a family long at odds with Desdemona's, becomes keenly interested in Iago because he is an early sort of profiler - he is interested in what makes criminals tick, especially the intelligent and subtle ones. The book makes this point repeatedly, and gestures on occasion at satisfying the Inquisitor's curiosity; however, do not read Iago expecting a fully developed criminal profile or much in the way of theory. The book is mainly a fairly complex manhunt, set against a wily and intriguing villain and a whole host of peripheral characters who will be charming to some and perhaps a little too caricature like to others. Iago is caught and escapes several times during the story, and the denoument brought a bit of a chuckle of surprise to me. Overall, I think Snodin does a nice job with setting the place and with drawing compelling characters. He may rely a little overmuch on devices like the use of Italian, to try and contextualize his story, but it is a pleasant and interesting read - although, at the end, I think Iago remains as much a mystery to the reader as he ever was. Snodin hints at explanations and depth, but doesn't reveal as much about the green-eyed monster as I might have initially expected. That doesn't make the book any less compelling - it's just one choice of many he could have made.I think any readers who are fond of period pieces might like it, as will fans of Dan Simmons' Olympian worlds and even, probably, fans of Caleb Carr's Alienist and its relatives. Snodin isn't as deep as the other two mentioned, but the plot is engaging, and has enough action that readers who prefer action to interiority might still enjoy it as well as the reverse.