JULIET

by Anne Fortier, read by Cassandra Campbell

Random House Audio

(August 2010, $40.00, 20hrs/16CDs)



Shakespeare pops up everywhere in pop culture. From the tried and true To be or not to be reference to the Machiavellian anti-hero lurking in the dark quarters of the underworld, at one point or another characters and scenarios invented by the great Renaissance bard make their way into most TV, film and books.  


At the top of Shakespeare’s influential works is none other than everyone’s favourite love story, Romeo and Juliet. Two lovers torn between social tyranny, tragically befallen in an ironic twist of fate, so bound by love that death becomes an afterthought - the story is a sixteenth century foreshadowing of our obsession with racy lust today.  


In Anne Fortier’s novel Juliet, released also as an audiobook (which I am reviewing), the historical basis of what inspired Romeo and Juliet is displayed through fictional adventure. The main character, aptly named Julie, and her twin sister, Janice, were orphaned at a young age. As a result, Julie and Janice, the latter whom gets all the attention, are raised by their Aunt Rose, an American southerner. Julie leads a humble, blatantly remarked virginal life, while Janice tends to indulge. Janice is indeed a true Machiavel, her antithesis to Juliet revealing in the novel’s complex climax.  


At twenty-five, the twins lose Rose. Janice fittingly inherits most of the sordid family’s worldly possessions of monetary value; Julie gets a letter. Oh, woe is she for a split second - until she realises her inheritance involves travel to Siena, Italy in search of the royal Italian family from whom she is a direct descendant, including the real Julie.  


After this ball gets rolling, Juliet takes on a The DaVinci Code adventure feel while Julie is led through the secrets of romantic Siena’s interesting history. Fortier’s story delves into how the real Romeo and Juliet, Giulietta Tolomei and Romeo Marescotti, were prominent citizens in fourteenth century Siena. Shakespeare buffs know his plays were rooted in traditional tales and historical reference, but Fortier does an immaculate job of doing all the dirty work to reveal this story’s roots.  


Shakespeare readers should also note Fortier’s pre-occupation with the Juliet-heroine theory. Scholars and critics are torn on whether Juliet is really the subject of Shakespeare’s play - arguably, she rivals her lover as the driving force behind events and consequences. In Fortier’s Juliet we follow a modern Juliet digging for clues behind the real story of Verona’s lovers, looking for her own history, and depicting the feminine drive Shakespeare may have embedded within his famous tragedy.


Fortier’s research is extensive and her storytelling talent is obvious. However, Juliet as an audiobook is a test in endurance - it's sixteen compact discs containing twenty hours of audio. Reading aloud takes time, but twenty hours I do not have to give. Frankly, I think I would have a better go at reading the book, with the opportunity to go over parts I misunderstood, and finish it in due time.  


- John Coleman



John Coleman is a new media journalist and graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University with an Honours Degree in English and a Minor in Journalism. He frequently writes a column about contemporary Canadian writers. He also writes for Tangible Sounds Music Magazine. For his latest updates, follow John on Twitter. Check out his blog for all of his published work.