Come Like Shadows [Paperback]

Welwyn Wilton Katz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2000

Kinny is thrilled when she gets a summer job as an assistant to the director of a play at the Stratford Theatre Festival, but things go wrong almost from the start. The director is strange, the actors hostile, and one woman is killed in a freak accident during the very first rehearsal. Could it be that the play, Macbeth, really has a curse on it? Asked to find a mirror for use as a prop, Kinny finds an ancient one in a junk shop. The mirror has mysterious powers over both Kinny and her actor friend Lucas. Mesmerized, Kinny sees visions in it of a horrible old hag, while Lucas believes he sees the real King Macbeth of ancient Scotland, noble and great despite Shakespeare's later depiction of him. The two friends can't stay away from the mirror, however hard they try. Troubles mount on troubles as two mysterious women join the cursed production, women who seem to wield great power over Kinny especially. It becomes Lucas's task to protect Kinny from the two women and the third in the mirror, while Kinny tries desperately to keep Lucas away from the mirrored face he sees. In this carefully researched thriller steeped in the history of the real Macbeth, Shakespeare's Macbeth, and the modern-day productions of Shakespeare's play, it is a race against time before ancient hatreds can destroy both Lucas and Kinny when the two faces in the mirror confront each other at last.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9-12-Kincardine O'Neil, 16, passionately wants to be an actress. To expose her to the harsh realities of theater life, her mother persuades an old friend, now a famous director, to give Kinny a summer job as an assistant. Macbeth (or the Scottish play, as the superstitious actors call it) is said to be cursed, and this production lives up to its reputation. Before the run is over, the cast faces deaths, accidents, and a fire. The biggest threat of all, however, comes from three ancient witches who have been tied up with the play for centuries because of their involvement with the real Macbeth. The premise is promising. Katz advances the theory that Macbeth was actually a good man who has been wronged by history. Well-researched details add authentic texture to the theater setting. Nevertheless, at times the narrative drags. Alternating viewpoints from Kinny, a young actor, Macbeth himself, and the witches often make the story convoluted and difficult to follow, especially in the beginning. There is also a subplot about French Canadian politics. Although this book will not have wide appeal, it will be appreciated by drama and Shakespeare enthusiasts.
Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 10-12. Sixteen-year-old Kinny O'Neil is thrilled to have a summer job as an assistant on the production of Macbeth at Canada's Stratford Festival Theater. Soon, however, it appears there might be truth to the theater superstition that the play is cursed. The company experiences a host of grisly "accidents" that all seem to revolve around the ancient mirror Kinny has found for a prop. Both Kinny and Lucas, a young actor with whom she forms an uneasy friendship, see visions of the real Macbeth in the mirror and are slowly drawn into the sinister circle of power controlled by none other than Macbeth's witches. The author sets some wonderful mystical scenes, uses imagery well, and does an excellent job of maintaining suspense throughout. Her reiteration of the theme and message of Shakespeare's Macbeth in this modern tale is cleverly and subtly achieved. This is, however, a very complex story, and while careful reading reveals that all of the pieces do fit together, probably only good readers or those fascinated by theater or sorcery will stick with it to the end. The author's use of the heroine to mount the soapbox for the cause of French Canadians gets a bit tedious after a while, but, overall, the characters are well drawn, the plot is tight, and the historic information presented in such a way that the novel would be an effective supplement to units on Shakespeare, theater, and Canadian or Scottish history. Jeanne Triner --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Coteau Books (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550501704
• ISBN-13: 978-1550501704
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,333,963 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Come Like Shadows, November 16, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Come Like Shadows (Paperback)

The book Come Like Shadows is a amazing book full of comparisons.
i.e
-comparisons of setting
-comparisons of characters
-comparisons of themes
-comparisons of historical info

all these r compared with the real life Macbeth except way different and way kewler

5.0 out of 5 stars A superbly written action/adventure fantasy, November 7, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Come Like Shadows (Paperback)

Welwyn Katz's Come Like Shadows is the story of sixteen-year-old Kinny O'Neil who things she's landed the job of a lifetime as the assistant to the director of Shakespeare's Macbeth at the famed Stratford Festival. But she finds that the director is acting strangely, the cast members are hostile, and a woman is killed in a freak accident on the very first day of rehearsal. Then there is an the antique mirror she found as a prop and which seems to have some kind of malevolent power when Kinny and her friend Lucas see strange images within its depths. Kinny and Lucas find that they must struggle to protect one another when assailed by unleashed forces that could destroy them all! Come Like Shadows is a superbly written action/adventure fantasy for young readers ages fourteen through young adult.

4.0 out of 5 stars Shakespearan spinechiller, June 3, 2001

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Come Like Shadows (Paperback)

Welwyn Katz has a good talent for plots of a type that no one would have thought of, such as in modern Arthurian "The Third Magic." Here, attention is swerved toward Macbeth, the evil witches of legend, and a modern-day Shakespearan production.

The book opens with Macbeth (the REAL Macbeth) interrupting a sinister ritual performed by the three witches to insure their immortality. As a result, the eldest witch and Macbeth become trapped within a mirror, only to have the hag escape almost a millennium later.

Teenage Kinny O'Neil has a summer job at a Canadian Stratford's theater, helping with the production of "Macbeth." But a supposed curse on MacBeth plays (check the Idiot's Guide to Shakespeare--there have been a lot of misfortunes) seems to be coming true via a series of sinister occurrances, that involve the hand mirror. And the witch, who wants to gain a girl's body, is targeting Our Heroine.

Kinny and Lucas can see Macbeth in the hand mirror, thus prompting them into investigating the sinister magics of the three witches. The journey to stop the witches from unleashing their evil will take wits and brains - and a voyage to Scotland, the place where it all started...

A great chiller, full of atmosphere and creepiness in the forms of the three witches and their sorcery. Katz weaves a spellbinding aura around the book, such as the opening chapter and the scenes where Macbeth can be glimpsed in the mirror -- and the climax, of course. We are also given more grounded visions of places like Stratford (a beautiful place, BTW, book descriptions truly cannot do it justice). He/she also managed to make the backstage events and preparations seem equally intriguing, no mean feat.

Kinny is well-written and drawn. She reacts in a manner in keeping with her age and background, but evolves over the course of the book into a more mature and experienced gal. I thought Lucas was a bit weird, but not enough that I didn't like him (although I wish a bit more time had been spent on him)

Sadly, no book is perfect. One thing that could -- and should, for it is handled rather clumsily -- have been dropped was the occasional political statement concerning Canada and French Canadians. While it is in keeping with the statement that Macbeth's events are universal, the handling wasn't subtle enough to be likable.

Overall, this is a very cool book if you are a fan of fantasy/horror or Shakespeare. Or both.