I have to say, I only chose this book because of all the online chatter around it – I was not expecting much out of it. In general, I am not a huge fan of fiction. This was however, a beautiful story of a group of friends, game designers, and all that comes with that.
The title of the book pays respect to Shakespeare and the story itself could very well be in Shakespearean nature as well. Although it is not a conventional love story… it could be one; like Emily Dickinson cryptically mentions, “…it is enough, the freight should be proportioned to the groove”.
The characters have a a depth of complexity that make them very real. Each and every character is flawed, yet, are very REAL human beings. The relationships between each of the characters are also complex enough that we are unable to necessarily arrive at any firm conclusions on how we might feel about the actions of any one character towards others.
There is of course the game designer aspect of the book and the importance that games play in each of the character’s vulnerabilities with themselves and how they communicate with each other.
Overall, there is something very real about this book and its examples of romance, death, friendships, and games. 5/5, every one should read this book.