The Shrew Untamed

James Carter
Olympus Books (2008)
ISBN 9780741443496
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (6/08) 


Anyone expecting to meet Kate and Petruchio, the characters from “The Taming of the Shrew,” unchanged and still at odds, is in for a big surprise after encountering them in James Carter’s “The Shrew Untamed.” Kate, formerly a bitter harpy, and Petruchio, a loud, boisterous and fortune-hunting gentleman from Verona, have found unexpected happiness in their marriage and have learned to truly care for each other. The opening scenes of the book find them on their way from Verona to Pisa, where they plan to visit Kate’s sister Bianca and her husband, Lucentio. It quickly becomes obvious that they’ve found comfort and contentment in each other and their relationship is no longer strained, but playful and enjoyable.

Upon arrival at Lucentio’s house they discover that Bianca’s marriage is extremely strained and unhappy, so Petruchio proposes a bet – if Kate manages to transform her sister’s marriage into a happy one within three days, he will give her a gold coin. Kate gladly accepts a challenge and sets out to teach her sister about the means and ways of molding the husband into somebody she could learn to like and love. Bianca, shallow and self-centered, not only misunderstands Kate’s teachings completely, but in the process nearly manages to destroy Kate’s marriage as well. Luckily for Kate and her husband, there is enough love, respect and trust in their relationship, so they manage to rescue their marriage and after playing one last prank on Bianca and Lucentio, take their leave.

Funny and sassy, “The Shrew Untamed” is a light, but not lightweight read. James Carter manages to showcase a lot of behavioral patterns that still ring fresh a good 300 years after the original play was written, making us realize how little the relationships between men and women have really changed. The story flows well and draws one in quickly, with the single discordant note being the severe lack of proper positioning of commas throughout the book. I stopped counting after the first fifty. There is a big difference in the meaning of “Know this woman!” and “Know this, woman!” At times such oversights made it quite challenging to read. Overall lack of quality editing shows in other spots as well, most notably when Lucentio is described as the butt of a virility joke, since he is still “fatherless” after a year of marriage. Hopefully such errors will be fixed in the next printing, which this witty book certainly deserves. A must for lovers of plays, of the Bard as well as anybody who enjoys a good, intelligent argument; this is a refreshing play that would be great entertainment for audiences everywhere. I will be taking my copy of “The Shrew Untamed” to the artistic director of our community theatre next week and I do hope they will consider putting it on the stage in one of the upcoming seasons.

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