I, Iago by Nicole Galland ISBN: 9780062200105
Published by Harper Collins on April 24, 2012
Genres: Historical Fiction, Retelling
Pages: 400
Format: Audiobook
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The critically acclaimed author of The Fool's Tale, Nicole Galland now approaches William Shakespeare's classic drama of jealousy, betrayal, and murder from the opposite side. I, Iago is an ingenious, brilliantly crafted novel that allows one of literature's greatest villains--the deceitful schemer Iago, from the Bard's immortal tragedy, Othello--to take center stage in order to reveal his "true" motivations. This is Iago as you've never known him, his past and influences breathtakingly illuminated, in a fictional reexamination that explores the eternal question: is true evil the result of nature versus nurture...or something even more complicated?
As a Shakespeare fan who loves morally grey characters, this was right up my alley. It tells the story of Othello (and events preceding it) from the perspective of Iago, the villain of the tale. In true Nicole Galland fashion, there’s wit and insight and no character is truly heroic or intentionally villainous, but circumstances fall out.
In this case, as with the play, male pride is the downfall of multiple characters. However, in this case it’s that ego allows people to be so easily manipulated. In a society that runs on exaggerations and falsehoods, Iago starts out as known for his brutal honesty. He’s a complex character, with a sweet romantic story with Amelia (and I greatly appreciate her being a fleshed-out character with agency, unlike in the play). Desdemona is essentially the same, but Othello is given more complexity as well, as he navigates racism, sycophants, political power structures, and his own anger issues. Galland doesn’t shy away from condemning his murder of Desdemona, and in fact Iago’s hero worship of Othello becomes twisted into disdain once it becomes apparent that Othello really wants to kill Casio and Desdemona.
Nicole Galland remains an auto-buy author for me, with this one. It’s not my favorite of hers (I think that’s still Crossed), but she has yet to disappoint me with a story. You don’t need to be familiar with Othello to enjoy this, nor do you need to know anything about medieval Venetian society to understand it. But if you like historical fiction and stories that examine facets of human nature, such as ambition, pride, fear, and the tenuous nature of truth, you’ll like I, Iago.
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