Hamlet's Dresser

by Bob Smith (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2002

  $3.24

  This is a vivid and lyrical memoir, telling the story of Bob Smith's youth, and how it was changed - and rescued - by Shakespeare. It is both a redemptive memoir of a man made whole by art, and an intimate encounter with the plays and sonnets of Shakespeare. Bob Smith knows every single Shakespeare play inside and out. He's memorized half of them line for line and every week he teaches the plays to 600 senior citizens. What he brings to these elderly people is the gift of the restorative power of Shakespeare. Specifically, Shakespeare's soul-touching language and eternal understanding of the human condition. Smith was born a fragile boy from a painful household presided over by an unstable, depressive mother who depended on him, an unsupportive, unavailable father and a severely disabled, beautiful sister who lived at home, largely cared for by Bob. At the age of ten, Smith stumbled upon a line from The Merchant of Venice - in sooth I know not why I am so sad - and recognized himself in this poetic, melancholy language, finding a buoy that would keep him afloat for the rest of his tumultuous life. It provided him with a place to hide, a place to find and know and be himself.

• Used

  Paperback
  2003

  $3.24

  A vivid and lyrical memoir of a man damaged in childhood but redeemed by Shakespeare. 'Written with such delicate and sensitive humanity that laughter and tears are constantly interchanging. What a lovely man, with a golden gift for words and a deep understanding of human frailties and fears. The Shakespearean motif is superbly handled, never tricksy or clever but true and moving. I found it inspirational; it made me look at those around me more sympathetically - especially the aged. His compassion touched me deeply'. Derek Jacobi Bob Smith was a fragile boy from a difficult household that was presided over by an unstable, depressive mother who depended on him, an unsupportive, unavailable father and a severely disabled, beautiful sister who lived at home, largely cared for by Bob. At the age of ten he stumbled upon a line from THE MERCHANT OF VENICE - 'in sooth I know not why I am so sad' - recognized himself in this poetic, melancholy language, and found a buoy that would keep him afloat for the rest of his tumultuous life. He now knows every single Shakespeare play inside and out and every week Bob teaches the play to over six hundred senior citizens. A sad, funny and inspiring account of how one man's life was saved by Shakespeare, this will be the memoir of the year.