“Excellent”– The Guardian
I have been given back my book. My father has given up his new-found acting career. All is once more right with the world of Toast.
www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/jan/31/steven-poole-shakespeare-ben-crystal
“Crystal ends up admirably succeeding in his ambition to provide a toolbox for getting to grips with Shakespeare’s plays” — The Guardian
Toast is reviewed in today’s The Guardian:
Crystal, who is also an actor, paints in a lot of useful context about Elizabethan playhouses, explains very well the business of textual comparison… and conducts an excellent technical discussion of metre, which culminates in a genuinely thrilling dramatic exegesis of an extract from Macbeth… There are gems of close reading and theatrically focused attention throughout.
However, the authorship of this Shakespearian Toolbox has been ascribed to my father, the linguist, David Crystal.
He was thrilled to discover the audition offers flooding in for him this morning, while I look forward to Routledge publishing my autobiography this May.
For the review in full, click here
“An exhilarating and impassioned introduction to Shakespeare’s plays” – The Shakespeare Bookshop Newsletter
A recent review, from The Shakespeare Bookshop in Stratford-upon-Avon:
In Shakespeare on Toast he trades reference for irreverence with a much more personal book, aimed at encouraging both students who are new to Shakespeare and older Bardophobes haunted by the unpalatable version of Shakespeare they were served up at school…
In a recent radio interview, Crystal was introduced as ‘the Jamie Oliver of Shakespeare’. The comparison goes beyond the culinary metaphor of the title in conveying something of Crystal’s missionary zeal, his boundless enthusiasm for his subject, and a colloquial style – cheeky and
unpretentious – that speaks directly to the young generation… Crystal manages to be populist, without dumbing down…Indeed, for Crystal, the book is absolutely about not dumbing down, its aim rather to wean readers off the white bread sterility of ‘Shakespeare Made Easy’ for the real thing, Shakespeare wholemeal.
I’ll be speaking at The Shakespeare Bookshop in Stratford-upon-Avon, as part of their lunchtime literary event series, on April 8th 2009. See here for more…
New Year, New Additions
A Happy New Year one and all!
After the near-avalanche of Toast-related events last autumn & winter, the new year is a little quieter, as the US rights to Toast are being sold (watch this space for news on this), and a few other exciting developments slowly unfold (ditto) before the paperback of Toast appears in the summer.
IN THE MEANTIME, there are a few new features to the site:
** Talks at both the Bath Literature Festival and the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival have now been confirmed. Take a stroll over to the Book Festival Dates page for more info…
** There is now an Excerpt of the book for your reading pleasure, so you can grab a wee taste of Toast before you buy, and a Gallery, too.
** I’ve also added a School Talks & Workshops page – I’ve long given workshops and talks at schools around the UK and Europe – mainly to GCSE and A-Level (indeed, such a workshop was part of Toast’s genesis). If you’re a school and would like me to come and give a talk, click here.
** And the Facebook Group is still flourishing, so do come and find me out…
As for those January blues, I find a little Shakespeare always does the trick… but then I would say that… sickening, isn’t it…
“A succulent slice of the Bard… Enormously enjoyable!” – The Good Book Guide
The Good Book Guide recently reviewed Toast as an ideal stocking filler:
As the book’s inviting title suggests, this is a succulent slice of the Bard, demystifying Shakespeare for those who consider him inaccessible, archaic or plain boring.
Crystal wears his erudition lightly, his vibrant, witty style enormously enjoyable as he presents a wonderfully jaunty and informative ride through Shakespeare.
Head to Buy Toast! to get your copy…
“Humourous, unpretentious and fascinating” — The Independent On Sunday
Last weekend’s Independent on Sunday chose Toast as one of their Christmas Stocking Fillers, going as far as to say:
Ben Crystal, a professional actor, wrote the zippy, anecdotal Shakespeare on Toast (Icon £11.99) to give the reader “the ability to go to any Shakespeare play and feel comfortable reading or watching it”.
He’s succeeded. It’s humourous, unpretentious and fascinating.
The English Bookshop, Amsterdam
Speaking at The English Bookshop, Amsterdam, on Weds 10th December at 7pm.
Click here for more details…
Amazon.co.uk — Out of Stock!
Amazon has been out of stock of Toast for a little while now – I’m assured it’ll be be back in stock in the next couple of days, but in the mean time I’d recommend The Book Depository, one of my favourite online book stores.
Head to Buy Toast! for relevant direct links…
BBC Radio Wales interview – TODAY at 5.30pm
A radio interview recorded last Sunday with BBC Wales at the Hay-on-Wye Winter Weekend, will be broadcast at 5.30pm today, on Phil Rickman’s show Phil The Shelf.
The author and broadcaster Libby Purves was also interviewed, and I read a small extract from her writer-poet son’s book, Silence At The Song’s End.
Listen Live at www.bbc.co.uk/radiowales.
If you miss it, you can Listen Again here.
‘S no show due to snow
Peak Festival talk postponed once more, this time due to heavy snow forecast tomorrow.
Apols once more to those intending to come… Hopefully we’ll re-arrange for the New Year… third time lucky…
