Books Gothic Vengance: Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid A review of Ava Reid’s historical fantasy novel By Mahvesh Murad | Published on August 28, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share Whether you’re a fan of Shakespeare or not, whether you’ve read Macbeth in school or not, you’ll probably have heard of Lady Macbeth, well known as one of Shakespeare’s most formidable villains. Wife to the titular Macbeth in the play, she is his partner in crime, his intellectual equal and the aggressive driving force in his life, his rise and eventual fall. To take on Lady Macbeth as a protagonist is no mean feat: How do you build on an already remarkable, complex, canonical character without annoying readers who loved the version they knew? You can’t, of course. And so Ava Reid doesn’t. While Lady Macbeth is being touted as a reimagining of Macbeth, it most definitely veers very far from the canon, and while the story takes its main characters from the same history Shakespeare mined, this novel is very much its own beast with its own unique nature. Read it for its own strength, and it is delicious. Expect more of the Shakespearean Macbeth from it, and it may be frustrating. It’s important to remember that Shakespeare took liberties with history when he wrote his play, and so Reid does the same, but maintains certain core elements. The novel, like the play, is set in Scotland, and there are three witches who predict that Macbeth will be “King Hereafter” and that he will never be defeated by a man of woman born, until the woods come to the castle etc. But these are surface level similarities. In the play, Lady Macbeth is a villain who may have had a tragic past, and is now a woman fueled by ambition. She has agency, drive, determination and power—and of course, a famous breakdown. Ava Reid’s Lady Macbeth is instead a 17 year old girl attempting to survive an aggressively patriarchal warring society, in a dark, gothic fantasy that examines a young woman’s attempts to become more than “a panicked beating heart” in an ugly brutal world.  Roscille is sent off to form an alliance via marriage to the Scottish lord Macbeth, a hulking, almost Bluebeard-like much older man who “looks as if he grew right out of the rocks” of the cliff atop which his massive stone castle sits. Roscille is preternaturally beautiful; hers is a beauty that is said to be “death-touched. Poison-eyed. Witch-kissed,” with a gaze that can “drive mortal men to madness.” And so she is made to wear a veil around every man, including her new husband. Macbeth is initially indulgent of her, as she tries to navigate her aggressively male new home and household. Roscille learns very quickly that her new lord is a complicated man with secrets, such as the “second world hidden beneath his castle, [with] witches in chains, forced to parrot out his prophecies. He is slippery like the cold side of a cliff. And layered, like striated bands of erosion, green and white and rust-coloured lash-marks of the sea. Each time she thinks she knows him, the water level lowers, and another shade is revealed.”  Buy the Book Lady Macbeth Ava Reid Buy Book Lady Macbeth Ava Reid Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget Macbeth’s in-house witches’ prophesies do indeed come true, as one would expect, but with young Roscille unexpectedly at the centre of them all. She starts off as a girl with a very limited view of the world, but a clear understanding that survival is key, and she must learn the lay of this new land fast, if she is to manipulate the court to her advantage. We see her being used as a pawn by the men around her; from her father to her husband, she is defined by their plans and ambition. She is a young woman villainized for the purpose of a man’s ambition, “her magic, blooming at the cultivation of men”—something that has been seen repeatedly in history. Macbeth is not looking for a partner in his wife; he is looking for a tool to get what he wants. There is a constant underlying threat of violence emanating from him that runs through the novel, making every interaction between them fraught with tension. “Is this what it means, truly, to be Lady Macbeth?” questions Roscille, “Sorceress, murderer, the dagger in her husband’s hand?”  But as the prophecies roll out, Roscille stars to question whether she can be her own self or not: Can she truly ensorcel men with her gaze? What is this connection she feels to the witches? Why does her husband insist that he can “smell the power on [her] like smoke from a pyre… that flesh-burning scent?” We see her evolve from a clumsy girl being pushed along, to realising that she has something Macbeth does not, that none of the men do, and she can use it to stop him, to perhaps save herself. “So many secrets,” she thinks, “so many lies, spreading out in all directions, tying her to one man or another… she is a creature in a conch shell, everything spiralling out from around her.” Reid’s novel deals with the ideas of agency, womanhood and power. It is a complex, layered narrative, and while some readers may find Reid’s Lady Macbeth to be a fraction of the ambitious, aggressive woman Shakespeare’s was, this is a different story, of a young woman just coming into her own power. All her life, Roscille has been “muzzled… so as not to disturb the architecture of the world,” but in her husband’s home, a tool used for his ambitions, she realises that “perhaps her great mistake was trying to ape the power of mortal men.” Once she has accepted the presence of a different power, accepted that she can lean into what is intrinsic and natural to her, she finds that “there is another world, waiting beneath the one she knows. Here, in the darkness, she can walk without shielding her eyes.” She is unveiled and able to both see the world clearly, and show the world who she truly is.  Lady Macbeth is written in lush, rich prose that reflects the gothic atmosphere of the setting. Though Reid’s Lady Macbeth does not speak the famous “out damn spot” lines, there is a strong thread of imagery running through the novel that ties together water, blood, washing: A violent sea in constant flux roils beneath the castle; the witches are constantly washing something that somehow never becomes clean; Macbeth spills blood easily, readily; and Roscille acknowledges that “Vengeance is not a wooden cup that empties. It is a jewelled chalice which endlessly spills over.”  Ava Reid’s Lady Macbeth is more than the story of a girl defined by the men around her. It is the story of a girl who is trying to figure out where she stands, what she can change within an existing system where women are so heavily restricted. “For men there is no debt of blood which goes unpaid. If the world tips in another’s favour, it must be made to tip again,” explains Reid, “but the world is never in a woman’s favour. She cannot tip the scale. The only choice is: live the same mute, unjust life you have always lived, or tear apart the world itself.” Lady Macbeth is the story of a young woman learning to tear the world apart, not with justice but with vengeance. [end-mark] Lady Macbeth is published by Del Rey.Read an excerpt. The post Gothic Vengance: <i>Lady Macbeth</i> by Ava Reid appeared first on Reactor.

Born in Germany in 1879, Albert Einstein is largely known to be the 20th century's most influential physicist. Even if you don't know what it means, you've heard of the equation E=mc^2. Even though Einstein was a brainiac, it doesn't mean he lived a boring life. In fact, those who knew Einstein called him absent-minded, fun-loving, and a little quirky. Read on to learn all about the secret life... Source

In today's current media affairs, TV viewers have a wide range of choices for female-led shows. It's become the norm. However, this wasn't always the case, which is why Xena: Warrior Princess was ahead of its time. The television series broke down boundaries due to it having a strong woman protagonist in an era (circa 1995) when that wasn't typically the case. Xena had a considerable following... Source

Sarah Palin Will Get Another Chance at Suing the NY Times

The finding adds to evidence inheritance is more complex than had been thought, even in the simplest organisms.

Playing both offense and defense for Kamala Harris in one CNN This Morning appearance, CNN.com White House reporter Stephen Collinson more than earned his Team Kamala stripes today. In commenting in his snobbish British accent on Jack Smith's recycled Trump indictment, Collinson kvetched that it's taken too long to bring Trump to trial over January 6th. "It raises the question of how has it been so difficult to bring a president who tried to subvert democracy to account before the next election in which he's standing.... When future generations look back at this, they will puzzle about the question of how this took so long to deal with in the American political and legal system. To the extent to which the person who is widely seen as responsible for those, for that [riot] footage, has a chance to become president again, right?" In other words, CNN folks think the Justice Department should have been weaponized more effectively to make Trump un-electable. Nevertheless, Collinson is bringing the hype on CNN.com with the headline "Trump’s new indictment rocks his newly reshaped race against Kamala Harris." Later, in discussing the upcoming Harris-Walz interview with CNN's Dana Bash scheduled for tomorrow, CNN host Kasie Hunt brought up the Holt mess, in which Kamala countered Holt's observation that she hadn't been to the border by saying that she hadn't been to Europe, either, and didn't understand his point. And a Lester Holt interview wasn't exactly like sitting down on Fox with Bret Baier. She screwed it up any way.  Hunt said, "I know from talking to sources, that in particular this moment that she had with Lester Holt in a major interview in 2021 is something that has stuck with her. Something they still talk about."  Collinson defended the poor thing: "I think that interview took place right at the beginning. I think it's fair to say she wasn't very well prepared. The whole issue of what her job was on the border wasn't well-defined." Wrong! Biden appointed her on March 24, 2021, and the Holt interview was on June 8th of that year. Seventy-six days in, and she still couldn't figure out what she was supposed to be doing? Nice try, Collinson!  Here's the transcript. CNN This Morning 8/28/24 6:07 am EDT KASIE HUNT: Stephen Collinson, you paint big pictures for us every day, and I know you've written about Donald Trump's superseding indictment. I was just struck by how this new footage [of Pelosi leaving the Capitol on J6] kind of underscores and sort of pulls out the picture that Jack Smith is painting.  Obviously, he was forced to do this because of the Supreme Court immunity ruling. But this all really does thrust January 6, the events of that day, back into the spotlight, as well as, of course, indicting Trump again and reigniting the narrative that he wants to push about persecution against him.  How do you see what we just have learned about how Pelosi handled that day? How do you understand how it fits in with Donald Trump, and how it's going to affect the race? STEPHEN COLLINSON: Well, it's shocking again when you see that. This issue has faded somewhat from the campaign during the whole period of President Biden's debate performance, him having to step down, the excitement over the new Democratic candidate.  But looking at that again, it brings it all back and it raises the question of how has it been so difficult to bring a president who tried to subvert democracy to account before the next election in which he's standing. And it raises the questions about what would happen if he wins.  This new indictment is not going to decide the election, but the election probably will decide the fate of this case. Because if Trump gets back into power, he'll appoint an attorney general, and this will be all washed under the carpet. If Harris wins, presumably there'll be the space for Smith to continue, pending Supreme Court interventions, to get this case to fruition. But I think when we look back in, when future generations look back at this, they will puzzle about the question of how this took so long to deal with in the American political and legal system. To the extent to which the person who is widely seen as responsible for those, for that footage, has a chance to become president again, right?  . . .  HUNT: Stephen Collinson, part of why there has been this focus on it [Harris-Walz interview with Dana Bash scheduled for August 29th] is because there is this sort of history of Harris in some cases struggling. And I know from talking to sources, that in particular this moment that she had with Lester Holt in a major interview in 2021 is something that has stuck with her. Something they still talk about. Let's watch that moment, and then I just want to get you to weigh in briefly. Watch. KAMALA HARRIS: We are going to the border. We've been to the border. So this whole, this whole, this whole thing about the border. We've been to the border. We've been to the border. LESTER HOLT: You haven't been to the border. HARRIS: And I haven't been to Europe [laughs nervously.] I mean, I don't, I don't understand the point that you're making. HUNT: So, what do you see in that moment that could inform how this interview may play out?  COLLINSON: That interview has hung over the entire vice presidency, and it's formed a lot of the political attack lines of the Trump administration, the Trump campaign, has been pushing forward.  I think that interview took place right at the beginning. I think it's fair to say she wasn't very well prepared. The whole issue of what her job was on the border wasn't well-defined. She is going to be ultra-prepared for this one. It's coming as you said, right in the middle of debate preparation. The Trump campaign believes it will expose her as not ready for prime time, not fit to serve in the Oval Office.  If the other side of that happens, if she does get through it fairly well, I think that will take away one of the attack lines of the Trump team has been using. And whatever happens: if she does well, if she doesn't, it's going to raise this it takes massively for the debate on September the 10th.

CNN Congressional correspondent Manu Raju fancies himself as the kind of reporter who will chase congressmen and senators up and down the halls of Congress to ask them the tough questions of the day. However, when he guest hosted Inside Politics on Wednesday, he asked Democratic Rep. Chris Deluzio just how concerned he is that Donald Trump is seeking to appeal to Taylor Swift fans. Deluzio was part of a Tuesday Zoom call called Swifties for Kamala that featured Massachusetts Senators, and noticeably not young people, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey. After hyping the call, Raju introduced Deluzio and asked, “So obviously, Taylor Swift fans, they make up a large number of young people, my daughter included, although she is not of voting age, but Trump is trying to tap into that same base of young voters. He's posting about Swifties for Trump and the like. So, what is your level of concern about Trump successfully tapping into this voting bloc?”     Hard hitting questions from the guy who CNN got offended on behalf of when former Sen. Martha McSally called him a “liberal hack.” As for Deluzio, he responded, “Yeah, I don't think he's going to. I think the numbers speak for themselves. You saw that the call last night, more than 30,000 people, I think were on that thing, raised, as you said, more than $130,000. And there's real energy and enthusiasm and look, what I heard, and what I continue to hear, not just on calls like that, but all over my district, people want to have their freedom protected.” He continued to give the typical Democratic stump speech, “They want to have a shot to afford their life and Democrats up and down the ticket are offering real answers there. Donald Trump is completely the opposite for so many folks. He's attacked women's reproductive freedom, did nothing, but give handouts to big corporations and the ultra-rich. That is not something that I think most young people have any interest in and certainly not folks who are fired up to take that enthusiasm and do the work that you saw in a call like last night.” Later, Raju worried, “So what would be the impact, Congressman, if she decided not to endorse a candidate and sat out this election?” Deluzio claimed it probably won’t have too big of an impact and proceeded to essentially repeat his earlier talking points. Here is a transcript for the August 28 show: CNN Inside Politics with Dana Bash 8/28/2024 12:42 PM ET MANU RAJU: Congressman, thank you so much for joining me today. So obviously, Taylor Swift fans, they make up a large number of young people, my daughter included, although she is not of voting age, but Trump is trying to tap into that same base of young voters. He's posting about Swifties for Trump and the like. So, what is your level of concern about Trump successfully tapping into this voting bloc? CHRIS DELUZIO Yeah, I don't think he's going to. I think the numbers speak for themselves. You saw that the call last night, more than 30,000 people, I think were on that thing, raised, as you said, more than $130,000. And there's real energy and enthusiasm and look, what I heard, and what I continue to hear, not just on calls like that, but all over my district, people want to have their freedom protected. They want to have a shot to afford their life and Democrats up and down the ticket are offering real answers there. Donald Trump is completely the opposite for so many folks. He's attacked women's reproductive freedom, did nothing, but give handouts to big corporations and the ultra-rich. That is not something that I think most young people have any interest in and certainly not folks who are fired up to take that enthusiasm and do the work that you saw in a call like last night. … RAJU: So what would be the impact, Congressman, if she decided not to endorse a candidate and sat out this election? DELUZIO: I don't know that it would have much of an impact in that direction because I think the facts and the nature of these candidates speak for themselves. When you've got someone like Donald Trump who didn't just take away women's freedom, didn't just pass tax handouts to big corporations, but actively tried to overthrow our democracy, rip our Constitution to shreds I think he's going to lose and I say that as a guy represents a competitive district in Western Pennsylvania, I see the enthusiasm on the ground. I saw it with Governor Walz and Vice President Harris in Beaver County, in the West Hills of Allegheny County last week or so. There is real energy to make sure that Donald Trump gets nowhere near the White House and the nuclear codes ever again.

An Australian soccer team with five transgender players, who are male, have won their league without losing a single match.The team scored 61 goals allowing just six against them en route to a 14-0 record. The team made headlines earlier in the season with a 10-0 victory where one of the allegedly transgender players scored six goals.Outrage over the club was shared by soccer commentator Lucy Zelic and author J.K. Rowling, who has been vehemently against men participating in women's sports.'The policy in our association is that you're entitled to play in the gender to which you identify.'Zelic remarked on the league title saying, "Somehow, this is supposed to represent progress. Somewhere, the custodians of our game don't care."As reported by the Daily Mail, the 3 p.m. game was held with security guards present; professional photography equipment was discouraged and attendees' phones were even checked in case they were taking photos of the match.The soccer league has removed the names of the players on the team, the Flying Bats, from its website, while the Daily Mail has also chosen to protect their identities.The Flying Bats, a football club for "self-identified women and non-binary people," according to Reduxx, features a 6'2'' male athlete named Riley Dennis, born Justin. The 32-year-old was seen towering over the female players in his red and black uniform, which featured the transgender pride flag on the sides.Dennis was said to have injured a female player months ago, causing her to seek hospital treatment.A report from Yahoo Sports revealed that organizers held a crisis meeting in reference to a 6'2'' Bats player breaking the leg of a girl (in two places) who is 5'6''. Two dozen teammates of the player reportedly quit because they didn't want to play the transgender-laden team.Australian Member of Parliament John Ruddick posted audio from the meeting, which detailed the aforementioned claims.One senior club official was quoted as saying the girls "expect to play in the female competition.""A couple of years ago one of the Flying Bats players broke one of our player's legs in two places. She's no longer playing football. As a small club I've lost 24 players and that’s a direct result of not wanting to play against the Flying Bats.""They did not sign up for a mixed competition," the club president said.'We need to stop this madness before it destroys everything women have worked so hard to achieve.'Teams in the same league were also told that if they forfeit games against the Bats they could be punished, and they might even been seen as performing an "act of discrimination.""If you forfeit two games in the season there would be disciplinary action handed out. If there was a concerted effort by teams to forfeit games against a particular opposition that would be viewed as an act of discrimination," an official told a concerned attendee.Kaitlynn Wheeler, a former NCAA swimmer who competed against males, called the situation "pure insanity.""No matter how you identify, biology is still biology, and it cannot be changed," she told Blaze News. "These are male bodies with clear physical advantages. This is tearing apart women's sports across the board at every level. We need to stop this madness before it destroys everything women have worked so hard to achieve.”Another official at the league meeting clarified the governing policy when it comes to transgenderism:"The policy in our association is that you're entitled to play in the gender to which you identify. The board is currently working on a diversity and inclusion policy and that's what it says because we have to say it — it's what we're required to say and its [sic] what we want to say."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Live show has been touring the country — and Sara Gonzales of “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered” was lucky enough to score tickets to the Dallas show at Broadway Music Hall. The show is “all ages,” and Gonzales noted seeing plenty of minors in attendance, despite extremely explicit and inappropriate content. The drag queens gallivanted around the stage in barely there clothes and screamed obscenities like “my p**** is burning,” “y’all sucked the good d***s for these seats,” and made jokes to the audience about “bottoms” and “homosexuals.” Gonzales caught it all on video and captured more than a few minors in attendance. “I think anyone with two functioning brain cells can understand that this is child abuse. This doesn’t belong in, I would argue, America, for children, certainly not Texas,” Gonzales says. “We should have higher standards than that.” Interestingly enough, the Texas legislature has passed SB 12, which is a law that prohibits children from attending sexually explicit performances — however, there are ongoing legal battles that have kept the law from being enforced. “This is commonly referred to as a ‘drag ban’ by the left. Of course it's not, by the way, you’re telling on yourselves when you say that,” Gonzales says. “It’s not a ‘drag ban,’ but LGBT groups sued and were able to get a permanent injunction blocking the state from enforcing the law.” The law will stay blocked until the court issues a final ruling on appeal. Texas State Rep. Brian Harrison is horrified as well. “There were very young children that were in attendance, and as the father of four young kids, the oldest is ten, I think that’s far and away the most offensive thing that’s going on here,” Harrison tells Gonzales. “The state of Texas has long had laws enforcing certain types of community standards with regards to children, like, for example, a child cannot go to a strip club in the state of Texas, and what these businesses like that are doing, they’re clearly just getting around long-standing laws by calling them something else. They’re clearly putting on what is subjectively, and I think any sane, sentient person would see, is adult content,” he adds. Want more from Sara Gonzales?To enjoy more of Sara's no-holds-barred take to news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

The Arizona Police Association announced its support of Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump during his Friday campaign rally in Glendale, Arizona. However, just days later, the union turned its back on Trump-endorsed GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake to support her Democratic opponent.The APA previously endorsed Lake during her 2022 gubernatorial race but declared on Monday that it would instead back Democratic Senate nominee Ruben Gallego for the upcoming 2024 election. 'He isn't just soft on crime, but he's downright anti-police.'"Congressman Gallego has continually fought for robust, increased funding for America's law enforcement, and specifically Arizona law enforcement," the APA claimed.Justin Harris, the union's president, stated, "As a Marine combat veteran, we know Congressman Gallego understands the complexities of modern policing in American society today, while at the same time recognizing the public's expectations."He noted that Gallego had previously backed legislation to increase law-enforcement funding."The APA does not take our endorsements lightly; we recognize the importance of having a U.S. Senator that can bring people together to improve society for all. We believe Congressman Gallego will be that U.S. Senator," Harris added.Gallego responded to the union's endorsement, stating, "I am proud to have the APA's support and look forward to working with them in the Senate to ensure Arizona's law enforcement officers have the resources necessary to combat fentanyl trafficking, train the next generation of officers, and, above all, keep Arizona families safe."A spokesperson for Lake's campaign told the New York Post that Gallego has "vilified law enforcement.""He supports open borders and is weak on crime. Kari Lake will always back the blue and support law enforcement and safe communities," the spokesperson stated.Lake's campaign recently told the Arizona Sun Times that throughout his years in Congress, Gallego "has proven that he isn't just soft on crime, but he's downright anti-police."Gallego has repeatedly been critical of law enforcement, particularly in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests.In 2020, he posted on social media, "Peaceful protests aren't bad guys, they are citizens. The bad guys were the ones behind the police line, not in front of them."According to The Hill, polls show Gallego leading Lake by six points while Harris holds a 4.3% advantage over Trump.The APA also crossed the aisle to throw its support behind other candidates running on both sides, including Republican Representative David Schweikert and Democratic former state Representative Amish Shah, who are vying for Arizona's First Congressional District seat.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!