Mini Review: Undiscovered Country

Lin Enger's Undiscovered Country uses Shakespeare's Hamlet as an archetypal template for a modern story about a sixteen year old Minnesota boy whose father seems to have committed suicide, but whose ghost appears to accuse his uncle of murder. The boy, like Hamlet, seeks revenge, but finds it not as easy as it looks. There is a questionable relationship between the uncle and the boy's mother. There is an Ophelia character, with a mean spirited father. There is a visit to a psychiatrist. The novel doesn't have the ending of the play, but you now that from the beginning because the narrative voice is that of the Hamlet figure.