So Shelly (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: So Shelly Coats Karen Roth, Ty . So Shelly. Delacorte, 2011. [340p]. Library ed. ISBN 978-0-385-90794-1 $20.99 Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-385-73958-0 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-375-89792-4 $17.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 9-12. The poetry of Byron, Keats, and Shelley has starred in many a tenth-grader’s test nightmare, but their lives never fail to titillate. Here, Roth imagines the turbulent trio as contemporary high-schoolers in Ohio, with John Keats as the younger working-class narrator convinced that he will follow all of his family members to an early grave, Gordon Byron as the charismatic teen-author star, and Shelly Shelley a composite of Mary and Percy, abused by her father and hopelessly in love with Byron. The story begins with the mysterious death of Shelly; Byron has convinced Keats to steal her ashes so that they can scatter them over the beach she loved. The bulk of the narrative, however, is retrospective, featuring Keats telling the life of Byron in a style that is reminiscent of Nick’s fascination with Gatsby. Byron’s biography follows as closely as possible that of his literary counterpart, focusing on his sexually abusive governess, his relationships with his sister and cousin, and his sexual precocity, which he turns to stunning prowess in this version by the time he’s fourteen, making him miles too arch and worldly to play convincingly as a teen. Shelly is portrayed as the girl next door whose obsessive love for Byron is destined to remain unrequited, so she turns her energies instead to highlighting social causes. Eventually, she takes her own life, but only after relating everything she knows about Byron to Keats for his hagiographic account of the young sex god. Although the prose is undeniably artful, its studied prettiness often overruns its subject, belaboring small moments and attenuating the anticlimactic plot. Indulgent, knowledgeable readers may attribute this to a fidelity to Romantic excess, while others will find it dramatically overblown and sometimes tedious. Still, readers who relish tales of the [End Page 294] wealthy and licentious will find this an entertaining supplement as they struggle to memorize lyrics and odes. [End Page 295] Copyright © 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois