This serious, thoughtful book is well written and a pleasure to read. One can easily imagine Rothleder developing in class the points she makes in her text to engage students new to Plato’s Republic and the plays of Shakespeare. Those who know these classics only too well will also be engaged—and delighted to see a familiar story told from a surprising perspective.... She focuses on three themes—the confusion of comedy and tragedy, the imbalance of polity and economy, and the debt that birth itself obligates one to pay—to evoke the moments of incredulity both characters and readers encounter. Highly recommended.

Choice

Rothleder's thesis is provocative and compelling. The strengths of the book are the refreshing and eye-opening interpretation of the Republic, the insightful contrast of Descartes and Derrida as a matrix for interpreting both the texts and human life, and the engaging and original use of Shakespeare to illuminate this.

John Russon, University of Guelph