I've just finished, and loved, If this Be Magic. It's a fresh and vivid way to think about Shakespeare; it's so witty and knowledgeable, so alive to the ways in which language resists reduction. It feels like attending the most fascinating lecture of the term; like learning made swift and sharp and generous -- KATHERINE RUNDELL A wonderful book, erudite and enjoyable. I love learning new things while having an excellent time. Danny is a brilliant writer -- CATHY RENTZENBRINK Daniel Hahn is a remarkable translator, writer and editor, a dedicated supporter of literature and knowledge, and he has written this gem of a book which is clearly the outcome of decades of hard work and dedication, and passion, really, for the art of storytelling -- ELIF SHAFAK A lifetime of love and learning distilled - what a joy and a privilege to read -- LUCY MANGAN For those who care deeply about language, and about Shakespeare, and about the courage of those who try to render him in a foreign tongue, this will be a treasured book -- JAMES SHAPIRO, Columbia Professor of English, author of 1599: A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE This lovely, expansive book illustrates Shakespeare's global reach in languages from Afrikaans to Yiddish - but it also reveals how much can be found, rather than lost, in translation - poetically, culturally, and imaginatively -- EMMA SMITH, Professor of Shakespeare Studies, Hertford College, Oxford University Hahn's delight in linguistic possibility is evident throughout . . . and he keeps the tone delightfully droll. A pleasure for scholars and hobbyist wordsmiths alike * * Publisher's Weekly * * Ebullient . . . Every page brims with discoveries, yet Hahn's tone remains modest - and refreshingly droll. A grand and very enjoyable tour of Shakespeare in the worlds of other words . . . Readers thinking they know Shakespeare will find something new here. Readers new to the plays and poems will marvel at what they have been missing * * Kirkus Reviews * * Merits multiple readings * * Library Journal * * Praise for Daniel Hahn: 'Hahn is so smart and neurotic and funny' * * New York Times * *
