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ratings: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Genre: Drama / Tragedy / Shakespearean Tragedy

Book Review:
''Othello'' is a gut-wrenching, claustrophobic masterpiece. It's Shakespeare's most intimate tragedy, focused not on kings and kingdoms, but on a marriage destroyed by jealousy. And at the center of it all is Iago, quite simply the most terrifying villain in all of literature. He has no real motive, or at least none that justifies his actions. He is evil personified, and watching him manipulate everyone around him with such skill and glee is both fascinating and horrifying. Othello himself is a tragic figure, a noble and confident leader who is utterly destroyed by Iago's poison. His love for Desdemona is pure, but his jealousy is a monster. The play's exploration of race is also crucial: Othello is an outsider in Venice, and Iago uses that to his advantage. The final scene is one of the most heartbreaking in all of drama. A perfect, terrifying tragedy. This Cambridge edition is excellent.