The Deceived Ones

In The Deceived Ones, the debut novel of memoirist Judith Krummeck, Shakepeare’s Twelfth Night has been updated to deliver a lively and thought-provoking study of modern-day issues.

The novel opens in the days after Ukraine is invaded by Russia, and Vira and Sevastyan, twin sister and brother, are parting at the train station. Vira, a student of music, is bound across the border to Poland and, ultimately, to asylum in Baltimore. She has brought little with her, which makes room for her beloved viola da gamba–a cello-sized Renaissance instrument–so that she might continue her studies at Baltimore’s Peabody Conservatory. Sevastyan must remain behind as all fit young men are being conscripted into the army. Krummeck notes that although not identical, the twins are remarkably alike–tall, slender, with “the same high cheekbones, straight black hair, and green eyes.” (p. 2) As it is with Viola and Sebastian in Twelfth Night, the likeness is crucial.

The siblings plan to stay in touch via a messaging app on their phones. All of these plans are upended, however, when Vira is assaulted on her way home from an appointment at a Baltimore refugee center, her papers and cell phone stolen. With the loss of the phone, the twins are adrift. Sevastyan’s calls to let Vira know he has been rejected for army service go unanswered; equipped with a new phone, Vira cannot recall Sevastyan’s number and cannot reach him. Alone and shaken by her violent encounter, Vira decides to cut her hair, wear baggy clothing, and make her way around the city more safely as a man. She accepts a job cleaning at the Peabody and there first assumes her brother’s identity, introducing herself to one of the composers as “Sevastyan.”

Composer Orson Carradine is working on his own interpretation of Shakespeare’s comedy, this time as a Renaissance opera commissioned for the Twelfth Night Festival. The stakes are high for his success; however, he is suffering an artistic block, and Isabella, the singer he is writing for, refuses to participate because she is mourning the death of her brother. Orson struggles until the intriguing Sevastyan/Vira introduces him to the viola da gamba. Together, they discuss performing the opera’s score exclusively with an ensemble of treble, tenor, and bass viola, and because of his new muse, Orson’s creativity is revitalized. He implores Sevastyan/Vira to plead with Isabella on his behalf, and when she does, Isabella is equally beguiled by the person she believes to be a young man. The real Sevastyan’s arrival in Baltimore to search for his sister among the refugee and music communities further confuses and confounds those who have met his sister in disguise.

The novel’s title is a nod to Gl’ingannati–translated from the Italian as “The Deceived Ones”–a commedia dell’arte farce that inspired Shakespeare’s disguise and mistaken identity plot. However, the subplot of the original play is said to have been entirely of Shakespeare’s invention, and it is this subplot that Orson focuses on when composing. He tells Vira, “…the business about Malvolio and the letter and the yellow stockings and that stuff…that’s what we’ve based our comic opera on.” (p. 48)

Krummeck’s subplot both mirrors Shakespeare’s and modernizes it. Instead of Malvolio, we have Malvon, Isabella’s anti-immigrant bookkeeper who wrongly reports her housekeeper to ICE simply to harass the woman. Mia, the housekeeper, finds a way to get back at him with the assistance of Tobia and Drew, just as Maria did in the original in league with Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew Aguecheek. The subplot creates its own compelling story while at the same time enhancing the themes of the primary one. Together, the entire creation hums with the uncertainty of the lives of refugees and immigrants and highlights the difficulty these groups have assimilating into a foreign place.

But the novel ends on a hopeful note. As all identities are revealed and the attractions that once glimmered develop into genuine affection, the entire ensemble gathers in Isabella’s flat in a foreshadowing of the growth of a community of friends united by music and the universal desire for creating bonds. Also echoed in this scene is the development of Orson’s opera and the interplay of the instrumental voices, and the cast of Twelfth Night coming together to stage the work for its audience.

So much complexity, and yet the book is so clearly and surely written that the story and characters emerge from it, bright and sparkling clear. This book is a gem.