Folger Book Club:
'The Death I Gave Him' by Em X. Liu
A lyrical, queer sci-fi retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet as a locked-room thriller.
Booking and details
Dates Thu, May 1, 2025, 6:30pm
Tickets Free, Registration required
Duration 6:30pm - 8:00pm (ET)
Registration for this session opens Tuesday, April 8 at 4pm, with early access for members beginning at 10am.
Our May 2025 Pick
The Death I Gave Him
by Em X. Liu
Book Club resources
Interested in reading this book on your own or with a group? Enhance your reading experience with our Book Club resources, including quick links for exploring related topics, historical context, and fascinating connections with relevant items in the Folger collection.
'The Death I Gave Him' Resource Guide
On May 1, 2025 the Folger’s virtual book club continues with a discussion of The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to Hamlet, science fiction, and technology.
Collection Connections: Specters of Hamlet and AI as RenAIssance Technology
We revisit Alexa Alice Joubin’s May 2025 presentation as part of our Folger Book Club discussion of Em Liu’s The Death I Gave Him.
Why did we choose this?
The Folger Shakespeare Library’s collection explores not only Shakespeare’s life and works, but also the plays’ historical context, source material, critical and performance histories, and the ways in which they inspire and are adapted by contemporary novelists.
The Death I Gave Him turns Shakespeare’s Hamlet into a sci-fi, locked room mystery. A riveting contemporary adaptation, this novel asks questions about immortality, AI, technology, and ambition and shows the breadth of topics Shakespeare’s work can help us explore.
About the Book Club
Our informal Book Club is free and open to all. Our picks range from historical fiction to adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays, encompassing a wide variety of genres.
Each session begins with a guest speaker exploring that month’s pick and highlighting items from the Folger collection related to the plot and themes of the novel. After the presentation, participants will be broken into smaller groups for breakout discussions, moderated by a team of staff and volunteers.
Content transparency
The Death I Gave Him includes potentially sensitive subjects. Expand below for a full list of content (includes spoilers).
- Self harm
- Suicidal thoughts
- Death of parent
- Violence
- Sexual content
- Grief
- Gore
Guest Speaker
Alexa Alice Joubin
Alexa Alice Joubin (Workshop Facilitator) Academic appointment: Professor of English, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Theatre, International Affairs, and East Asian Languages and Literatures at George Washington University; director of the Digital Humanities Institute. Publications: Shakespeare and East Asia, Race, Contemporary Readings in Global Performances of Shakespeare, Onscreen Allusions to Shakespeare, and Shakespeare and the Ethics of Appropriation.
Support the Folger
Spring Folger Book Club selections are now available online and in-person through the Folger Shop!
Click below to purchase your copy of The Death I Gave Him online or come visit us at 201 East Capitol St SE during our opening hours.
You can also choose to support your favorite local bookstore through Bookshop.org or Libro.fm.
Purchase your copy of The Death I Gave Him from the Folger Shop
We would like to thank the following organization for its generous support of this program
