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suziesuzuki's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! I really like this book! That's all I have to say really, it is very eye-opening and I respect the author immensely.
relliem08's review against another edition
1.0
If you've ever engaged me on this forum or read my review of Catcher in the Rye, you know that I have a special hate/hate relationship with all of the "classic" literature that was required reading in all of my AP English classes. Hamlet is the play that I dislike the least. I don't like the play, I just hate it a little less than most of the others. Don't even get me started on Hamlet's whore/Madonna complex because we'll be here all day; but the reason I hate the play a little less is because - spoiler alert - almost everyone dies. Given everything that happened in that play, it was the ending most fitting.
If this book, a retelling of sorts, had ended that way, I'd have liked it a whole lot more. I could go into all of the reasons why this didn't work for me, and there are plenty, but it was mainly the narrator/main character - because she was just a real piece of work that I could not relate to. As a black woman, I could not relate to this black teenage girl; and that's important to me when the story involves racism. Suffice to say that this just wasn't for me.
If this book, a retelling of sorts, had ended that way, I'd have liked it a whole lot more. I could go into all of the reasons why this didn't work for me, and there are plenty, but it was mainly the narrator/main character - because she was just a real piece of work that I could not relate to. As a black woman, I could not relate to this black teenage girl; and that's important to me when the story involves racism. Suffice to say that this just wasn't for me.
sarrie's review against another edition
4.0
This was a solid 4 *s for me. It had a unique and intriguing story and minus one or two things I found just a touch odd I really loved it. The setting was one I don't get to read enough about and the little doses of the mystical or magical fit in very well. The overall atmosphere, which seemed authentic to the time really embraced those little touches. Speaking of I loved the atmosphere - I could easily see what was happening and Cat Winters occasional use of flowery language didn't detract but enhanced (as it should).
I really enjoyed Hanalee, Joe, and most of characters as well. Everyone had a distinct voice and I could clearly remember each individual. It seemed to me that everyone was faulty, everyone had made some bad decision and they lived with that.
Overall I really liked it. It's also just a beautifully printed book as well. I think I may get this one for my personal library.
I really enjoyed Hanalee, Joe, and most of characters as well. Everyone had a distinct voice and I could clearly remember each individual. It seemed to me that everyone was faulty, everyone had made some bad decision and they lived with that.
Overall I really liked it. It's also just a beautifully printed book as well. I think I may get this one for my personal library.
gdeweerd's review against another edition
3.0
A solid read, interesting and historical. I had the same complaint with this book as I did with a previous read: well done but very little to care about. I couldn't connect with the characters and had a hard time caring about what happens to them. Winters' books are well-written, detailed and grounded in historical fact, but something just doesn't work for me character-wise.
erin47's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't like this one quite as much as the other Cat Winters books I've read, but it was still quite good. I liked that the plot used Hamlet as a framework.
onceuponabookcase's review against another edition
5.0
Review posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.
After mostly enjoying As I Descended by Robin Talley, I was in the mood for another Shakespeare retelling, and so picked up The Steep & Thorny Way by Cat Winters. A gender-bent retelling of Hamlet set in 1920s prohibition-era Oregon, where Hanalee's African American father was murdered for his skin colour, I knew this was going to be an interesting though scary story - I just didn't expect it to be as brilliant as it was.
When Joe, the drink-driving teenager who knocked down Hanalee's father, Hank, and killed him, is released from prison early on good behaviour, Hanalee is intent on revenge. What she doesn't expect is for Joe to forcefully plead his innocence, and lay the blame at someone else's feet; Dr Koning, her new stepfather. According to Joe, apart from a broken leg and a sore arm, her father was fine after he hit him, talking and even joking. Joe helped him to his house and got the doctor. Hank was fine when the doctor closed the door, but when he opened it again, he was dead - as if he'd been poisoned. Joe was sent down for it, and wasn't allowed to say anything in his defence. He believes Dr Koning is part of the Ku Klux Klan, and murdered Hank because of his skin colour. Hanalee no longer knows what to think, but she's never felt ok about her stepfather being in her father's home, in his bed with his wife, so soon after his death, and something is not quite right. She knows the only way to get answers is to ask the one person who knows - her father, whose ghost has been seen haunting the cross roads where he was hit.
This story is incredible! There are so many elements interwoven to make the whole; bootleggers and their moonshine, the KKK and racial intolerance, and then also the Hamlet retelling. The 1920s is a hard time to live in; The Great War took many wives husbands, and farms are no longer bringing in the money they had been during the war. Families are struggling, and they are having to resort to illegal means to make money; moonshine and bootlegging. Though anti-Catholic, the KKK seem an almost harmless force who are just raising money to to fill the potholes in the highway. And yet it's a time when interracial marriage is not acknowledged under Oregon law, where racial intolerance simmers under the surface, and Hanalee is treated differently for being the daughter of a white woman and an African American man. She's always been treated differently because of the colour of her skin, disliked and judged, and knows there are rights she is not given because of this, but she's not felt like she was in danger. But after she starts digging into the truth behind her father's death, things change rapidly when she realises she could be living in the same house as her father's murderer, a possible member of the KKK, who killed him because of his skin colour - a skin colour she shares.
Then you have the Hamlet elements. It's been quite a while since I studied Hamlet, but I remembered the basics, and that's pretty much all you need to know for this story, because it twists and turns, and you're never really sure what the outcome is going to be. You're constantly left guessing, sitting on the edge of your seat as Hanalee tries to work out exactly what happened to her father - a dangerous task anyway, when you're trying to find a possible murderer, but made even more dangerous as her digging draws attention to herself in a town of bigots. You're never really sure where the story is going to go, even if you know the story of Hamlet; as new evidence and new clues come to light, you come up with theory after theory, never quite sure which will be the one that's right.
Hanalee was a fantastic character; despite how she's treated by some, she's strong and determined to find the truth. She's wary of Joe, but something about what she's been told just doesn't ring true, and so she cautiously trusts him as they work together to uncover the truth. She puts herself in potential danger more times than I can count, but she keeps going, needing to know what truly happened to her dad, wanting to help his ghost rest. Joe is also a pretty great character, and a bit of a surprise. Joe is gay, and has been hiding out in a shed on Hanalee's friend's property because his Reverend father won't have him back, as he's a sexual deviant. When the truth of his sexuality comes out, people warn Hanalee to stay away from him if they ever see him, though never really explaining to her why. Through Joe, we see it's not just racial prejudice that's rife in Oregon, but also homophobia. Joe tells Hanalee of the things he learnt in prison, about Eugenics; how some prisoners people like him, people like Hanalee, were being castrated and sterilised, to keep them from "breeding" more people like them. Seriously, the beliefs and opinions of these people are absolutely disgusting and so terrifying.
But the terror continues as the story reaches it's climax. I read in horror, shocked and appalled as the truth was discovered, and what discovering the truth meant. This is not an easy book, and it's not one that will shy away from the actions of the past. This book will make you angry, sick to your stomach, and, given our current political climate, scared. And if you're a white, straight, cis person with any human decency, it will make you feel ashamed.
The Steep & Thorny Way is a wonderful book! It's captivating and gripping, it's eye-opening and shocking, and a fantastic retelling. A truly amazing story.
Thank you to Amulet Books for the proof.
After mostly enjoying As I Descended by Robin Talley, I was in the mood for another Shakespeare retelling, and so picked up The Steep & Thorny Way by Cat Winters. A gender-bent retelling of Hamlet set in 1920s prohibition-era Oregon, where Hanalee's African American father was murdered for his skin colour, I knew this was going to be an interesting though scary story - I just didn't expect it to be as brilliant as it was.
When Joe, the drink-driving teenager who knocked down Hanalee's father, Hank, and killed him, is released from prison early on good behaviour, Hanalee is intent on revenge. What she doesn't expect is for Joe to forcefully plead his innocence, and lay the blame at someone else's feet; Dr Koning, her new stepfather. According to Joe, apart from a broken leg and a sore arm, her father was fine after he hit him, talking and even joking. Joe helped him to his house and got the doctor. Hank was fine when the doctor closed the door, but when he opened it again, he was dead - as if he'd been poisoned. Joe was sent down for it, and wasn't allowed to say anything in his defence. He believes Dr Koning is part of the Ku Klux Klan, and murdered Hank because of his skin colour. Hanalee no longer knows what to think, but she's never felt ok about her stepfather being in her father's home, in his bed with his wife, so soon after his death, and something is not quite right. She knows the only way to get answers is to ask the one person who knows - her father, whose ghost has been seen haunting the cross roads where he was hit.
This story is incredible! There are so many elements interwoven to make the whole; bootleggers and their moonshine, the KKK and racial intolerance, and then also the Hamlet retelling. The 1920s is a hard time to live in; The Great War took many wives husbands, and farms are no longer bringing in the money they had been during the war. Families are struggling, and they are having to resort to illegal means to make money; moonshine and bootlegging. Though anti-Catholic, the KKK seem an almost harmless force who are just raising money to to fill the potholes in the highway. And yet it's a time when interracial marriage is not acknowledged under Oregon law, where racial intolerance simmers under the surface, and Hanalee is treated differently for being the daughter of a white woman and an African American man. She's always been treated differently because of the colour of her skin, disliked and judged, and knows there are rights she is not given because of this, but she's not felt like she was in danger. But after she starts digging into the truth behind her father's death, things change rapidly when she realises she could be living in the same house as her father's murderer, a possible member of the KKK, who killed him because of his skin colour - a skin colour she shares.
Then you have the Hamlet elements. It's been quite a while since I studied Hamlet, but I remembered the basics, and that's pretty much all you need to know for this story, because it twists and turns, and you're never really sure what the outcome is going to be. You're constantly left guessing, sitting on the edge of your seat as Hanalee tries to work out exactly what happened to her father - a dangerous task anyway, when you're trying to find a possible murderer, but made even more dangerous as her digging draws attention to herself in a town of bigots. You're never really sure where the story is going to go, even if you know the story of Hamlet; as new evidence and new clues come to light, you come up with theory after theory, never quite sure which will be the one that's right.
Hanalee was a fantastic character; despite how she's treated by some, she's strong and determined to find the truth. She's wary of Joe, but something about what she's been told just doesn't ring true, and so she cautiously trusts him as they work together to uncover the truth. She puts herself in potential danger more times than I can count, but she keeps going, needing to know what truly happened to her dad, wanting to help his ghost rest. Joe is also a pretty great character, and a bit of a surprise. Joe is gay, and has been hiding out in a shed on Hanalee's friend's property because his Reverend father won't have him back, as he's a sexual deviant. When the truth of his sexuality comes out, people warn Hanalee to stay away from him if they ever see him, though never really explaining to her why. Through Joe, we see it's not just racial prejudice that's rife in Oregon, but also homophobia. Joe tells Hanalee of the things he learnt in prison, about Eugenics; how some prisoners people like him, people like Hanalee, were being castrated and sterilised, to keep them from "breeding" more people like them. Seriously, the beliefs and opinions of these people are absolutely disgusting and so terrifying.
But the terror continues as the story reaches it's climax. I read in horror, shocked and appalled as the truth was discovered, and what discovering the truth meant. This is not an easy book, and it's not one that will shy away from the actions of the past. This book will make you angry, sick to your stomach, and, given our current political climate, scared. And if you're a white, straight, cis person with any human decency, it will make you feel ashamed.
The Steep & Thorny Way is a wonderful book! It's captivating and gripping, it's eye-opening and shocking, and a fantastic retelling. A truly amazing story.
Thank you to Amulet Books for the proof.
cam356's review against another edition
3.0
I have to say I'm a little disappointed. This says that it is a reimagining of Hamlet but it deviates from the plot of Hamlet so much that it isn't recognizable. It was a good story and I'm not saying it wasn't wonderfully written. I just feel as if that saying it is a Hamlet retelling is a bit of a stretch.
phenexrose's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
amdame1's review against another edition
4.0
Hanalee is a biracial girl living in rural Oregon during Prohibition. Her (black) father died after being hit by a drunk driver almost two years ago. Her (white) mom remarried a close family friend. When the teen who hit her dad is let out of jail, Hanalee meets him unintentionally and he tells her that he did not kill her dad, that the guy who married her mom is actually the one who killed him. Tension is added because the Ku Klux Klan is taking prominence in their town and Hanalee does not feel as safe as she used to.
Based loosely on Shakespeare's Hamlet. So loosely that if the bookleaf hadn't said so, I never would have picked up on it.
I definitely appreciated the diversity and depth of characters and, as a Seattle-ite, the Oregon setting.
Based loosely on Shakespeare's Hamlet. So loosely that if the bookleaf hadn't said so, I never would have picked up on it.
I definitely appreciated the diversity and depth of characters and, as a Seattle-ite, the Oregon setting.
paige394's review against another edition
2.0
I wasn't really impressed. Although The Steep and Thorny Way did touch on a lot of issues that I am passionate about (internalized racism, homophobia, pressure to conform, etc.), the characters were not overly complex and the Hamlet element felt out of place. Had Winters used her own unique plot and spread the story out over more than four days, it probably would have been a much better book. It did, however, touch on sides of the 1920's that are rarely explored, which I appreciated. Overall, it was alright and for those interested in the aforementioned issues and history, this is a easy, quick read that is worth considering.