Scan barcode
readingwithalex02's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Atwood is a fantastic writer and it is always her characters which draw me into the world of her novels. Thought I don’t particularly like The Tempest as a play, I found Atwood was able to make it tolerable. The only reason I haven’t rated this higher is because of the pacing. The beginning was a little too slow for me, and in contrast the ending felt more rushed. I also couldn’t really connect with the main character until the end, and instead connected a lot more with the other characters and wished they had been fleshed out more
blicksam's review against another edition
2.0
I was excited to read this - very unique idea - but Margaret Atwood can’t write prisoners for shit. It read like a high school student’s idea of what prison is like, combined with a septuagenarian’s idea of how young people talk.
hanej24's review against another edition
5.0
An amazing retelling of the Tempest, I especially enjoyed the Tempest within the Tempest within the Tempest effect which only became obvious at the end. Brilliantly written, touching on many social issues in modern society and always unexpected. I would definitely read this and all her other works of course if you get a chance!
oxnard_montalvo's review against another edition
3.0
Not her best but ticked along nicely despite the unconvincing ending and ridiculous revenge set up.
scytmo's review against another edition
3.0
Hag-Seed is a retelling of The Tempest, as part of the Random House “Hogarth Shakespeare” series. Although I knew it was a retelling of The Tempest when I bought it, I’m not familiar with The Tempest, and I had hoped that it would stand up as a novel in its own right. I had high hopes from an author of the calibre of Margaret Atwood.
The quality of the writing and the characterisation are excellent. The main character, Felix, has complexity and depth in the portrayal of his emotions around the production of the play, and for his daughter. The supporting women - Anne-Marie and Estelle - also feel alive and distinct, and I enjoyed all of their interactions. The supporting cast of in-mates was solid, but lacked a little variation - possibly due to the need to include so many characters due to the source material.
However, I found the plot a little slow moving and uninspired (which is ironic, given the inspiration). A lot of time is taken in the middle of the book around the development of the play which seems somewhat repetitive and slow moving, and the resolution of the main plot seems hurried, with the ultimate outcome slightly difficult to believe.
I suspect that my dissatisfaction with the plot was due to the author’s desire to echo elements of The Tempest in the plot (although I’m not sure about this, due to my unfamiliarity with The Tempest). And while this may have drawn knowing appreciation from those familiar with the source material, any in-jokes and clever parallels were lost on me.
So overall, engaging and interesting characters, but a disappointing plot.
The quality of the writing and the characterisation are excellent. The main character, Felix, has complexity and depth in the portrayal of his emotions around the production of the play, and for his daughter. The supporting women - Anne-Marie and Estelle - also feel alive and distinct, and I enjoyed all of their interactions. The supporting cast of in-mates was solid, but lacked a little variation - possibly due to the need to include so many characters due to the source material.
However, I found the plot a little slow moving and uninspired (which is ironic, given the inspiration). A lot of time is taken in the middle of the book around the development of the play which seems somewhat repetitive and slow moving, and the resolution of the main plot seems hurried, with the ultimate outcome slightly difficult to believe.
I suspect that my dissatisfaction with the plot was due to the author’s desire to echo elements of The Tempest in the plot (although I’m not sure about this, due to my unfamiliarity with The Tempest). And while this may have drawn knowing appreciation from those familiar with the source material, any in-jokes and clever parallels were lost on me.
So overall, engaging and interesting characters, but a disappointing plot.
brisingr's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliantly done. And since it's also one of the novels I'll be discussing in my thesis, I guess it's only fair to love it this much.