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socorrobaptista's review
4.0
Uma fantástica reescritura de The Tempest, muito profundo e intrigante.
remuslibrary's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Slavery, Colonisation, Rape, and Racism
Minor: Alcoholism
lasagna's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Had to read for school. Fun take on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”. I like the variety of perspectives given to us and the more realística take of the backstory of the famous play
orrantw's review
3.0
Ive been thinking a lot about how I’d like to review books and what the rating means to me. I’d say that I’m a bit stricter when it comes to rating books than a lot of people, so a 3/5 for me is a book that a lot of people might like, but I personally didn’t and also wouldn’t recommend to others.
Indigo is a rewriting of the Tempest that attempts to tackle the problems of post- and neo-colonialism. It’s an interesting rewrite of the characters and their interactions with different colonial environments. The book is highly politicised and takes on various political problems from the dawn of colonialism to the terrorist attacks that happen later on the island that reflect real world events.
Although the idea of the book is fascinating and the prose interesting, I personally don’t like romance, and it was hard to understand the emotional shortcomings of the different relationships that happen. It seems like romance isn’t something the author was interested in, so the characters act with little to no motivation.
Another shortcoming that takes the book from a potential 4 star to 3 star rating is the amount of information packed into the pages. There is very little the author doesn’t attempt to touch on, which ultimately makes every character’s journey feel neglected.
It was an unfortunate mix of structural mistakes that could have potentially made a well-written adaptation of the Tempest.
Indigo is a rewriting of the Tempest that attempts to tackle the problems of post- and neo-colonialism. It’s an interesting rewrite of the characters and their interactions with different colonial environments. The book is highly politicised and takes on various political problems from the dawn of colonialism to the terrorist attacks that happen later on the island that reflect real world events.
Although the idea of the book is fascinating and the prose interesting, I personally don’t like romance, and it was hard to understand the emotional shortcomings of the different relationships that happen. It seems like romance isn’t something the author was interested in, so the characters act with little to no motivation.
Another shortcoming that takes the book from a potential 4 star to 3 star rating is the amount of information packed into the pages. There is very little the author doesn’t attempt to touch on, which ultimately makes every character’s journey feel neglected.
It was an unfortunate mix of structural mistakes that could have potentially made a well-written adaptation of the Tempest.
redheadreading's review
3.0
I really wanted to like this book more than I did! Maybe I read it at the wrong time? I feel the storyline following Miranda and Xanthe could have been cut down and tightened a bit. I did really like how the 1600s storyline gave a voice to Sycorax and fleshed her out as a person, rather than a mystical idea. On the whole, I am left with mixed feelings and am a little sad about that!
thebobsphere's review
3.0
Potentially this would have been the greatest idea for a novel – ever. Imagine an author explaining the roots of a Jamaican family , while using Shakespeare’s The Tempest as a backdrop. Also now and then there are chapters dedicated to storytelling. Sounds great? Unfortunately in reality this was a mighty disappointing read.
The book opens up properly in post war London where two Jamaican immigrant families are coming to grips with their race. We find out in one long interlude that their ancestors were the first governors of a Jamaican island that was inhabited by the witch Sycorax, her son Caliban and the spirit Ariel (here Warner takes liberties with The Tempest and actually devotes a lot to Sycorax’s background) The governors destroy everything and take over the island.
We jump to the present day and the families now are spread out and their daughters actually return to the Caribbean to find out about their past.
Like I mentioned before great idea but I did not like the execution, I found Warner’s style boring and I couldn’t care about the characters, Although the first hundred pages or so are very promising I struggled to keep myself from drifting off.
The book opens up properly in post war London where two Jamaican immigrant families are coming to grips with their race. We find out in one long interlude that their ancestors were the first governors of a Jamaican island that was inhabited by the witch Sycorax, her son Caliban and the spirit Ariel (here Warner takes liberties with The Tempest and actually devotes a lot to Sycorax’s background) The governors destroy everything and take over the island.
We jump to the present day and the families now are spread out and their daughters actually return to the Caribbean to find out about their past.
Like I mentioned before great idea but I did not like the execution, I found Warner’s style boring and I couldn’t care about the characters, Although the first hundred pages or so are very promising I struggled to keep myself from drifting off.
geertje's review
3.0
The writing of Indigo was very lush, very easy to read. At the same time, the structure of the book confused me (why have the part about the early 1600s shoved in so early in the novel, but after Miranda had been introduced?), and I felt it was a little too long.
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