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A review by melbsreads
The Steep and Thorny Way by Cat Winters
4.25
Trigger warnings: death of a parent (in the past), racism, homophobia, eugenics, Klan activity, violence, lynchings, car accident.
22/7/2020
This was just as solid on reread. I picked up the paperback from work this time around and that was a fantastic life choice because there are a ton of historic images scattered throughout the book that really give it a sense of time and place. I flew through this in a couple of hours and I was hooked for every second of it.
12/5/2016
I was sold on this the minute I heard "Hamlet retelling", "1920s Oregon" and "biracial protagonist" in the same sentence. Because seriously? That is a genius combination. I loved how Winters took a familiar story in completely new directions, I loved how diverse the story was, I loved the inclusion of historical photographs, I loved that it kept you guessing throughout.
I was a little worried at the beginning that it was going to stick a little too closely to the story of Hamlet - which, let's face it, is kind of an emo teen boy shitshow. But no! We got new and exciting twists throughout, while still having a cast of characters that were easily recognisable as characters from Hamlet.
I also really liked the author's note at the end, in which Winters discusses her uncertainty about writing a biracial character in a time of racial tension and the threat of eugenics when she's white. But it's clear from both the story and the note that she did a lot of incredibly thorough research before going ahead with it, which is excellent.
It did take me a little while to get into the story, but once I got through the first 10% or so, I was totally hooked, to the point where I nearly forgot to get off the tram at work.
22/7/2020
This was just as solid on reread. I picked up the paperback from work this time around and that was a fantastic life choice because there are a ton of historic images scattered throughout the book that really give it a sense of time and place. I flew through this in a couple of hours and I was hooked for every second of it.
12/5/2016
I was sold on this the minute I heard "Hamlet retelling", "1920s Oregon" and "biracial protagonist" in the same sentence. Because seriously? That is a genius combination. I loved how Winters took a familiar story in completely new directions, I loved how diverse the story was, I loved the inclusion of historical photographs, I loved that it kept you guessing throughout.
I was a little worried at the beginning that it was going to stick a little too closely to the story of Hamlet - which, let's face it, is kind of an emo teen boy shitshow. But no! We got new and exciting twists throughout, while still having a cast of characters that were easily recognisable as characters from Hamlet.
I also really liked the author's note at the end, in which Winters discusses her uncertainty about writing a biracial character in a time of racial tension and the threat of eugenics when she's white. But it's clear from both the story and the note that she did a lot of incredibly thorough research before going ahead with it, which is excellent.
It did take me a little while to get into the story, but once I got through the first 10% or so, I was totally hooked, to the point where I nearly forgot to get off the tram at work.