A review by fran_p97
Hag-Seed: The Tempest Retold by Margaret Atwood

2.0

Pros
- [ ] I now have a deeper understanding of The Tempest - the way that the story was plotted out resembles the play for me to easily see the connections between the plot points and the majority of the characters in Hagseed and those in the Tempest - with the exception on Caliban*.
- [ ] The writing style was easy enough to follow as well as the structure of the novel (which again follows The Tempest well).

Cons
- [ ] Quite a slow read - it took me quite a long time for me to complete the book - sadly it felt like a get it over and done with type read.
- [ ] *I still am not 100% sure who Caliban is supposed to be represented by in the book - I presume it is the prisoners(?). I just for some reason am unsure. The character connections also only really came together towards the end of the book and was only really reinforces with the ‘The Tempest: The Original’ section after the novel had concluded.
- [ ] I would say the majority of the plot points of The Tempest were covered in the first fifth and last two fifths of the book - I think the rest was just filler that I don’t really remember.
- [ ] We are probably supposed to be emotionally attached to Felix’s storyline than any others but (if the prisoners do indeed reflect Caliban) I too have more interest in their storyline than the protagonists.

Overall I feel that the book was heavily constricted by the play - which in the circumstances of being written for Hogarth is understandable - but I don’t think the story line that was created was necessarily a good one. Felix is something of a forgettable character in my eyes and when he triumphs it doesn’t really feel like a big deal. The prison setting and the prisoners themselves; although some are also somewhat forgettable (I feel really harsh for saying all of these negative points so Im sorry) are the highlight for me as they add a sense of realism.

2.75/5 stars.