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A review by abrittlebee
Miranda and Caliban by Jacqueline Carey
5.0
Admittedly, The Tempest is not my favourite of Shakespeare’s plays. However, Miranda and Caliban warps the motivation of the original text, spinning a plot that is loving but painful, and entirely focussed on the growth of two characters who have fascinated audiences for years. It is a near perfect companion to the original prose.
The way this story is written, the reader is aware of the way Prospero manipulates not only his own relationships with Miranda and Caliban, but their personal relationships with one another, as well as themselves. Early in the narrative this was deeply unsettling. I would almost describe it as watching a groomed child groom another child, but without sexual implications, as Miranda instructed Caliban on how to obey and be “good.” As all of this was occurring there was an underlying sweetness in the friendship developed between the children and how that relationship then progresses as they come of age.
What is most fascinating about this book is that it attempts to both define and question the point at which innocence becomes ignorance. It explores Miranda and Caliban’s journey from being innocent children, unaware enough to question the world and order presented to them, and when that excuse of adolescence ends and becomes outright denial or wilful ignorance.
I could go on and on about how this novel fits so perfectly alongside Shakespeare’s own work as an advancement to the tale, and how the theology within it is structured to draw parallels between savagery and civility, and good and evil, but those arguments would lean too much into an academic tirade. Just know this, this book is incredible and heart-wrenching. It’s only fault, if it can be called that, is that it cannot be read independently. You need a basic working knowledge of the Tempest’s plot, but that’s nothing a quick google search can’t fix.
The way this story is written, the reader is aware of the way Prospero manipulates not only his own relationships with Miranda and Caliban, but their personal relationships with one another, as well as themselves. Early in the narrative this was deeply unsettling. I would almost describe it as watching a groomed child groom another child, but without sexual implications, as Miranda instructed Caliban on how to obey and be “good.” As all of this was occurring there was an underlying sweetness in the friendship developed between the children and how that relationship then progresses as they come of age.
What is most fascinating about this book is that it attempts to both define and question the point at which innocence becomes ignorance. It explores Miranda and Caliban’s journey from being innocent children, unaware enough to question the world and order presented to them, and when that excuse of adolescence ends and becomes outright denial or wilful ignorance.
I could go on and on about how this novel fits so perfectly alongside Shakespeare’s own work as an advancement to the tale, and how the theology within it is structured to draw parallels between savagery and civility, and good and evil, but those arguments would lean too much into an academic tirade. Just know this, this book is incredible and heart-wrenching. It’s only fault, if it can be called that, is that it cannot be read independently. You need a basic working knowledge of the Tempest’s plot, but that’s nothing a quick google search can’t fix.