Clever adaption of The Tempest. Like The Tempest and many works by Shakespeare, there are plays within plays and the players create magic.

This novel kept me going - good pace, thoughtful story - despite one too many references to "the Net". I was eager to see our main character exact revenge. That "revenge" required me to totally suspend reality and believe an absurd situation and outcome. Decent retelling of The Tempest.

Thoroughly enjoyable Atwood retelling that may "play" in some AP classes alongside a reading of the Shakespeare play.

Carry on Hogarth!

A true homage to the Bard, this is a fabulous tale well-told.

The Tempest may not have been my favorite Shakespeare's play, but I did enjoy this book. It started off a bit slow, but by half-way I was much more invested in the characters of 'the players', and I have to give Atwood lots of respect for making one of the odder plays so enjoyable, both as a retelling of the play, the play within the play, the tips and nods and many valid points made on the side to the importance of teamwork and education, education within the prison system, mass incarceration issues, and second chances for everyone no matter their past. And by framing the play through an educational program it also gave great leeway for discussing character motivations, themes in the play, etc that might never have occurred to an audience just reading the original version, which makes this retelling in many ways more educational.

Margaret Atwood published Hag-Seed as part of the Hogarth Shakespeare project along with some other writers like Jeannette Winterson who did an interpretation of The Winter's Tale and Gillian Flynn who is scheduled to do a Hamlet. Atwood surely chose the most difficult play to reimagine - The Tempest, with it's sea disasters and magical island and all those mistaken identities. I love a Shakespeare remix like nobody's business and, of course, Margaret Atwood is probably my favorite author, so I was pretty damn excited to see what she was going to do.

Felix is the artistic director for a Canadian theatre where he presents avant-garde productions of Shakespeare plays. Right away he's ousted by his second in command, Tony. Felix becomes something of a hermit and removes himself from society for a while, until he starts teaching Shakespeare to some prisoners at a local jail, under the name Mr Duke. Sound familiar? If it doesn't, you probably need to brush up on The Tempest. I'm curious whether those who are not well-versed in the play would enjoy the book as much as one who isn't but my guess would be no. Following the connections in part of the fun; wondering how she's possibly going to wrap it up, knowing the original ending, is like watching the master at work. Anyway, it's a problem easily remedied, so, if you haven't read The Tempest before, give it a quick read before Hag-Seed and I think you'll find your experience improved.



Although Felix thinks things like "If anyone had told him then that he'd be doing Shakespeare with a pack of cons inside the slammer he'd have said they were hallucinating" he's actually a very good teacher with excellent critical thinking assignments for his players and a respectful attitude toward their strengths, with very little interest in their criminal backgrounds.

Shakespeare was famous for putting a "play within the play" and Atwood took that concept to the extreme. At one point I think I counted five plays within the play but I did allow myself to get pretty meta - are we not all players upon the stage, etc.? Hag-Seed is a joy to read and Atwood's joy in writing it is evident as well - she clearly knows the theatre very well.
"Crises of confidence have been surmounted, grudges incurred, hurt feelings soothed. Felix has berated himself for his own lunacy in undertaking such a hopeless enterprise, then congratulated himself on his judgment. His spirits plunge, then soar, then plunge again.
Normal life."

Margaret Atwood is always hit and miss for me. When it's hit, it knocks it out the park, wrapping words and pages around me like a vice I can't shake off, thoughts and imagery sticking with me long after I've finished. When it's a miss though, it's a miss. And sadly, Hag Seed was the latter. I had hesitations going into it - jail/prison is far from my usual supernatural/fantasy preferences, and I am not a Shakespeare fan. But I simply couldn't resist trying it, because I never know with Atwood. The Blind Assassin, for example, is far out of what I usually read and yet it remains one of my favorites to this day. However, I knew a few pages going into Hag Seed that it would not have the same magical effect that some of Atwood's other pieces have on me. Strangely, Atwood is one of the few authors where I know within a small number of pages whether I will LOVE the book or feel ambivalent about it. Ultimately I set this one down, but I greatly appreciate being given the opportunity to try it. We did purchase a couple copies for our library, and they have circulated well (as Atwood is wont to do). I also ended up having a great discussion about this particular book with a bartender one night, which was an unexpected and wonderful conversation overall.

I have never read The Tempest and, although I saw a filmed production of it a while ago, I am not that familiar with that play. However, that did not impair my enjoyment of this book. In any event there is a synopsis of the play at the end of the book in case you want to be able to compare the book to the play as you read.

Felix has been betrayed by 2 of his colleagues and deposed from his jobs as artistic director/director/actor of a small theater company while he is preparing for an unconventional production of The Tempest. He is also still grieving from the deaths of his wife and his 3 year old daughter Miranda. Felix withdraws with the imaginary Miranda to a rundown shack in the country to lick his wounds and imagine getting revenge on his betrayers. Several years later he gets a chance for this revenge when the betrayers are invited to see a production of The Tempest that Felix is producing for a literacy class that he teaches part-time at a correctional facility.

By taking part in multimedia productions of Shakespeare's plays, the prisoners gain a lot more than just improving their reading skills. I liked the way they analyzed the characters and reimagined their stories. I also thought that it was a great idea to inspire their careful reading of the text by demanding that they restrict their curses to terms used in the play. If nothing else, it expanded their vocabularies. The prisoners were permitted to add some of their own touches to the play. I listened to the audiobook and I thought that the narrator, R. H. Thomson, did an excellent job with the rapping Caliban and did quite a good job overall. If I see this play again I'll have a whole different view of it.

I received a free copy of the ebook from the publisher however I wound up listening to the audiobook version borrowed from the library.

I am a huge Margaret Atwood fan, so when I saw a new book with her name on it I did not even bother to read what it was about. Who cares? Margaret Atwood could write a software manual and I would read it. Maybe you feel more discerning than me, I'm ok with that. I've read at least half a dozen Atwood books by now, (with more on my to-read pile) including a crazy, ingenious, zombie story on Wattpad, and I have yet to be disappointed.

Hag-Seed continued that trend. Of course, Atwood tackles The Tempest, why not? She is certainly up to the task. I read some of this book (courtesy of NetGalley) and I also listened to the audiobook. I laughed out loud as Atwood weaves a tale of bizarre vengeance and unlikely heroes, which all works toward a strange and perfectly satisfying resolution.

This book is part of the Hogarth Shakespeare collection, which has Shakespeare's plays reimagined by today's celebrated writers, including Anne Tyler, Tracy Chevalier, and Jo Nesbø, among others. Several of these are already on my to-read pile; you should check them out as well.



For Goodreads:

Why I picked it — because I love Margaret Atwood's writing.
Reminded me of… 9th grade Shakespeare studies and also that guy who choreographed the Michael Jackson videos in the Philippine prisons. But maybe that's just me.
For my full review — click here

Honestly, I wanted to love this book. It hit so many notes for me. It's not just any re-telling, but a Shakespeare re-telling... done by Margaret Atwood nonetheless! Unfortunately though, I did not enjoy it. I didn't believe or find myself invested in Felix's plight at all. It seemed like an unnecessary and out-of-this world (in a bad way) revenge plot. It was contrived and trying too hard to be weird.
In fact there were many weird elements to this book: the main character's traits, that way he talks to himself, the structure of the scenes. All of it was just styled poorly and made it feel convoluted. This, above all else, was a huge disappointment because Margaret Atwood is a master. but it felt like her heart wasn't in it.

The plot itself was not in any way riveting. I was bored by Felix's determination to payback his old enemies at the theater, and none of the inmates or other characters left an impression on me. I mean it took me two and a half months to read! The whole thing just dragged and missed the mark and was not as humorous or evocative as it strove to be.

This book wasn't for me, but I suspect I am not the audience for it.

Hag-Seed is the re-telling of Shakespeare's The Tempest by Margaret Atwood and is the fourth novel in the Hogarth Shakespeare project, where a collection of Shakespeares greatest works will be retold by some of today's most acclaimed novelists.

This book follows the same plotline as The Tempest, from exile to retribution, in present-day theater director, Felix, who is ousted from his position and lives in seclusion while plotting his revenge, which comes twelve years later when he takes a job teaching theater in a prison.

It is a quick read and wonderfully written, as is everything that comes from Atwood's desk, but I didn't find myself connecting with the characters as much as I would have liked to. I will note that The Tempest was one of my least-favorite plays by Shakespeare and I didn't care for the characters in that either. Other than that, it was fun to read Atwood's take on this play and I look forward to reading other works from Hogarth.

*I received an advance reading copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.*

I enjoyed Atwood's take on the Tempest, but I'm not certain of its universal appeal.

A fascinating retelling of sorts of The Tempest. Atwood is always a joy to read.

I want to start this review by saying that I love Margaret Atwood's work. Although usually subversive and political in nature, her novels are always beautifully written with strong characters and interesting worlds. I haven't read all of her novels yet, a lofty goal of mine, but I am incredibly impressed by the versatility of Atwood's writing.

Unfortunately, Hag Seed, although beautiful and well written, was a flop for me. The story felt forced and the tale took awhile to come to a close - which could entirely be because it is based on Shakespeare's The Tempest and did not allow for a whole lot of wiggle room for Atwood to work. I don't think this was one of Atwood's best work and will most definitely not top my list of favourite novels of all time, but it was a lovely re-telling of a well studied work. In true Atwood style we see political opinion in this novel (prisons and rehabilitation being one of the minor themes), but the majority of the novel follows our thwarted and revenge thirsty Felix.

Hag Seed: A tale of deceit, revenge, salvation and loss. A wonderfully executed rendition of Shakespeare's The Tempest that perhaps took a little too long to reach it's crescendo, but nevertheless an interesting read.

Felix, having lost his daughter and his beloved job as artistic theatre director of Makeshiweg Theatre Festival, finds himself teaching Literacy Through Theatre to the prisoners at the nearby Burgess Correctional Institution by using "modernized" Shakespeare reenactments to help rehabilitate prisoners. Eventually, Felix's old nemesis visits the theatre and chaos reigns in Felix's attempt to seek revenge. I often felt incredibly sorry for Felix because life really can be that cruel - and even understood his desire for revenge - but I did not condone his methods. Regardless, the tale of the Tempest was amusing, uplifting and creatively re-invented to make a story that, although not Atwood's best, is still wholesomely Atwood.

All-in-all, Hag Seed was worth a read if only to allow me to have interesting conversations with my otherwise literary involved friends. I am not certain I took anything deeply thought provoking from this novel, but it is definitely worth the read for those whole are interested in the more serious literary genre with a splash of humour. The various verses the inmates create to re-work Shakespeare into a more modern language were rather amusing, but could also upset some of the more die hard Shakespeare lovers.

Hag Seed was OK, and that's also okay because at least I have a great book to discuss with my friends who read serious literature because Hag Seed is cognitively accessible to all.

This novel will appeal to readers who enjoy Shakespeare re-tellings and novels about revenge. I would definitely recommend this to those who enjoy serious literary treasures with undercurrents of the political. I also suggest this to those who enjoy Atwood's previous work since there are still elements of "Atwoodization" throughout this modern re-telling - the only downside is it appears the author struggled a bit to fit her personality into such a small, previously structured novel.

I've loved Margaret Atwood's previous work and was excited to read this retelling of The Tempest. I personally wrote a paper in college about reworking The Tempest into a play set within a traditional Muslim family, so this work was especially fascination to me. While I like that Atwood had an interesting retelling, I wasn't really invested in this version. I would suggest readers check out The Penelopiad for a better classical retelling by Atwood.

For me, Margaret Atwood is one of those writers who quietly keeps invading the literary world, transforming fiction and storytelling and leaves an indelible imprint on the reader's soul. I don't seek out her works the way I should (and the way I do for a few other writers) which is why she seems so quiet to me. But of course that's really on me and no one else.

I was drawn to this not only because it's an Atwood novel but because of the Shakespeare theme - the description of this as a re-telling or re-imagining of Shakespeare's <em>The Tempest</em>. When not reading and writing my blog, I work for a Shakespeare festival and have an affection for Shakespeare's works. I applaud any opportunity to bring his stories to a new audience.

Atwood is a remarkable and gifted writer and she takes this story and puts her magic touch on it, bringing it to a very modern world.

The story is about Felix - an artistic director at a major theatre who very suddenly is given the ol' heave-ho and replaced by his assistant. Understandably, Felix is upset and wants to make the theatre regret their decision but finding a way to make a bold, theatrical statement is hard to do without a theatre company.

Felix becomes involved with a program called Literacy Through Theatre where he teaches and stages theatre productions at a local correctional facility (prison). His current production? <em>The Tempest</em>.

In a rather unique manner, Atwood retells the story in multiple layers. There is the straight-forward manner of Felix's teaching the story to the inmates, but we also see the parallels of the story to the characters inside Atwood's story. Felix isn't just playing Prospero ... he is a modern Prospero - discarded, lost, looking for revenge. In fact, <em>all</em> the characters are the characters that they are portraying in some way. It's a brilliant bit of writing.

I can't say that I've ever seen <em>The Tempest</em> where I felt so connected to the characters as much as I did with this book, and I feel I've seen some very good productions.

One small touch that I just loved was the idea that Felix presented to his inmate cast - that they could not swear during their rehearsals unless they did so using Shakespeare's words.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read and can be enjoyed on so many different levels. It is highly recommended.

Looking for a good book? <em>Hag-Seed</em> shows why Margaret Atwood is a true powerhouse as a writer and why Shakespeare's plays are still relevant to us today.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Felix is a much-revered director who is ready to present his vision of The Tempest at the Makeshiweg Festival. But his devious assistant convinces the board to fire him, so he can take Felix's place as artistic director. Felix descends into depression and isolation with only his imagined daughter Miranda. Years later, he takes a job teaching Literacy through Literature at the Fletcher County Correctional Institute. Felix teaches the inmates about Shakespeare, with the goal of finally bringing his Tempest production to life. And maybe in the process, he can finally get revenge against the men who ruined his career.

As an English and Theatre major in college, I am very familiar with The Tempest. It must be difficult to re-imagine a classic play that is so beloved by so many people, but Margaret Atwood is an excellent choice for the job. While this story is not a direct update of its source material, there are obvious parallels; Felix is reeling from loss and betrayal and he deeply loves his daughter Miranda, although in this version, she has been dead for many years.

I would have read a Margaret Atwood story about a man's fall from grace and the power of the arts all on its own, but finding all of the ways the story references and intersects with its source material makes a great reading experience a lot of fun too. We even get to imagine what happened after the final words of the play. Felix is committed to teaching the inmates just how much Shakespeare has to say about their lives, explaining that the play they will perform is all about power and prisons. As Felix watches his cast experience The Tempest, we see that even the most seasoned of Shakespeare performers and scholars can find new things each time they open the text. As we read Hag-Seed, whether it's our first time with Propsero or the fiftieth, we have that chance to discover it anew too.



Hag-Seed is a part of Hogarth's collection of Shakespeare re-tellings. Here are my thoughts on Vinegar Girl, a retelling of Taming of the Shrew.

Hag-Seed
By Margaret Atwood
Hogarth October 2011
301 pages
Read via Netgalley