Synopsis:
** Longlisted for the Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction **
Selected as a Book of the Year -- Observer, Sunday Times, Times, Guardian, i magazine
‘It’s got a thunderstorm in it. And revenge. Definitely revenge.’
Felix is at the top of his game as Artistic Director of the Makeshiweg Theatre Festival. His productions have amazed and confounded. Now he’s staging a Tempest like no other: not only will it boost his reputation, it will heal emotional wounds.
Or that was the plan. Instead, after an act of unforeseen treachery, Felix is living in exile in a backwoods hovel, haunted by memories of his beloved lost daughter, Miranda. And also brewing revenge.
After twelve years, revenge finally arrives in the shape of a theatre course at a nearby prison. Here, Felix and his inmate actors will put on his Tempest and snare the traitors who destroyed him. It’s magic! But will it remake Felix as his enemies fall?
Margaret Atwood’s novel take on Shakespeare’s play of enchantment, revenge and second chances leads us on an interactive, illusion-ridden journey filled with new surprises and wonders of its own.
Review:
"Riotous, insanely readable and just the best fun... The novel builds to a fantastic climax of dark calamity... There is so much exuberance and heart and wonder in this novel that the only thing I want to happen next is for Atwood to rewrite the whole of Shakespeare. (No offence, Will.)" (Viv Groskop Observer)
"A triumph... The book illuminates the breadth and depth of the whole play. The troupe's workshops on it fizz with perception as Atwood transmits the pleasurable buzz of exploring a literary masterpiece. There won't be a more glowing tribute to Shakespeare in his 400th anniversary year" (Peter Kemp Sunday Times)
"Atwood reinterprets the play as a heartbreaking novel, told in gorgeous yet economical prose" (Editor's Choice New York Times Book Review)
"Surpassingly brilliant... without question the cleverest "neo-Shakespearean novel" I have ever read... the learning and the critical analysis are worn exceptionally lightly, always subordinated to wit, invention, characterisation and slick twists of plot... wonderfully ingenious" (Jonathan Bate The Times)
"An absolute triumph... ravishing... I am not ashamed to say that I didn't just have a lump in my throat by the end of Hag-Seed, I had tears on the fringed curtains of mine eyes" (Stuart Kelly Scotland on Sunday)
"At its heart Hag-Seed is a love letter to Shakespeare and a passionate treatise on the power of language, poetry and the arts. But it is also a study of loss and love and the power of forgiveness to heal when all seemed lost" (Marnie Gilmore Daily Express)
"Atwood never loses sight of the original... Hag-Seed is not only a fine example of the shape-shifting versatility of Shakespeare’s texts, but a successful novel in its own right... Hag-Seed displays Atwood’s inventiveness at its shining best, a novel that enchants on its own terms and returns you to the enchantments of the original" (Rebecca Abrams Financial Times)
"The novel shines a thrilling new light on The Tempest's themes of revenge and forgiveness... as well as making a strong case for art's ability to "set you free" by helping you understand yourself." (Helen Brown Sunday Telegraph)
"An unqualified success... an enlightening and exciting exploration of Shakespeare's themes... A wonderfully intelligent book" (John Harding Daily Mail)
"Margaret Atwood throws a handful of theatrical glittery confetti over Shakespeare's The Tempest ... A compelling tale of a bereaved father -- haunted by the memory of his lost daughter -- who learns to face up to "the plain, unvarnished grime of real life", transforming it into something buoyant, resonant and hopeful" (Eithne Farry Sunday Express)
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