Book cover of Hag-Seed

Book description

** 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…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Hag-Seed as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I fell in love with Shakespeare as a college undergrad and was introduced to the incomparable artistry of Margaret Atwood at around the same time. Her novel Hag-Seed (the title is a Shakespearean "curse word") slipped past me somehow. Happily, I rectified that oversight this year.

This book is remarkable for its clever plot, colorful characters, and it's satisfying resolution. Set mainly in a prison, it's based on one of Shakespeare's lesser-staged plays, The Tempest. The book's sly humor made me laugh out loud for real, which is no mean literary feat.

Her book also underscores what an essential…

The chronology of my Shakespeare-era novels hasn’t reached The Tempest, but I love how this novel features a production of the play—in a prison. The relation of the inmates to their roles and the protagonist’s personal crisis give Prospero and his island new life in a setting also set apart from society. I enjoyed how the characters come to realizations about Shakespeare’s play as they rehearse, the goal of my own novels from a different angle. Many spinoffs from Shakespeare use his plot devices, but Atwood relies on The Tempest for her plot. Each ‘best’ novel here reveals new…

From Jinny's list on relating to Shakespeare.

If you love Hag-Seed...

Book cover of Virtual Insanity

Virtual Insanity by Kevin Klehr,

A dystopian tale about Tayler's brush with deadly augmented reality players who are out to kill him, and a wise cracking robot keen to take over the world.

As reviewer Joseph Sullivan from Aurealis magazine wrote, “Virtual Insanity will resonate with readers who enjoy modern takes on science fiction…

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