Welcome to BookCrossing! This is a site for catching and releasing books for those who want to share the joy of reading. If you find this book, please leave a journal entry to let previous readers know how and where you found the book. Feel free to do this anonymously if you wish. You are welcome to keep the book, but I encourage you to pass it on and let it continue its journey.

I have chosen this book for the Favourite Book of 2017 Roundabout hosted by dark-draco. It is not just my top book of 2017 but it's possibly my favourite Margaret Atwood book, which is saying a lot, as I've been a long-time fan of Atwood and have read most of her works.

This is a retelling of Shakespeare's The Tempest, featuring a modern-day Prospero setting up his own production of the play. I don't believe it's necessary to have read The Tempest to enjoy the book, as the story stands on its own. However, those familiar with the play will appreciate the way Atwood plays with the themes and characters. This story shows off her brilliant writing and great sense of humour in a book that's not as dark or political as her better known works.

I hope the other members of the roundabout enjoy this book as much as I did!

This book is on its way to Lamilla now!

arrived today, when all hope was lost

ETA: I've rated this book 4.5 stars. The story swept me off my feet! I enjoyed all the scenes set in prison and the break-down of the play. I haven't read The Tempest myself.
The only thing that bothered me was how unrealistic the "revenge" turned out to be. I don't think it would finish any good for Felix in real life.

On the way to earthcaroleanne

You've found a travelling book. Hurray!
The book's journey continues by its finder's cooperation and creativity. By making a journal entry on this book, you can add to the book's story as it travels from reader to reader around the world.
Enjoy your reading!

Привет!
Спасибо, что нашли время зайти на сайт и сделать запись в журнале! Напишите, когда и где вы нашли книгу.
Перед тем, как попасть к Вам, она побывала в других уголках света. История ее путешествий записана на сайте, и теперь к ней добавился еще один пункт. Я очень рада, что она нашла нового читателя в Вашем лице.

Arrived. Unfortunately I've hated every Margaret Atwood book I've read and gave away the rest.

I didn't want to miss reading this as it is someone's favourite book but because of my hatred of anything Margaret Atwood, I borrowed this from the library as an audiobook. I thought it might make reading this more bearable, and it did. In fact the play and songs were probably so much better in audio than reading it but the explanation of the cast went on too long. Other than the "interactive theatre", it was all a bit pointless. After that, I could have finished with the epilogue but we had to get through the team reports and then a retelling of The Tempest. It ruined something I slightly enjoyed.

Sending on in the rounadabout.

Wahoo - one of my favourite authors and one of her books I haven't read yet. Looking forward to it :)

'The Tempest' - one of my favourite Shakespeare plays.
'Atwood' - one of my favourite authors.
So, I was very, very nervous to start reading this, as something that on paper looks perfect for me to read is bound to be a disappointing failure.

I shouldn't have worried .... I loved it!

Felix is such a sad, almost pathetic character - a mad, all powerful man who doesn't see himself in any true light - we've all known, and disliked, people like him. Just like Prospero in the play, you sort of feel that you should feel sorry for him, and yet his personality makes that very hard.

I loved the setting and the imagination it took to write this - if I was asked to modernise the play, I don't think I'd have chosen a prison, but it does make brilliant sense. The actual revenge part of the novel doesn't actually take that long, after all the build-up, and, just as in the original, you're left wondering whether it was all worth it. A lot of effort and some reward, but maybe not what Felix/Prospero was wanting.

A highly enjoyable read - I'm now left wanting to track down the other books in the series.

Sent to the next reader in the roundabout - hope you enjoy it.

Just received today - will start immediately!

I was a bit apprehensive before starting this book, as I am rather reluctant to read any of Shakespeare's work.
English is not my native tongue and his English is very difficult for me to understand, so I was grateful for this book to approach this play with a language of our times...
I enjoyed this book but got a bit lost in the characters names and descriptions.
I also found the revenge had a bittersweet taste, the build-up to it not really levelling with the outcome.

Traveling to Fifna.

Please let us know when you release it again...

Arrived safely, thanks estelle1806 (and for the little extras you included!).

I thought this was a great retelling of The Tempest, although I do wonder whether Felix would really have got away with the whole revenge scheme. The development of the characters of the prisoners could have been given a bit more space - which would have also made it easier to tell them all apart - and the build-up wasn't quite in proportion to the end, but I really liked the story - thanks for sharing!

The book is with me now, thank you Fifna. I usually enjoy Margaret Atwood but I don't know my Shakespeare though. Read and see...

Like Lamilla I enjoyed the scenes set in prison. I had a hard time to get all the character's names though.
Thank you for sharing but without the Shakespeare's background I think it was lost on me.

In the mail to Aramena. Enjoy !

Arrived today!

I've previously read 7 or 8 of Atwood's books, and I loved all of them except Alias Grace. I hadn't come across Hag-Seed before, so I was looking forward to it, despite not really being a Shakespeare fan. And I liked this one, but I didn't love it the way I usually love her books. I'll admit I was unfamiliar with The Tempest. I mean I'd heard of it of course, but didn't really know anything about it. Once Felix began teaching his class in the prison and interacting with his students, it really began to pick up for me. Certainly not my favorite Atwood, but I do look forward to eventually reading more by her.

I have jury duty Monday, so I'm not sure how soon I'll be able to get this mailed out to the next participant, but I'll try to send it on as soon as possible.

I mailed this out last week, Friday I believe, and forgot to journal that it was sent.

NOW IT CAN BE TOLD! When I saw that I'd be sending books to mathgirl40, who has always maintained a top-quality wish list, I checked her home page to see if I had any extra books that could travel with the Roundabout selection. Good thing, too, because I had decided on this book, and then I saw it at the top of her 'Recently Journalled' titles, with the comment that she had chosen it for the Roundabout. So I switched to 'A Tale for the Time Being,' a very close second; in fact, the only deciding factor was that it was a longer, heavier book and would cost more to mail internationally.

Anyway, this arrived safely in Minneapolis today. I look forward to re-reading it and writing a most effusive journal entry about why it deserves ten stars.

It's time to write my Journal Entry so this book will be ready for the winner of the Canadian Literature Sweepstakes, or possibly Gypsysmom's Canada Day Release Challenge.

This book seems to be among the most cleverly plotted that Atwood has ever written. There are more parallels between Prospero and Felix than I realized on first reading; I had the fun of lots of "Aha!" moments on subsequent readings. But the best part, for me, was the analysis of the original play.

I've never had the luxury of spending weeks studying a single Shakespeare play. The idea of Felix leading the discussion about captivity, while in a prison, was brilliant, and I also loved how he challenged the class's understanding of the various characters. The detailed links to the play keep popping up - and blowing my mind. I learned so much about drama, Shakespeare's time, and this particular play, and loved every bit.

Estelle1806, did you enjoy reading about your namesake? When I figured out that there was more going on here than first met the eye, I took a second look at her. And sure enough, I found more. The name 'Estelle' comes from the Latin word 'stella,' star. In Act I, Scene 2 Prospero refers to "a most auspicious star," and Atwood references this on page 131. Estelle is indeed auspicious, always providing him little bits of help and smoothing his path. Moreover, just about every time Estelle appears, Atwood slips in some starlike adjectives: glittery, twinkling, gilded. Truly, Atwood's vocabulary is astronomical! (see how catchy that is?)

And the ending: after the play is completed, Felix, like Prospero, sails away from the scene of the revels. But Estelle, the auspicious star, and 8handz, the newly freed Ariel, sail with him. Now that Felix has finally relinquished his past, is there perhaps a new touch of this rough magic in store for him?

BTW, Earthcaroleanne is absolutely right about this working beautifully as an audiobook. It's really the only way to appreciate the rap songs.

Thank you, mathgirl40, for so generously sharing this amazing book!