What a delight! I found this book absolutely charming. Before I began, I flipped to the back and read the synopsis of the original Shakespeare play and I highly recommend that to anyone taking on this book. It really helped me to draw parallels and meaning from the story. 

Hag-Seed is the story of Felix, a man renowned for his artistic directing. When he's dethroned from his position in the Makeshiweg Theatre Festival however, he finds himself living in self-imposed exile in a hill-side hovel. When an opportunity to direct arises again, he can't help but take it, even if it is in a correctional facility. With the help of his inmate students, Felix plans to put on the show of his life, and maybe exact some revenge while he's at it. 

Margaret Atwood is an absolute star. This is the first book of hers that I've read, but believe me when I say it won't be the last. She's won me over. Her prose, which had just hints of Shakespeare thrown in for good measure, was absolutely gorgeous and drew you in without too much effort. Felix's internal monologues are essential and incredibly done, linking each piece of the story together masterfully. It's a fresh take on a classic that I feel brings the story even more to life. The fact that they are performing The Tempest in a retelling of the The Tempest blew my mind in the best way possible. 

On a side note, the use of inmates would, in any other scenario, have made for a story strewn with curses. Cleverly, Felix only allows his students to use swears that they find in the play, which made for some hilarious banter laden with Shakespearean swearing and was just so fun. 5 stars to Miss Atwood for that addition, probably my favorite part :) 

p.s. There were 14 f-bombs, despite Felix's rule (believe me, it could have been much worse) and a variety of other swears that were present, but not plentiful (though sh** was a particular favorite). Tits was also used 5-6 times, which was maybe just a couple times too many; I tend to be overly sensitive about those kinds of things though. However, it was never used in a vulgar kind of way, in my opinion.

If you'd like to learn more about Hag-Seed or get a copy of your own, click here.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.