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A review by karis321
Sycorax: a captivating reimagining of Shakespeare's most powerful witch by Nydia Hetherington
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
~~Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the ARC!~~
I'm really sorely lacking in my Shakespeare knowledge, but I was still drawn to read this because the premise sounded really good. My expectations tend to work against me, because I just thought this was okay.
The writing is definitely Hetherington's biggest strength. The prose was very lyrical and flowed like the sea whenever the plot called for somber moments or the most tumultuous ones. It almost felt lifted straight from Shakespeare's pen himself.
Sycorax is a pretty strong character, too. In the face of sexism and fear of her knowledge and powers, she takes it all in stride, all while battling an auto-immune disease. The author spoke of the personal stake she had in writing this, as she was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and had to deal with a lot of misogyny while she was seeking treatment. That experience definitely reflects much of Sycorax's struggle through a lot of the book, but it doesn't define her, whatsoever. The parts I enjoyed most with her are those she shared with her old widow friend Yemma, who is delightfully chaotic and an amazing friend to the main character.
The reason why I didn't rate this higher was because I found the story to be too long. Despite the pretty writing, it got repetitive and lengthy a lot of the time, especially whenever Sycorax was alone and was having internal reflections. Those bits bored me and took my enjoyment away from the story.
All in all, for someone who hasn't read The Tempest yet, I still think this is a good reimagining of an unseen, but vital, character. People who love the play may get a lot more joy from this novel than me, but all for the best, really.
I'm really sorely lacking in my Shakespeare knowledge, but I was still drawn to read this because the premise sounded really good. My expectations tend to work against me, because I just thought this was okay.
The writing is definitely Hetherington's biggest strength. The prose was very lyrical and flowed like the sea whenever the plot called for somber moments or the most tumultuous ones. It almost felt lifted straight from Shakespeare's pen himself.
Sycorax is a pretty strong character, too. In the face of sexism and fear of her knowledge and powers, she takes it all in stride, all while battling an auto-immune disease. The author spoke of the personal stake she had in writing this, as she was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and had to deal with a lot of misogyny while she was seeking treatment. That experience definitely reflects much of Sycorax's struggle through a lot of the book, but it doesn't define her, whatsoever. The parts I enjoyed most with her are those she shared with her old widow friend Yemma, who is delightfully chaotic and an amazing friend to the main character.
The reason why I didn't rate this higher was because I found the story to be too long. Despite the pretty writing, it got repetitive and lengthy a lot of the time, especially whenever Sycorax was alone and was having internal reflections. Those bits bored me and took my enjoyment away from the story.
All in all, for someone who hasn't read The Tempest yet, I still think this is a good reimagining of an unseen, but vital, character. People who love the play may get a lot more joy from this novel than me, but all for the best, really.