exlibrisbitsy's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve been on a bit of a Shakespeare kick recently and so I was surprised to stumble across this book, Caliban’s Hour by one of my favorite authors Tad Williams. It is a short novella written from the point of view of Caliban giving his history and version of events from the play The Tempest. For those familiar with his work his novels tend to be on the longish side, and so to read a book only 200 pages long was interesting to say the least. Especially since the entire book is just a single night with Caliban cornering Prospero’s daughter Miranda and pouring out his whole life story with the intent of killing her at the end, but first making her understand why.
It was fascinating to read about Caliban's past as a child growing up with a mute mother on an abandoned island seamlessly woven into his story within the confines of the play. Even that though was redone from this new point of view. Caliban is not nearly as sinister as he would be portrayed and how could he be when before Prospero and Miranda had arrived he had never seen another human being aside from his mother and couldn't even speak? The new explanation of what really happened at that island was a very interesting reinterpretation of the tale.
I do think that if you have not read or seen The Tempest then this book might be a little confusing especially towards the end. As the play nears its climax the slow and methodical pace of the book speeds up incredibly to the point where the things that happened seemed too fantastical to be believed. It robbed the point of view of some of its credibility.
The book's ending though, which takes place years after the close of the play, was very well done and that saved this book for me. A note on the cover though, disregard it completely. It is not what it looks like at all and I'm sure some fans of Shakespeare and fantasy were scared away from what is really a fantastic book. The publisher did this book a great disservice by slapping a trashy romance novel cover on this book. If it wasn't for the familiar name (and I actually did wonder if it was the Tad Williams and had to check myself) I would not have bothered to pick up this book at all. I'm glad I did though.
It was fascinating to read about Caliban's past as a child growing up with a mute mother on an abandoned island seamlessly woven into his story within the confines of the play. Even that though was redone from this new point of view. Caliban is not nearly as sinister as he would be portrayed and how could he be when before Prospero and Miranda had arrived he had never seen another human being aside from his mother and couldn't even speak? The new explanation of what really happened at that island was a very interesting reinterpretation of the tale.
I do think that if you have not read or seen The Tempest then this book might be a little confusing especially towards the end. As the play nears its climax the slow and methodical pace of the book speeds up incredibly to the point where the things that happened seemed too fantastical to be believed. It robbed the point of view of some of its credibility.
The book's ending though, which takes place years after the close of the play, was very well done and that saved this book for me. A note on the cover though, disregard it completely. It is not what it looks like at all and I'm sure some fans of Shakespeare and fantasy were scared away from what is really a fantastic book. The publisher did this book a great disservice by slapping a trashy romance novel cover on this book. If it wasn't for the familiar name (and I actually did wonder if it was the Tad Williams and had to check myself) I would not have bothered to pick up this book at all. I'm glad I did though.
jdhobbes's review against another edition
4.0
I love the idea of Shakespearean fanfiction, and have to respect any author brave enough to try it. I admit that The Tempest was never one of my more favorite plays, however, and I don't remember a lot of the details from it, so I may be missing the full flavor of this book.
That being said, I still enjoyed Caliban's Hour immensely. Tad Williams took a well-known villain, a literal monster, and turned him into a sympathetic character. Parts of his story are truly heart-breaking.
One of my favorite things about this book, however, is how Williams talks about words and language. Caliban had no concept of language or names before Prospero taught him, and the way Caliban describes this transition of understanding is quite spectacular. In the light of a Shakespearean character (when Shakespeare himself was such a pioneer of language), I think this theme is especially meaningful and I just love the handling of it.
That being said, I still enjoyed Caliban's Hour immensely. Tad Williams took a well-known villain, a literal monster, and turned him into a sympathetic character. Parts of his story are truly heart-breaking.
One of my favorite things about this book, however, is how Williams talks about words and language. Caliban had no concept of language or names before Prospero taught him, and the way Caliban describes this transition of understanding is quite spectacular. In the light of a Shakespearean character (when Shakespeare himself was such a pioneer of language), I think this theme is especially meaningful and I just love the handling of it.
amac_reads's review against another edition
4.0
This work was an interesting interpretation of Shakespeare's The Tempest from Caliban's point of view. Prospero was a well-written and believable villain and it was impossible not to feel sympathy towards Caliban after reading this. His reaction/feelings towards Miranda seemed a little unfounded based off of the reasons given, but overall that didn't detract too much from the work.
owlegory's review against another edition
4.0
Basically a retelling of The Tempest from Caliban's pov. It feels like a fun exercise in character voice and development (using a well known character and story, even though there are many plot twists from the original play).
In general, Caliban's voice and perception feels consistent and believable for his experiences. As always, the writing itself is clever and has a few sentences/phrases that really make you stop and think. I'm a fan of Williams' writing in general, and while this felt more stylized like a piece of Renaissance lit, I still enjoyed it. The whole story is clearly a metaphor against colonialism. I take some issue with the way the women are presented, but I can see how Williams is trying to give the daughter agency over her life via the ending.
Overall a quick read and interesting enough that I kept reading if not just to see how it would end.
In general, Caliban's voice and perception feels consistent and believable for his experiences. As always, the writing itself is clever and has a few sentences/phrases that really make you stop and think. I'm a fan of Williams' writing in general, and while this felt more stylized like a piece of Renaissance lit, I still enjoyed it. The whole story is clearly a metaphor against colonialism. I take some issue with the way the women are presented, but I can see how Williams is trying to give the daughter agency over her life via the ending.
Overall a quick read and interesting enough that I kept reading if not just to see how it would end.
bookish_ann's review
1.0
Did not care for the style, the tone, the characters... did not care at all. I liked the premise but found the book itself to be very dull.
audleigh's review against another edition
3.0
I wavered between rating this three or four stars because its more of a three and a half star book. The main reason it loses points is because the narrative was at times plodding and at other times information seemed to come out of nowhere. Overall it was an enjoyable read but lost a few points for editing.
anna_04's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
nelnjali's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
amac_reads's review against another edition
4.0
This work was an interesting interpretation of Shakespeare's The Tempest from Caliban's point of view. Prospero was a well-written and believable villain and it was impossible not to feel sympathy towards Caliban after reading this. His reaction/feelings towards Miranda seemed a little unfounded based off of the reasons given, but overall that didn't detract too much from the work.