Hagseed-Margaret Atwood

I fell in love with Margaret Atwood during my English A-levels after studying The Handmaid’s Tale, so I had high expectations for Hagseed, and it did not disappoint.

Hagseed is an amazingly written book about a theatre director; Felix, who has been struck by grief with the death of his wife and three years later his daughter. Felix becomes attached to his production of The Tempest, hoping to resurrect his daughters’ image through the character of Miranda. Unfortunately, his dreams are shattered when he is fired from his job and moves into a small farmhouse in the middle of nowhere.

Years later Felix gets a job at a prison correctional institute, teaching inmates English Literature through Performance Art.

At the start, I was unsure whether this plot would thicken. I had no idea where it was going but I had the inkling it would result in dark revenge. Even though I wasn’t wrong, the book revealed more to me than I ever imagined.

Felix is an unreliable narrator who is chained to his grief, you are left uncertain whether to trust this protagonist. My doubts about Felix manifested during the book as I waited for that moment of darkness which would taint Felix’s reputation.

However, I fell in love with Atwood’s artistic development of Felix, mirroring that of Prospero’s character in The Tempest. The blend of Shakespeare and Atwood is a dream come true.

Hagseed has enlightened me on many perspectives of Shakespeare and life. It is so interesting to be introduced to such marginalised and silenced voices (albeit fictional) on their interpretations of literature.

Overall, Hagseed is a beautifully crafted book. It reflects the importance of perspective and the creativity that derives from imagination, human connection and fictional characters. Whilst also being a humbling and honest story of grief. Constructing Felix’s journey through his pain in a raw and authentic light.

I would definitely give this book a 5/5. As much as I am hard to please this book deeply resonated with me and I was left pondering the storyline and the underlying messages for a long time.