Caliban's Hour (1994)

It's a long time since I read The Tempest, which didn't help my reading of this -- in the end, I quickly looked it up on wikipedia, which helps. It's a story best understood as a companion to the play, I think. It's well-written -- the descriptions are lovely -- but you have to know what Tad Williams was responding to, to really understand what he was trying to do. I think he succeeds in questioning the actions and attitudes of Miranda and her father, and in making Caliban an interesting, sympathetic character. The most implausible thing about it is how articulate Caliban is, all things considered.

I really love the ending, actually, that offers both hope to Caliban and Miranda's daughter, while leaving Miranda despairing -- and the way she does repent of what she did/how she acted. ( )

In the tradition of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern is Dead, this book is a re-telling of Shakespeare by a minor character. In this case, it is a retelling of The Tempest by the Shakespearean sidenote of Caliban, part of the comic relief in The Tempest. The book opens with a confrontation between Caliban and a now-middle-aged Miranda in her castle in Naples. He threatens to kill her after he spends one hour telling him his full story and explaining how she and her father ruined his life. Caliban tells her in his own words about his early childhood on the island with his mother, Sycorax, and describes the arrival of Prospero and Miranda and how their appearance changed his life.

Williams takes Caliban from being the butt of a joke to a thinking, feeling human being who was deeply wronged by the two protagonists of The Tempest. Williams prose is rich and detailed enough to satisfy most readers and in the end, he presents Shakespeare's version with this brief line: We arrived at the house on the hillside at least, to discover the game was played, the story told, and we three by comic afterthoughts..

People familiar with the story would probably appreciate this book more than those with no prior knowledge of The Tempest. ( )

As a Tad William’s fan of many years, I was excited to have the opportunity to read Caliban’s Hour. The book was gifted to me by Tad’s wonderful wife Deborah Beale who I have corresponded with on Facebook. She took the time to critique my poetry which I appreciated very much. They have decided to jump on the e-book train with the reissue of Caliban’s Hour to digital format.
Another take on “The Tempest” by Shakespeare, the story is told from Caliban’s perspective. Tad Williams delivers a masterful story retelling that pulls you into the mind of Caliban. I was pulled into the story immediately with the intricate descriptions of people and places. You feel as if you are immersed in Caliban’s world and see reality from his perspective.
The story begins with Caliban’s journey from his island to the darkly rich landscape of Naples, Miranda’s & Prospero’s world. Here he again meets up with Miranda, an unwitting victim of Caliban’s revenge. He proceeds to tell her his story and why he comes to be there. You soon learn that love turns to hate, and that they both merge to complete the cycle of vengeance.
I couldn’t help but find myself on Caliban’s side and felt that he was an unwitting victim to circumstance. I applauded his reasons for doing what he does in the end.
If you are a fan of Tad, this is a must read. His world building skills and descriptions do exactly as a good story should. He pulls you into the character’s heart and soul and leaves you wanting more.
I gave this masterpiece a 5 star rating as it did exactly as it should and allowed me to escape into Caliban’s world. ( )

I adore Ron Perlman. And Ron Perlman's voice is one huge reason I adore Ron Perlman. His performance in this was beautiful. In places, this was not fun, and the only saving grace was that voice.

Add to Ron Perlman and Tad Williams the conceit that this is a sequel of sorts to Shakespeare's Tempest, and this ought to have been heaven.

Well...

Full review here: http://agoldoffish.wordpress.com/2011/06/30/calibans-hour-tad-williams/ ( )

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. ( )