PositiveThe Chicago Review of BooksFridlund’s novel is compelling and deliberate. Tension is seeded throughout the narrative at just the right intervals, even though the incident at the core of the novel—the death of young Paul Gardner—is known from page two. The mystery surrounding Paul’s death does its work to pull the reader along, but Linda and her longing is our focal point ... Christian Science’s influence in History of Wolves is great enough that it’s apparent in the story’s structure, as well as in Linda’s choice to approach the worlds of both science and health. It is a minor thread, but one that could have been used to greater effect, allowing us to better answer the question of Linda’s future ... With this beautiful debut novel, Fridlund proves herself as a talent to watch.
Margaret Atwood
MixedThe Chicago Review of BooksUnfortunately, Margaret Atwood plays it incredibly safe in Hag-Seed ... Hag-Seed is almost painfully predictable. Felix’s dissection of the play for his students, and Atwood’s readers, leaves little to uncover in the reading of the story, ultimately letting the air out of the more climactic moments ... Despite the simplicity of Atwood’s retelling, there are secrets left to be discovered. Readers looking for Atwood’s wit and mastery of language will find it at work here. It’s a shame we don’t see a reach for something more groundbreaking in Hag-Seed, though perhaps that’s not what we look for in reinventions of Shakespeare, and Atwood more than does justice to the Bard.
