849. Indigo

Indigo
Marina Warner
1992
Around 385 pages

I love Shakespeare, so I'm always excited to read fresh tributes to the guy who apparently used up all the ideas for good stories back in 1610. That being said, The Tempest isn't one of my favorites. 

The plot is based on The Tempest, retold from the perspective of Miranda rather than Prospero. Sycorax lives on a fictional Caribbean island, just before the British, led by Everard, show up. Sycorax is a healer who developed the technology of indigo dyeing. She rescues Dulé, the baby of slaves who had been thrown overboard. The second story follows Everard's descendants, who now live in London. 

So a post colonial work that is written by a white woman, because that's the representation we needed on this List. Of course, it was created with good intentions, but so was that insufferable Imagine video. It wasn't actually that bad, even though the beginning was slow. 

Well-paced, but overly ideological. Fairly forgettable.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts: 

Warner began her career as a staff writer for The Daily Telegraph, before working as Vogue's features editor from 1969 until 1972.

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