[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]
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The Tempest is the last play that Shakespeare wrote by himself. If you have never read Shakespeare or never seen a movie or play by him, you will probably be surprised by this book. The story is full of magic, fairies, and monsters. There is fighting and humor and a little bit of mystery. Everything happens when a great tempest (storm) forces a king, his son, and their comrades onto a mysterious and magical island. The wizard Prospero lives there, and causes all sorts of chaos for the king and his men. However, when you learn about the wizard’s past, you may come to understand his point of view.
Unlike the Shakespeare manga series, this book uses mostly easy to understand modern English. The art is decent, and the whole book is in full color. Because Shakespeare wrote plays, they fit very well with the visual medium of the comic book. Also, as this series is published by an English education company, there is a vocabulary list and interesting information about Shakespeare and the play in the back of the book.
My two cents: I found myself wanting to know more about Caliban’s story as I read. Caliban looks like a monster, but I think you will feel sorry for him and how he is treated.
