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Rough Magic
Follow the interwoven stories of two girls and one woman, their lives all tied to the enigmatic figure of Caliban, the character first introduced by Shakespeare in The Tempest, his famous play of love, loyalty and magic. Rough Magic forms both prequel and sequel, telling the stories of the sorceress Sycorax, Caliban's mother; Miranda's daughter Chiara, who becomes like a daughter to Caliban; and Calypso, a magical young woman with ties to them all. All three women must fight against a world that sees magic as evil and uses women as political pawns. Finally, it is the island and its power that draws them all back, demanding amends from the humans who have exploited its natural wonders. A magical story that combines an old-fashioned tale of shipwrecks, adventure and sacrifice, with an inspiring message of the earth's power and our environmental responsibility.
Caryl Cude Mullin grew up on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, and as a result developed an abiding fascination with islands and odd characters. She now lives in Montreal, Quebec, where she works as a teacher and writer.
Caryl Cude Mullin grew up on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, and as a result developed an abiding fascination with islands and odd characters. She now lives in Montreal, Quebec, where she works as a teacher and writer.
266 pages, Paperback
First published October 28, 2009
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About the author
Caryl Cude Mullin
2 books2 followersCaryl Cude Mullin grew up in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. She currently lives in Montreal where she works as a teacher, a writer, and an actor.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 18, 2012
Reviewed by Cat for TeensReadToo.com
Forget everything you know about THE TEMPEST, 'cause Caryl Cude Mullin's ROUGH MAGIC ain't your mama's Shakespeare.
Born of a corrupt king and power-hungry sorceress queen, raised in complete isolation on an island stripped of its magic, Caliban - previously portrayed as a nonsensical, gibbering rapist - takes center stage. In contrast, this Caliban is a quiet, gentle soul, subject to the whims of a magic-maddened mother, angry island spirits, and a pompous, self-important alchemist king.
Caryl Cude Mullin depicts not just the events of William Shakespeare's THE TEMPEST, but the origins of Caliban's mother, his childhood on the island, his subsequent departure as Prospero's servant, and his final return.
Spread out among multiple characters, including Prospero's granddaughter, Chiara, and a mysterious young girl disguised as a boy; the expanded narrative allows for a rich, nuanced exploration that has, until now, been one-dimensional. Ms. Mullin depicts the characters' plights with such sophistication and deft that it's possible to empathize with each one, even the villains.
Books like this are a rare and genuine treat.
Forget everything you know about THE TEMPEST, 'cause Caryl Cude Mullin's ROUGH MAGIC ain't your mama's Shakespeare.
Born of a corrupt king and power-hungry sorceress queen, raised in complete isolation on an island stripped of its magic, Caliban - previously portrayed as a nonsensical, gibbering rapist - takes center stage. In contrast, this Caliban is a quiet, gentle soul, subject to the whims of a magic-maddened mother, angry island spirits, and a pompous, self-important alchemist king.
Caryl Cude Mullin depicts not just the events of William Shakespeare's THE TEMPEST, but the origins of Caliban's mother, his childhood on the island, his subsequent departure as Prospero's servant, and his final return.
Spread out among multiple characters, including Prospero's granddaughter, Chiara, and a mysterious young girl disguised as a boy; the expanded narrative allows for a rich, nuanced exploration that has, until now, been one-dimensional. Ms. Mullin depicts the characters' plights with such sophistication and deft that it's possible to empathize with each one, even the villains.
Books like this are a rare and genuine treat.
August 20, 2009
ROUGH MAGIC will appeal to lovers of ambitious fantasy chronicles, but not those looking for Shakespeare-related literature or well-written characters. Indeed, I was more than disappointed especially as the premise sounded interesting and promised the discussion of issues such as feminism. Unfortunately, it is a poorly written and narratively overdone tale.
ROUGH MAGIC was difficult to swallow because it tried to tell four characters’ stories in the course of about 200 pages. The story moves over several decades and lifetimes; as a result, important, character-defining events are merely glimpses that poke in and out within one chapter, never to be mentioned again. Additionally, nearly every chapter tends to awkwardly explain in flashbacks the life-altering events that occurred since the last chapter. This skipping-stone method of narration ensures that we readers never feel as if there is any action going on, since everything important seems to have happened invisibly between the chapters!
All of the characters are weak because they did not have the time and room within the book to develop. I had immense difficulties connecting with and understanding the motivations of any character, so either vaguely or lumberingly were they when they took up space on the pages. ROUGH MAGIC reads more like an extensive character study of four very different characters rather than an actual story.
That being said, the world that ROUGH MAGIC creates for us is a rough-and-tumble, fantastical one. I enjoyed the idea of the island’s wildness being almost a character in itself. While the enormous task of developing four characters over a period of several dozen years was ultimately unsuccessful, the storyline did bring up a number of interesting “mini-stories” that I would’ve perhaps liked to see in short story format—in particular, Sycorax’s development from reckless sorceress to repressed courtwoman under her husband’s hand.
Unfortunately, ROUGH MAGIC was not very successful in telling a clear and intelligible story, but that doesn’t mean it’s without its attractions. Readers and writers may do well in considering this book as an example of what not to do with one’s own writing: overly ambitious and directionless saga-stories will drag a perfectly intriguing idea down to its death.
ROUGH MAGIC was difficult to swallow because it tried to tell four characters’ stories in the course of about 200 pages. The story moves over several decades and lifetimes; as a result, important, character-defining events are merely glimpses that poke in and out within one chapter, never to be mentioned again. Additionally, nearly every chapter tends to awkwardly explain in flashbacks the life-altering events that occurred since the last chapter. This skipping-stone method of narration ensures that we readers never feel as if there is any action going on, since everything important seems to have happened invisibly between the chapters!
All of the characters are weak because they did not have the time and room within the book to develop. I had immense difficulties connecting with and understanding the motivations of any character, so either vaguely or lumberingly were they when they took up space on the pages. ROUGH MAGIC reads more like an extensive character study of four very different characters rather than an actual story.
That being said, the world that ROUGH MAGIC creates for us is a rough-and-tumble, fantastical one. I enjoyed the idea of the island’s wildness being almost a character in itself. While the enormous task of developing four characters over a period of several dozen years was ultimately unsuccessful, the storyline did bring up a number of interesting “mini-stories” that I would’ve perhaps liked to see in short story format—in particular, Sycorax’s development from reckless sorceress to repressed courtwoman under her husband’s hand.
Unfortunately, ROUGH MAGIC was not very successful in telling a clear and intelligible story, but that doesn’t mean it’s without its attractions. Readers and writers may do well in considering this book as an example of what not to do with one’s own writing: overly ambitious and directionless saga-stories will drag a perfectly intriguing idea down to its death.
May 22, 2011
Love, power and revenge form the basis of the various relationships in this story. The love of a parent for a child, the quest for the ultimate power over all, and the revenge for perceived wrongs. Caught up in all of this from the moment he was conceived is Caliban. Son of a great sorceress, who herself succumbed to her endless quest for power.
After the death of his mother, Caliban grows to adulthood isolated on the remote island on which he was born. He lives there un-eventfully for about ten years when the unlikely happens. Two others are purposefully stranded there. During the next ten years, Caliban learns much from Prospero and his daughter Miranda.
This story is inspired by the Shakespeare play The Tempest which I have not read nor am I familiar with the plot. This book sat on my shelf for the longest time. I would pick it up and read the back cover and stop when it said that it was inspired by a book I hadn't read, and I would put it back on my shelf. Finally, I decided this was ridiculous and I started reading. I was worried for nothing. This story is understandable and enjoyable without knowing any back story. I quickly grew to enjoy Caliban and even looked forward to reading time so I could find out more about him. Later in the story when we are introduced to Chiara, Miranda's daughter, I couldn't wait to see how Caliban and Chiara developed their parent/child or teacher/student relationship. Now that I have finished this story, I do want to read The Tempest and compare how these stories are alike and where they diverge.
After the death of his mother, Caliban grows to adulthood isolated on the remote island on which he was born. He lives there un-eventfully for about ten years when the unlikely happens. Two others are purposefully stranded there. During the next ten years, Caliban learns much from Prospero and his daughter Miranda.
This story is inspired by the Shakespeare play The Tempest which I have not read nor am I familiar with the plot. This book sat on my shelf for the longest time. I would pick it up and read the back cover and stop when it said that it was inspired by a book I hadn't read, and I would put it back on my shelf. Finally, I decided this was ridiculous and I started reading. I was worried for nothing. This story is understandable and enjoyable without knowing any back story. I quickly grew to enjoy Caliban and even looked forward to reading time so I could find out more about him. Later in the story when we are introduced to Chiara, Miranda's daughter, I couldn't wait to see how Caliban and Chiara developed their parent/child or teacher/student relationship. Now that I have finished this story, I do want to read The Tempest and compare how these stories are alike and where they diverge.
January 18, 2011
An interesting take on Shakespeare's "The Tempest"--although I know only vaguely the plot of the original; I haven't read it--and because it's a quick read, it manages to pull you in. The characters all have their strengths and faults, and Mullin manages to make you feel for all of them, even the supposed "bad" characters (in Mullin's version, not Shakespeare's). It's not a deep book, but it's a good way to pass the weekend.
June 21, 2020
This is a YA fantasy that spans multiple generations, all of them important to each other and none that could be glossed over without missing some essential element of the tale as a whole. Not an easy task to accomplish, yet Caryl Mullin carries it off with grace and style.
The GoodReads description, I find, does not do this novel justice. With mentions of “earth’s power” and “evironmental responsibility”, one could almost expect a book filled with heavy-handed preaching and obvious neo-pagan elements. That isn’t what you’ll find in this novel. This isn’t a, “clean up the world or we’ll all suffer later,” book of doom and gloom, but rather an engaging story that happens to have strong elements of, “one of the last places in which magic freely exists is dying because people arew fallible and we made some serious mistakes.” It isn’t heavy-handed. It is done beautifully, which makes that message far more enjoyable to see and tolerable to hear.
Because let’s face it, nobody really enjoys being preached at.
This book will also be a treat for anybody who enjoys seeing strong female characters in the media. From a powerful sorceress to a girl who’s just so very competant and forthright that you can’t help but like her, this book puts women in the spotlight and does it with flair, but doesn’t relegate males to the background as completely unimportant to the plot. Both sides of the gender coin get their fair and wonderful treatment.
A page-turner from beginning to end! This is one book that I’m proud to recommend to just about everybody!
(Book received in exchange for an honest review.)
The GoodReads description, I find, does not do this novel justice. With mentions of “earth’s power” and “evironmental responsibility”, one could almost expect a book filled with heavy-handed preaching and obvious neo-pagan elements. That isn’t what you’ll find in this novel. This isn’t a, “clean up the world or we’ll all suffer later,” book of doom and gloom, but rather an engaging story that happens to have strong elements of, “one of the last places in which magic freely exists is dying because people arew fallible and we made some serious mistakes.” It isn’t heavy-handed. It is done beautifully, which makes that message far more enjoyable to see and tolerable to hear.
Because let’s face it, nobody really enjoys being preached at.
This book will also be a treat for anybody who enjoys seeing strong female characters in the media. From a powerful sorceress to a girl who’s just so very competant and forthright that you can’t help but like her, this book puts women in the spotlight and does it with flair, but doesn’t relegate males to the background as completely unimportant to the plot. Both sides of the gender coin get their fair and wonderful treatment.
A page-turner from beginning to end! This is one book that I’m proud to recommend to just about everybody!
(Book received in exchange for an honest review.)
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January 27, 2017Rough Magic is about a girl named Sycorax who was born with powerful magic.When she turns 18 she gets married and has a daughter.Later on in the story she falls in love with another man who her dad has kept prisoner.Sycorax ends up running away with him and leaves her daughter behind.
Overall i did not think the book was good.It had too many characters too keep up with. Her plot took too long to get into. In my opinion Caryl Cude Mullin does not do a great job at introducing the plot. She takes to long to introduce the plot and it may cause her to lose readers. In the book some of her characters have flashbacks but after they end she moves onto a different part of the characters life. Personally i did not enjoy how she did that. I thought it was too confusing at times. Although her plot may not be the best she does make up for it by how detail she puts into the story. In the book Caryl describes a scene where Sycorax is in a room where she keeps all her potions and magic related things. She perfectly describes how each of her potions smell so differently along with the colors of them. She paints a great vivid picture of how the potions smell and look. In addition i feel that i can relate this book to many real life examples. In the book Sycorax is constantly using her magic to protect someone that doesn’t really care for her and treats her poorly because she thinks he loves her. In the news i’ve seen how badly women get abused by their significant others yet they don’t turn them in in fear that something bad might happen to them. To conclude i would not recommend the book because of how long it took to get into the plot. It does have some positives sides to it. I wouldn't recommend it to people who quickly lose interest in books, but if you do like well detailed books and don’t mind the slow plot then you should give it a try.
January 4, 2011
While I hate to admit it, I've never read Shakespeare's The Tempest, (*hangs head in shame*) so I can't comment on this story from that perspective. However, I freely admit that Shakespeare was always somewhat complex, confusing, and (*gasp*) too boring to keep my attention. All that poetic mumbo jumbo and "Shakespearean" English was hard to follow when his works were introduced to me in high-school; I never did try any of his works again...erm, I mean yet!
Rough Magic is quite an interesting story. With a multi-faceted storyline spanning 3 generations, readers will find themselves in the company of witches and kings, princesses and sorcerers, mermaids and dragons. WOW! What a line up!
While I found Rough Magic to be an entertaining read, I am not certain Young Adult readers will find the same level of enjoyment. With all due respect to Mullins, I fear that many young readers will find this particular novel a little too complex. While Mullins is most obviously a talented artist whose writing is well “attempted”, her narration is still raw and I found there to be some "difficult patches”. Throughout this story, there are points of anger, deceit, and brooding that this reader found to be a wee bit of a turn off. Not enough to make me want to set the book aside, yet enough to make the reading experience not entirely comfortable, either.
Additionally, readers may find some parts of Rough Magic to be a little “over-worked” and other parts lacking in foundation. I truly believe there is an amazing tale hidden amongst the pages, unfortunately there is also too much effort required sift through the excess to get to the heart of the story.
Rough Magic is quite an interesting story. With a multi-faceted storyline spanning 3 generations, readers will find themselves in the company of witches and kings, princesses and sorcerers, mermaids and dragons. WOW! What a line up!
While I found Rough Magic to be an entertaining read, I am not certain Young Adult readers will find the same level of enjoyment. With all due respect to Mullins, I fear that many young readers will find this particular novel a little too complex. While Mullins is most obviously a talented artist whose writing is well “attempted”, her narration is still raw and I found there to be some "difficult patches”. Throughout this story, there are points of anger, deceit, and brooding that this reader found to be a wee bit of a turn off. Not enough to make me want to set the book aside, yet enough to make the reading experience not entirely comfortable, either.
Additionally, readers may find some parts of Rough Magic to be a little “over-worked” and other parts lacking in foundation. I truly believe there is an amazing tale hidden amongst the pages, unfortunately there is also too much effort required sift through the excess to get to the heart of the story.
October 11, 2012
Carol Cude Mullin’s epic novel told in five acts and spanning the lifetimes of Sycorax, her son, and her granddaughter, is inspired by Shakespeare’s ‘Tempest’. As a child, princess Sycorax was mostly ignored until it was realized she was the most powerful magic user ever known and thought to be the kingdom’s protector. As her live progresses, with magic she murders her first husband, abandons her child, and escape to a new land to marry a new King. Her new husband quickly grows to distrust her and her magic until she and their unborn son are abandoned to an isolated, uncharted island. After the birth of her son, Caliban, her anger rages and power grows as she binds herself to the island in order to gain magic. After years of unbridled power on the island, she dies, leaving Caliban to continue on the island alone. A man and his child come to the island, taking the islands power and enslaving Caliban. Years later when rescued, the man takes Caliban with him to civilization where Caliban never quite fits in, but ends up growing close and father-like to the man’s grand-daughter, Chiara. Years later, to save Chiara from an arranged marriage, the Caliban and Chiara escape to the island, only to find the island dying and requiring desperate measures on their part. This is a beautiful, horrific, heart-breaking, and heart-warming story which brings intrigue, love, despair, magic, evil, drama, hate, hope, and suspense in every chapter. This is one ambitious and heroic tale worth reading.
February 24, 2012
W.T.F? That's pretty much how I felt about this book. I may have understood it better if my knowledge of the Tempest was better but I'm not sure. The book speaks in about four or five distinct voices, and kills some of those voices off, and spans about three generations, so you never really know what's going on. Big passages of time disappear and relationships never really get the chance to form. No one is really likeable and I pretty much didn't care about anybody. That's pretty rare for me. Even though the plot was interesting, I would not recommend this book to anybody.
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September 26, 2013I started this book but did not have enough interest to finish it. I am sorry to say I did not find any characters to connect with and the loose story surrounding them was not anything I wanted to spend more time reading.
January 14, 2012
I thought that this book was okay, but it has a sad ending.
February 17, 2014
Same characters as in Shakespeare's The Tempest, COMPLETELY different storyline. Worth the read.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews