Reviews with content warning for Pregnancy - Hamnet & Judith

Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Hamnet & Judith by Maggie O'Farrell

165 reviews

theliterarylayla's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book is a work of art.

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knitreadkate's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I found it difficult during the first 10-15% of the book to settle into the world and its characters.

After this, I was engrossed and stayed up too late to finish the book.
The writing style was something I was not used to, omniscient narration that can swap from one characters view to another by a paragraph. After a short time, I really enjoyed it and found it easy to read.

I found the writing so descriptive. I was there in the cookhouse or the garden, I could picture the rooms, the markets, the gardens. I enjoyed the focus on Agnes and her children.

I was absolutely heart broken when Hamnet drew his last breath and couldn’t tear myself away from Agnes’ pain.

I enjoyed the artistic trail of thought of the characters minds, mulling over every option of thought and following their trail of thinking to me felt like I was with the character.

I remember very little of the Shakespeare I had learned in high school and read this book without k ow much of the historical background or what the time period was like.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and hope to read more from Maggie O’Farrell.

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laguerrelewis's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book deserves all its praise. Maggie O’Farrell manages to use the true life of the Hathaways/Shakespeares to craft a beautiful tale of love, grief, mourning, connection, potential, and remembrances. Her prose rolls ever forward like a cool stream, turning over every rock in its path but still brimming with energy and momentum. Simultaneously both one of easiest flowing reads I’ve encountered, and one of the most heart-wrenching. A rewarding read I think I’ll be returning to frequently, and a great way to close out my year.

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schorlett's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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meremeth's review against another edition

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sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Best consumed with haste!
The book spoils what will happen from the start (which, not denying that's a good choice because everyone knows what happens to Hamlet). This kind of made the middle of the book drag a little for me because you're just waiting for it to happen. Loved the writing style, loved the character of Agnes, but did struggle to get through the middle. Lots of baby content.

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