Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

735 reviews

wolfsong12's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Outstanding 😍

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benegesserwitch's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0


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szuum's review against another edition

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emotional 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? Yes

4.75


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nicolebobby's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

“Do you know that this is the foremost reason I love you… That you see the world as no one else does.”

Be forewarned that this review is essentially a love letter to Maggie O’Farrell. How incredible must your writing be to hook a reader when we already know the ending? The boys dies, you know this going in, and yet, you are an enraptured visitor, passing through history, through lives and deaths and everything in between.

The distinct characters, as real as flesh and bone, and ease of which we switch point of view, sometimes from chapter to chapter other times from paragraph to paragraph, are literary feats that few authors really master. However, it’s the beautifully raw descriptions of grief, varying from person to person, that is the real celebration of this novel. It broke my heart but I would gladly have it broken again by Maggie O’Farrell.



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gabefiction's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

Despite the titular name, the true main character shines through Agnes, the remarkably irrepressible wife of Shakespeare and mother to Hamnet. The interchanging timelines, oscillating between past and present, created an emotional and striking depiction of love, grief, family, and ambition. 

The last couple chapters absolutely wrecked me, I had to pause and put down the book before pressing on, mainly because tears were making it difficult to read. Dealing with death and its aftermath in all its raw vividness was tough. My only gripe is that there were more of Hamnet’s perspective to saturate the narrative, it would’ve added even more emotional depth to an already great story. 

This was profoundly sad, beautiful, and an easy 4.5 stars for me!


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cigarete_smoke's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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itsredandread's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75


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sarahallez's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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shellydennison's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Beautifully written, poignant and moving.

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rikkegstokke's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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