Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

77 reviews

_maia3_'s review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.25

I have very mixed feelings about this novel.

On one hand, despite what many have said, I actually enjoyed the flowery prose (even if the plot did move slowly from time to time), and the drama of the novel is well-developed. It's definitely a vibes-over-plot book, but I don't tend to mind that, and enjoyed the small historical details the novel had to offer. The flashbacks in the first half are well-executed and tension is kept measured throughout. O'Farrell writes poignantly on love and grief, especially the effects it has on different people.

On the other, I was and still am very conflicted about the fictionalisation of real people, especially when they are as 1) iconic and 2) scant with historical evidence as Anna Hathaway, her children, and William Shakespeare. The ending was the worst offender I feel, as even though the story wrapped up satisfyingly, it felt lukewarm given the knowledge that most of us have going into the novel - this is Shakespeare. Named or not, this novel exists as a comment on his legacy somehow, and I don't know how to marry it with my enjoyment of the novel.

That is to say however that I did, in fact, enjoy the novel - a lot of these are personal gripes that will probably not impact others. This is a good piece of historical fiction that I would happily recommend, but not for those who are looking for anything concrete or definitive on the Shakespeares, as, as O'Farrell herself puts it, the novel is a product of her own "idle speculation".

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse and Misogyny

Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, and Animal death

lizzym126's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pregnancy, Grief, and Child death

Moderate: Medical content, Animal death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

Minor: Infidelity

heini's review against another edition

mysterious sad slow-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Sexual content, and Alcoholism

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

celey's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-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

5.0

Incredible. The writing positively shimmers. The emotional journeys are raw and real. A slight element of supernatural forces kept me guessing. I will be thinking about this book for a long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Grief, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Death of parent, Confinement, Medical content, Gore, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Body horror

Minor: Infidelity, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Sexual content

Many challenging topics and ideas are explored in this book. It is all done very thoughtfully.

natmorrall's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Minor: Sexual content

daniellekat's review against another edition

emotional 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

2.5

The writing was too much…too descriptive, too elaborate, too boring. I wished I enjoyed this more but it was a tough one to get through. The author is a talented writer but the power and emotion of the prose was lost for me because every sentence held so much detail. Overall the story was compelling and the author told it through an interesting lens but this was not for me. I can understand the draw and attention this has gotten but if lyrically written character books are not your thing, skip this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child death, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Bullying and Sexism

Minor: Infidelity, Death of parent, and Sexual content

Birth/labour Plague

c_serpent's review against another edition

emotional sad 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? Yes

5.0

This is a novel about grief and loss and absence. It is not about Hamnet so much as it is about his mother, Agnes.

It is beautiful. It is beautiful. It is beautiful.

Total score: 5/5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Infidelity and Sexual content

rosenau's review against another edition

emotional informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, War, Death, Grief, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child abuse, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Physical abuse

Minor: Miscarriage, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Sexual content

telcontar's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Sexual content

lesbosbookworm's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual content