Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

100 reviews

butlerebecca's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective 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

Wow

Who knew grief could be written so fucking beautifully? 

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wrenny03's review against another edition

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challenging 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

4.75

Read the last 100 pages in a fugue state of pure agony what the fuck. Its been years since a book made me fucking weep like that.

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m4rtt4's review against another edition

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emotional reflective relaxing sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • 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

5 stars, yet it took me a whole month to finish this book — I wanted to savour it slowly, and I didn't have those special occasions frequently enough when I felt ready to immerse myself in the story. Maggie O'Farrell has such a way with words. I'll never forget this experience.

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sarabookshelf's review against another edition

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

4.5

This is my second Maggie O'Farrell book, and I have to say I enjoyed "Hamnet" more than the "Marriage Portrait".  I feel that all the characters were fleshed out, their relationships and interactions quite realistic, and the storytelling was beautiful. I was worried that reading about 16th century England might be somewhat boring, but it was actually fascinating. The magical aspects of the book were spell-binding, and I particularly liked the witchyness and magical qualities of Agnes' character, as well as Hamnet's and Judith's relationship as twins. 

Furthermore, I liked how the first part of the book is organized in chapters and how it continuously switches from past to present; while the second part is very unstructured and blurred reflecting how the lives of the characters have also become unstructured and undefined in time as they deal with grief and tragedy. 
I also appreciated how the author portrayed the different ways that the characters deal with grief. For example avoidance from the father, despair and helplessness from the mother, anger from the older sister, denial from the younger sister, etc. 

One interesting aspect is the fact that William Shakespeare is never named, and the references to him are always in relation to other people (the father, the brother, the oldest son, the Latin tutor, etc) which can be a bit annoying at times since all other characters have names (besides the baker's wife). But I understand that this was a purposeful artistic choice, perhaps to not take away from the other characters and make it solely Shakespeare's story. 

The ending was a bit rushed for my liking and I expected a bit more from it, but overall, I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it. 

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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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iris3271's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense 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? No

3.75


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amystainton's review against another edition

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dark emotional lighthearted relaxing 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? No

5.0

Wow! Made me cry and feel nostalgic for a time I didn’t exist. Reading this in london was something else. Loved it!

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fanchera's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0


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jsingh's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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

4.0

O'Farrell is a good writer. Her metaphors range from good to great. I appreciated this book for the most part. I think O'Farrell has a lot of potential and room to grow. I believe this book could have added suspense and intrigue by playing with the order of its scenes and minimizing the number of perspectives shown; it felt like too many. I think a focus on Agnes, Judith, and Hamnet would have been sufficient. Also, while I believe the book dragged its feet at times, the ending blew me away!

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baruss666's review against another edition

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

4.75


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