Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

14 reviews

cigarete_smoke's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

iris3271's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, Death, Child death, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Physical abuse

Minor: Body horror

machenn's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Alcohol, Death, Grief, and Pregnancy

madzie's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.5

O'Farrell offers an enticing idea about the life of Shakespeare's family and the death of his only son but falls short of the execution of her idea. Certainly, it cannot be argued that O'Farrell has a command of prose with vivid descriptions and creative language. However, her writing style cannot save the lack of a through point in the novel that leaves it mind-numbingly dull. Novels with little to no plot succeed with their interesting and relatable characters. Therefore, due to O'Farrell's characters being undeveloped and uninteresting, with a lack of exploratory and meaningful relationships with each other, the entire novel becomes a bore. In fact, the climax of Hamnet's death (not a spoiler) is hardly impactful because I have little care for any of the characters or their relationships with one another. 

Unfortunately, Hamnet's death even becomes laughable due to the use of an absolutely unrealistic trope which shows O'Farrell's lack of care or research in her novel. The rest of the novel holds up similarly with the overuse of tropes that do not fit the genre and instead make the novel campy. I really was looking for this book to paint Shakespeare's family as people, rather than spectacles, who face a nonsensical tragedy. Instead, O'Farrell's reliance on tropes and leaving Shakespeare nameless do the opposite, making one of the most famous writers even more mysterious and even more magical rather than human. O'Farrell is excellent at depicting grief at the moment but neglects to write about how deeply it continues to affect people over time and how it can rip apart families and relationships, instead relying on surface-level points and exposition. Further, her use of multiple timelines seems senseless as there is no purpose or reveal, and instead makes the novel even more boring and approaching annoying.

The novel's ending demonstrates the potential it failed to reach. Big ideas and feeling attempt to break through, but after nearly 300 pages of not exploring those themes in depth, setting them up, or creating a relationship between the characters and reader, the end makes it seem like the idea would have fit a short story better than a full-length novel. Additionally, the conclusion only draws further attention to how the themes O'Farrell introduces are unfocused. Topics, such as family relations and women in society, seem to be abandoned, with no real exploration into what O'Farrell really wants her audience to reconsider. In the end, O'Farrell's famous novel, while driven by its excellent writing style, fails to deliver on its promises, lacks any purposeful direction, and leaves me longing for any deep feeling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Physical abuse, and Alcohol

Minor: Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Infidelity

pollyhall's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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? Yes

2.0

I preferred the story of Agnes and Bartholomew rather than Hamnet.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Gore, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Child death, and Infidelity

bookmark3brodi's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

seanml's review against another edition

informative 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? Yes

4.25

I'd never read Maggie O'Farrell before this. Her prose is immaculate. For a book with so many quiet moments, her fluidity perfectly captures the wandering  mind and all of its hiccups and shortcomings. The lack of formal acknowledgement of Shakespeare allows the audience to focus on the principal characters until it matters most. That's all; wonderfully written. 8.5/10.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Chronic illness and Infidelity

Minor: Alcohol and Miscarriage

memoirsofabooklover's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexual content, and Alcohol

bonluvdon's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Physical abuse, Death, Child abuse, and Child death

Minor: Alcohol and Pregnancy

ntvenessa's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

A moving fictionalisation of Hamnet Shakespeare's life and death, and the grief that haunts his family, particularly, his mother. It is atmospheric and O'Farrell is incredibly skilled to breathe life into the scant historical details that survive today.

"I am dead:
Thou livest;
... draw thy breath in pain,
To tell my story"
Hamlet, Act V, Scene II

Stunning.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Medical content, Miscarriage, Violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Infertility, Classism, and Infidelity