Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

40 reviews

honeycrispp's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

A deeply emotional, enthralling and immersive work of historical fiction set during the Black Death. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Grief, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death and Gaslighting

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

My second five star read of 2022! This book was phenomenal, and I 100% understand why it won the woman’s prize for fiction two years ago. The writing is lyrical and the character arcs are well rounded. Hamnet, by Maggie O’Farrell, is the story of Shakespeare’s son, who died at a young age from unrecorded causes (this author speculates the plague). Although Hamnet is the namesake of this novel, a majority of it follows his mother Agnes, (also knows as Anne Hathaway) throughout her experiences with  marriage, womanhood, and the loss of a child. Her other children and Shakespeare themselves receive perspectives as well, but we really dive deep into the complexities of Agnes. She is often overshadowed in history by the title of “wife,” and I was glad to see her receive the spotlight. 
The grief portrayed in the Shakespeare family was gutrenching, so much to the point where the emotions seemed to jump off the page. It was sad but healing, and I’m definitely considering trying more Shakespearean works. Hamnet is incredibly slow placed, therefore I wouldn’t recommend if you need action and a plot focus. But for all my literary fiction friends, pick this up wherever you access books:) 
*Some events in this book are fictionalized, fyi.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Classism

booksmoviesandstories's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child abuse and Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty and Infidelity

carlafiorenzo's review against another edition

challenging sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

such a good exploration of grief in many forms, from many perspectives. how something that requires love, patience and dedication can be taken so quickly, for no reason. loved it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief

littlegretty's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? No

3.75

This book is beautifully written and O'Farrell masterfully crafts a narrative that makes you fall in love with each character on its own. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Sexual content

bluejay21's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Infidelity

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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, Death, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Slavery and Dementia

ophelia_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

5.0

First third felt slow. Second third was painful but powerful. The ending was gorgeous and felt like a great payoff for the time spent on the first two thirds. This was my first Maggie O’Farrell book and it makes me want to read more. Her protagonist (not the title character) is thoughtfully crafted and easy to empathize with. I love how she handled Shakespeare, the character  who I expected to dominate the narrative (I was wrong.) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Alcoholism and Emotional abuse

Minor: Sexual content

rosalind's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Bullying and Medical content

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

caidyn's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

All I knew when I heard about this book was that I would eventually read it. I really enjoy historical fiction set in this period and I absolutely love Shakespeare. And it was so well-written. Shakespeare himself was a side character. The first part goes back and forth in time, covering how Agnes (or Anne, as we know her) met and married Will. Then also the present with the plague. The second part is a meditation on grief and how people handle it. It's a beautiful book that I'm so glad I read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and Grief