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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
reading this while in england was the best decision i could’ve made. honestly i’ve never been a fan of shakespeare, but this book makes me want to read and watch and learn it all. it was so good please read it
Audiobook. Very beautifully written and very sad. I loved all the plant elements, of course. At times O'Farrell's descriptions of Agnes reminded me of Alice Hoffman. The scene in the apple store is remarkable.
emotional
reflective
sad
“She grows up feeling wrong, out of place, too dark, too tall, too unruly, too opinionated, too silent, too strange. She grows up with the awareness that she is merely tolerated, an irritant, useless, that she does not deserve love, that she will need to change herself substantially, crush herself down if she is to be married.”
I approached this book expecting to learn a lot about Shakespeare— yet, I’ve learned a whole lot about weird plants.
Am I complaining? Yes. In this book Agnes was the typical “unlike other girls” witchy woman, and I don’t understand why they had to make her all “magical” and all that… it isn’t really historically accurate.
Shakespeare could be easily replaced by ANY other man who goes to London and… does something artistic?? I don’t know, in the book it was barely explained.
Hamnet & his sister dynamic was cute, though.
⭐️⭐️⭐️,5/5
I approached this book expecting to learn a lot about Shakespeare— yet, I’ve learned a whole lot about weird plants.
Am I complaining? Yes. In this book Agnes was the typical “unlike other girls” witchy woman, and I don’t understand why they had to make her all “magical” and all that… it isn’t really historically accurate.
Shakespeare could be easily replaced by ANY other man who goes to London and… does something artistic?? I don’t know, in the book it was barely explained.
Hamnet & his sister dynamic was cute, though.
⭐️⭐️⭐️,5/5
The writing style is just not for me - repetition is employed so so frequently that the novel feels bogged down and instead the emphasis via repetition on certain elements feels inorganic. It's just very purple prosey which is especially hard for me to get past it in such a slow-paced novel.
emotional
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:
No
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
nearly impossible for me to put down at the end. loved how the aftermath of hamnet’s death was written. agnes you have my whole heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Grief, Pregnancy
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
casi ha hecho que me caiga mal shakespeare.
a ver, no es que no me haya gustado. es solo que AY tenía taaanto potencial. trata un tema, el principal y único que me importa: las relaciones entre gemelos.
como gemela, adoro leer sobre historias con protagonistas gemelos o que se adentren a intentar plasmar lo increíble que ser gemelo. well.
claro que lloré con la parte de "what do you call a twin when one of them dies" porque uf... pero es cierto que el estilo era un poco lento, luego cambiaba (entiendo que a propósito), e igual se me hacía demasido literal.
en algún punto del libro solo estaba pensando en lo mucho que me apetece ver la película de chloé zhao cuando salga porque sé que esta historia en sus manos va a ser chulísima e incluso me va a llegar más. chloé no me falles 🫵
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
“Every life has its kernel, its hub, its epicentre, from which everything flows out, to which everything returns.”
I'm not really sure to start with this one. As soon as I closed it, I wanted to flip the book back open and start reading it again.
It was one of the rare times I found myself reading the same sentence over and over because it was just that beautiful. It felt as though every sentence was worth an hour lingering on it, breathing it in, storing it in my heart.
I thought The Marriage Portrait was gorgeously written but Hamnet blows it out of the water. I don't think I've ever read something so beautiful, so deeply emotional and yet so easy to read.
This will be one of those books that I wish I could erase from my memory, just so I could read it again for the first time.
Not only were the plot and characters meticulously crafted and the time period captured in a timeless way, the emotion, the prose, really every element of this novel was perfection.
This is one of my new favorites, of all time. It is a masterclass in writing, something I will aspire to in my own work and also just a book and a story that I think anyone could enjoy.
So guys, please go read this! like right now!
“What is given may be taken away, at any time. Cruelty and devastation wait for you around corners, inside coffers, behind doors: they can leap out at you at any time, like a thief or brigand."
I'm not really sure to start with this one. As soon as I closed it, I wanted to flip the book back open and start reading it again.
It was one of the rare times I found myself reading the same sentence over and over because it was just that beautiful. It felt as though every sentence was worth an hour lingering on it, breathing it in, storing it in my heart.
I thought The Marriage Portrait was gorgeously written but Hamnet blows it out of the water. I don't think I've ever read something so beautiful, so deeply emotional and yet so easy to read.
This will be one of those books that I wish I could erase from my memory, just so I could read it again for the first time.
Not only were the plot and characters meticulously crafted and the time period captured in a timeless way, the emotion, the prose, really every element of this novel was perfection.
This is one of my new favorites, of all time. It is a masterclass in writing, something I will aspire to in my own work and also just a book and a story that I think anyone could enjoy.
So guys, please go read this! like right now!
“What is given may be taken away, at any time. Cruelty and devastation wait for you around corners, inside coffers, behind doors: they can leap out at you at any time, like a thief or brigand."
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes