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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As someone who often thinks about grief and experiences it in fickle ways, O’Farrells “Hamnet” is quietly devastating in the way that I find grief often is. I think this book bridges the late 1500s with a great emotional modernity. The utter darkness of losing a child and the reality of carrying on is potent, painful, and stunningly beautiful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
You know a book is good when you would rather read than do any adult responsibilities. I loved this book from start to finish. I listened to this book and I think Ell Potter did a fantastic job reading this. Her voice was so calming and lovely. Hamnet was a beautiful book about Shakespeare’s son and the grief of losing him but there is so much more in the story leading up to the son’s death. The story was written so well. I was able to follow along and be transported into the story. Highly recommended if you love the works of Shakespeare.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I didn't expect to love this so much but I just couldn't leave it alone. I loved the careful, reverent walk through Stratford in Agnes's shoes, and watching Shakespeare become Shakespeare was captivating.
emotional
mysterious
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:
Complicated
I appreciated a lot of things about this book and wanted to like it more. It is an intimately human portrayal of grief that I found moving at times. I also enjoyed the way Hamnet's death becomes a clear inspiration for Hamlet, Shakespeare's most existential play. Unfortunately, the writing style is just not to my taste. O'Farrell relies heavily on triplets and repetition to create a lyricism that grated on me. I also found it suffers from overwriting. I see the merits of this book but it wasn't quite my cup of tea. I still don't regret reading it so I'm giving it an OK rating.
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
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The blending of fantasy elements (e.g. Agnes’ Vulcan-like mind-reading abilities, Hamnet body-swapping the bubonic plague with his poorly twin to be a good bro ) ended up being silly and distracting overall. It made it more difficult to take the mundane problems seriously, but set up a few good tropes.
When Hamnet died and there were still 90 pages to go, I found that to be rather shocking, like, what could possibly need to be resolved here. I didn’t really care much for the dialogue, while, admittedly, writing dialogue for 500+ year old characters cannot be easy, so she gets a pass.
Overall an ok book, but not one which invites further investigation of her written catalogue for me. But bro, Billy Shakes, seriously, why would youcheat on your clairvoyant wife lmao seriously she can read your mind what did you think that would bring you? So confident in your coin to buy those great digs in Stratford-upon-Avon?
Also, new item for lifetime bucket list, place many apples on a drying rack and make them cascade to the ground by cause of lovely rhythm.
When Hamnet died and there were still 90 pages to go, I found that to be rather shocking, like, what could possibly need to be resolved here. I didn’t really care much for the dialogue, while, admittedly, writing dialogue for 500+ year old characters cannot be easy, so she gets a pass.
Overall an ok book, but not one which invites further investigation of her written catalogue for me. But bro, Billy Shakes, seriously, why would you
Also, new item for lifetime bucket list, place many apples on a drying rack and make them cascade to the ground by cause of lovely rhythm.