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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
loved the writing. so easy to visualise even though it is quite dense
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Loved this! Sad but hopeful. Final pages are beautifully done and knowing Hamlet made the final passages even more heartbreaking. Loved that I could picture the house on Henley Street and at Hewlands - I've been in those houses! How amazing that of all the people who have stepped into those doors I am somehow one of those people. And of course I love stories of women and mothers and women who behave differently than the expectations set for them
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Grief
Gorgeous prose, and led by very intensely human emotions and themes – the most prominent, evidently, being loss. I am enamoured with O'Farrell's conceptualisation of these figures, and will likely be doing some research on the historical accuracy and influences behind some of the story elements.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
For all my big talk, it's a bit embarrassing to admit that I haven’t actually read Hamlet, the play. I first picked up Hamnet under the mistaken impression that it was a modern retelling of Hamlet and, as someone still intimidated by Shakespearean language, I figured it might be a good gateway into the original text—which I did intend to read eventually.
But if you’ve read the book, you’ll know it’s not a retelling at all. It’s more of a fictionalised biography, inspired by the sparse historical record of Shakespeare’s life. I was initially disappointed when I realised this, thinking I’d veered off course from my goal. But now that I’ve finished the book, I don’t feel that way anymore. The empathy I developed for the man behind the works (especially after the climax) and the "insider" context I gained has only fuelled my desire to read Hamlet, to look at it from a lens that I would not have put on had I not read Hamnet. So for that, I am grateful.
I realise I’m being a bit reductive here, because Maggie O’Farrell’s novel deserves to be discussed on its own merit and not merely in relation to the play. There are moments of striking imagination and lyrical writing (though occasionally, the prose does meander).
In 2016, I visited the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon and walked the very paths the people in Hamnet must have frequently traversed. It was a little surreal to draw parallels between my memory of the site as a historical landmark vs. the book’s depiction of the same property in its heyday. That contrast is something I’m endlessly fascinated by —
imagining what places of the past must have felt like in their prime, brimming with the life they were meant to serve. Hamnet satisfies that itch by capturing the essence of a typical Tudor household, buzzing with activity as the women go about their daily chores. Descriptions of the mundane are particularly compelling when they’re from another era. But amidst all the mundanity, there are also some unexpected elements of magical realism, which makes sense given the spirit of the era.
However, like many other readers, the most breathtaking point of the narrative for me was when a flea turns into a full-fledged character. The story mostly stays rooted in just two locations, so at times it does drag a little. But suddenly – as a microscopic flea takes centre stage and you're swept across oceans with it, meeting a whole cast colourful of characters along the way, like a glassblower from Murano and a seafaring cat – excitement strikes. That was, to me, O’Farrell at her most brilliant, and I’d love to see her lean into that style more in future works (maybe she has already; I don't claim to know).
On an additional note, I'm not sure what it says about me, but I found it hard to connect with the long-winded section detailing Agnes' grief that others said to have found emotionally wrenching. I could understand her pain and sympathise with her as a character, but I didn’t feel entirely immersed in it. Empathy has never been my strongest suit, though, so take that with a grain of salt. (Although there have been books in the past that drained me emotionally—I guess it just depends.)
All being said, I am looking forward to the film adaptation set to release later this year. Perhaps by then, I will have finally read Hamlet and then some.
But if you’ve read the book, you’ll know it’s not a retelling at all. It’s more of a fictionalised biography, inspired by the sparse historical record of Shakespeare’s life. I was initially disappointed when I realised this, thinking I’d veered off course from my goal. But now that I’ve finished the book, I don’t feel that way anymore. The empathy I developed for the man behind the works (especially after the climax) and the "insider" context I gained has only fuelled my desire to read Hamlet, to look at it from a lens that I would not have put on had I not read Hamnet. So for that, I am grateful.
I realise I’m being a bit reductive here, because Maggie O’Farrell’s novel deserves to be discussed on its own merit and not merely in relation to the play. There are moments of striking imagination and lyrical writing (though occasionally, the prose does meander).
In 2016, I visited the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon and walked the very paths the people in Hamnet must have frequently traversed. It was a little surreal to draw parallels between my memory of the site as a historical landmark vs. the book’s depiction of the same property in its heyday. That contrast is something I’m endlessly fascinated by —
imagining what places of the past must have felt like in their prime, brimming with the life they were meant to serve. Hamnet satisfies that itch by capturing the essence of a typical Tudor household, buzzing with activity as the women go about their daily chores. Descriptions of the mundane are particularly compelling when they’re from another era. But amidst all the mundanity, there are also some unexpected elements of magical realism, which makes sense given the spirit of the era.
However, like many other readers, the most breathtaking point of the narrative for me was when a flea turns into a full-fledged character. The story mostly stays rooted in just two locations, so at times it does drag a little. But suddenly – as a microscopic flea takes centre stage and you're swept across oceans with it, meeting a whole cast colourful of characters along the way, like a glassblower from Murano and a seafaring cat – excitement strikes. That was, to me, O’Farrell at her most brilliant, and I’d love to see her lean into that style more in future works (maybe she has already; I don't claim to know).
On an additional note, I'm not sure what it says about me, but I found it hard to connect with the long-winded section detailing Agnes' grief that others said to have found emotionally wrenching. I could understand her pain and sympathise with her as a character, but I didn’t feel entirely immersed in it. Empathy has never been my strongest suit, though, so take that with a grain of salt. (Although there have been books in the past that drained me emotionally—I guess it just depends.)
All being said, I am looking forward to the film adaptation set to release later this year. Perhaps by then, I will have finally read Hamlet and then some.