Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
I was hesitant to pick up this library book club read after reading By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult last year. Despite the title, Hamnet is really Agnes’ story- less about him and more about her. A dual storyline, one that traces her life with Shakespeare, from their meeting through their marriage and children. The other is told through Hamnet’s eyes as his sister grows ill. Once he dies, the last third of the book comes as scattered moments of Agnes and Judith’s grief. Still, the novel is beautifully written, even if its format feels uneven. Book #72 in 2025
slow-paced
I am over this author, this is the second book of hers I have read and there won't be a third. I thought this book was better than The Marriage Portrait but it had major issues that I couldn't get past.
First, the prose is so over the top and descriptive that it takes you out of the story to the point where I could not care what the characters were doing or feeling. There were so many things that I would have liked to know more about but the pages were just wasted on the same things being described three different ways in succession as if the reader cannot grasp
Second, the book is poorly titled (which is one of my pet peeves). It is not really about Hamnet- I felt like he was actually a very small part, which was annoying since he is the titular character. The story is about Agnes (Anne Hathaway) and her life and children and husband (William Shakespeare, who is never called by name (see more below)). Additionally it is not a plague novel- the plague is mentioned and causes the death of Hamnet, and there is a weird, brief history of a flea in the middle of the book from nowhere, but that is pretty much it. Hamnet dies 70% of the way through the book but then only the last like 20 pages talk about the play Hamlet. It was weird pacing.
Third, this book attempts to erase William Shakespeare from the story by not naming him to elevate the rest of the characters, but it is really distracting. I get wanting to hide it at the beginning but by then end it made me roll my eyes. Also, we NEVER hear from Shakespeare why he named the play Hamnet. We hear Agnes' inference and her acceptance of it and then the book ends. I was shocked at how abrupt it was.
Fourth, I HATE the multiple POVs. It's fine when it's well done but this jumps around like crazy and bounces from present to past. It's maddening. This author's style is not my cup of tea and I will avoid her like the plague (pun intended).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Good lord this was boring. I only read this due to my uni course. The prose was pretty at times but then got annoying very fast. This isn't something I would normally read tbh and I think that didn't really help with me trying to finish this book. I still can't get over how there was a chapter explaining where the plague came from. That chapter should have been cut.
It took me some time to get into this, but once I did I was hooked.
La pulga y el duelo le han quitado una estrella...
emotional
hopeful
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
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
I loved the writing style of this book and I felt like it really pulled me through the story, but the switches in time and perspective felt jarring rather than helpful for context.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes