A review by ed_moore
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

emotional 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? No

3.75

O’Farrell’s ‘Hamnet’ is a very slow paced look into the lives of Shakespeares family. It focuses on his daughter Judith’s contraction of the plague whilst he is away in London and places emphasis on those family members with their stories far lesser told by refusing to name Shakespeare at any point, instead referring to him as ‘The Father’, ‘The Husband’ etc. This is at least what it tries to be, it was a clever plot decision however the boom is structured in alternate chapters looking at the children and Agnes in the present timeline, and then how Agnes met William and their marriage, hence a lot of the story is in fact focused on Shakespeare himself and I found myself much preferring the chapters focusing on the children. 

‘Hamnet’ was very readable, its plot not encompassing loads but still proving engaging. I especially enjoyed the later intermingling of the London playhouse life though it plays such a small role and is supposed to be out of focus across most of the novel. I did find Agnes to be not the greatest of protagonists, she was very predictable and unchanging, the extent of her grief also a little long perhaps,  therefore with a book titled Hamnet I would’ve loved a little more of him where it was possible.