A review by gingervandorsten
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is one of the best books (i.e. books I enjoyed most) I have read this year. Devoured it. It felt like being taken by the hand and shown around the houses and the people living in them, and the depth of the relationships, especially between siblings and between parents and children is so impressive. There's such detail and vibrancy of O'Farrell's writing. Its structure was also really impressive to me, the way that the melancholy and the sense of tragedy are always there, but you don't really realise how far they've been building up until the tragedy actually happens. 

I've seen some people comment on the fact that very little actually happens in the story, and the narrative style and language of it cover this up, which was a bit of a turn-off for me. I get this, but personally this was actually one of my favourite parts about the book - the way that O'Farrell was able to pick out such exquisite detail in everything that you don't realise until you take a step back that not very much has actually happened. 

This book was so lush and it's going to take me. a while. to recover. Really recommend this. 
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