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A review by mmarlborough
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
First 5⭐️ read of 2024!!!!! It was a perfect book IMO, one that I’ll be left thinking about for some time.
This novel follows the courtship of Shakespeare and Agnes to their marriage and family life. Once the Bubonic Plague comes to their house, their family is never the same. A wedge is shoved between the parents, Agnes staying at home and falling apart while Shakespeare is in London writing plays about the grief in their home.
This book was everywhere in 2020 and for good reason. This is a rich, descriptive, and emotionally devastating read. I loved O’Farrell’s prose in “The Marriage Portrait” last year and after this one, I really have to dive into her backlist. There’s so much praise for Knoll not using Bundy’s name in “Bright Young Women,” but O’Farrell did this first here. Shakespeare always has the spotlight on him, but his name never appears on the page. The focus instead is on his wife, children, and grief that provided inspiration for the greatest play ever written. Several times her prose would stop me in my tracks. It is a slow, character driven masterpiece.
This novel follows the courtship of Shakespeare and Agnes to their marriage and family life. Once the Bubonic Plague comes to their house, their family is never the same. A wedge is shoved between the parents, Agnes staying at home and falling apart while Shakespeare is in London writing plays about the grief in their home.
This book was everywhere in 2020 and for good reason. This is a rich, descriptive, and emotionally devastating read. I loved O’Farrell’s prose in “The Marriage Portrait” last year and after this one, I really have to dive into her backlist. There’s so much praise for Knoll not using Bundy’s name in “Bright Young Women,” but O’Farrell did this first here. Shakespeare always has the spotlight on him, but his name never appears on the page. The focus instead is on his wife, children, and grief that provided inspiration for the greatest play ever written. Several times her prose would stop me in my tracks. It is a slow, character driven masterpiece.