A review by hellothereforeitsalex
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

The plot jumps from storyline to storyline that weave together to create a narrative that casts the spotlight upon the family of Shakespeare and their lives he isn’t mentioned by name nor is he the main focus of this book he is a side character. Anne/Agnes steps forward as the protagonist and embodies strength, resilience  and knows her own mind through a sharp focused intuition. I liked that the book has a strong female protagonist who walked to the beat of her own drum and knew herself. I enjoyed that throughout the plot we got glimpses into the world at that time, however I’m not usually a fan of jumping between parallel timelines although this did work well and didn’t leave me wondering what was going on, it was easy to follow. The book touches on the way grief affects people in different ways and how people cope with their grief differently. 
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