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A review by lizflynn
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
A boy dies at age 11 in 1596. A few years later, his father writes one of his most famous plays: Hamlet.
So, before I started this book I knew it was highly likely that would love it. It has everything that I freak out about: historical fiction; flowery language; educated speculation about how people lived their lives; emotional family drama. Maggie O’Farrell delivered on all fronts.
This is my first book by O’Farrell. I absolutely love her writing. It’s emotional, descriptive, and flawlessly sews multiple timelines and characters together. In O’Farrell’s imagining, Hamnet dies from “the pestilence” (The Black Death) and the ramifications of his family’s loss is written in a heartbreakingly beautiful way. This book isn’t about the never-named Shakespeare. It’s about Agnes and her life as a healer, mother, and wife in late 1500s England. It’s about a marriage and a family. It’s about life and the tiny moments that echo into the future.
So, before I started this book I knew it was highly likely that would love it. It has everything that I freak out about: historical fiction; flowery language; educated speculation about how people lived their lives; emotional family drama. Maggie O’Farrell delivered on all fronts.
This is my first book by O’Farrell. I absolutely love her writing. It’s emotional, descriptive, and flawlessly sews multiple timelines and characters together. In O’Farrell’s imagining, Hamnet dies from “the pestilence” (The Black Death) and the ramifications of his family’s loss is written in a heartbreakingly beautiful way. This book isn’t about the never-named Shakespeare. It’s about Agnes and her life as a healer, mother, and wife in late 1500s England. It’s about a marriage and a family. It’s about life and the tiny moments that echo into the future.