A review by notanniewarren
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

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

4.5

My partner suggested we listen to this because he teaches and directs Shakespeare. I had never been that interested because generally I'm not bothered about historical novels, especially not ones based on real people - but I have to say, I was absolutely blown away. What a writer! I loved loved loved this book. Maggie O'Farrell is an ARTIST. I'm very sorry for what I'm about to say but I'm driven to it by the quality of the book - she truly paints with words. The characters are so vivid, and I like that Shakespeare's name is omitted; he's too much of a CONCEPT now to be thought of as a person. The only thing I would say is that it's very slow, wasn't a problem for me because the writing, characters and world-building is so all-encompassing that you just want it to last forever. 
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