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A review by celinerach
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
It is a beautiful book. This novel explores womanhood, motherhood and the inner worlds we all have hidden within ourselves.
The mastery of this work, is that I knew the boy was dead, but the feelings of the mother, her disbelief that he could really, truly be dead, were transposed onto me. Only once we leave the grave site and the chapter ends can I truly believe that he is gone and we really are saying goodbye to Hamnet.
Some seem un-happy to have not learnt more about who Hamnet was, but I think this misses the point. The great sadness is that he was 11, so there is so much we will never know, as he never had the chance to grow up. We learn as much as we could and grieve for all that could have been. I think this is the hardest part of grief, the wondering, what they would think, say, look like, now that time has passed and yet they are forever stuck as they were in that past, never to move forward.
The mastery of this work, is that I knew the boy was dead, but the feelings of the mother, her disbelief that he could really, truly be dead, were transposed onto me. Only once we leave the grave site and the chapter ends can I truly believe that he is gone and we really are saying goodbye to Hamnet.
Some seem un-happy to have not learnt more about who Hamnet was, but I think this misses the point. The great sadness is that he was 11, so there is so much we will never know, as he never had the chance to grow up. We learn as much as we could and grieve for all that could have been. I think this is the hardest part of grief, the wondering, what they would think, say, look like, now that time has passed and yet they are forever stuck as they were in that past, never to move forward.