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A review by sarabookshelf
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
This is my second Maggie O'Farrell book, and I have to say I enjoyed "Hamnet" more than the "Marriage Portrait". I feel that all the characters were fleshed out, their relationships and interactions quite realistic, and the storytelling was beautiful. I was worried that reading about 16th century England might be somewhat boring, but it was actually fascinating. The magical aspects of the book were spell-binding, and I particularly liked the witchyness and magical qualities of Agnes' character, as well as Hamnet's and Judith's relationship as twins.
Furthermore, I liked how the first part of the book is organized in chapters and how it continuously switches from past to present; while the second part is very unstructured and blurred reflecting how the lives of the characters have also become unstructured and undefined in time as they deal with grief and tragedy.
I also appreciated how the author portrayed the different ways that the characters deal with grief. For example avoidance from the father, despair and helplessness from the mother, anger from the older sister, denial from the younger sister, etc.
One interesting aspect is the fact that William Shakespeare is never named, and the references to him are always in relation to other people (the father, the brother, the oldest son, the Latin tutor, etc) which can be a bit annoying at times since all other characters have names (besides the baker's wife). But I understand that this was a purposeful artistic choice, perhaps to not take away from the other characters and make it solely Shakespeare's story.
The ending was a bit rushed for my liking and I expected a bit more from it, but overall, I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.
Furthermore, I liked how the first part of the book is organized in chapters and how it continuously switches from past to present; while the second part is very unstructured and blurred reflecting how the lives of the characters have also become unstructured and undefined in time as they deal with grief and tragedy.
I also appreciated how the author portrayed the different ways that the characters deal with grief. For example avoidance from the father, despair and helplessness from the mother, anger from the older sister, denial from the younger sister, etc.
One interesting aspect is the fact that William Shakespeare is never named, and the references to him are always in relation to other people (the father, the brother, the oldest son, the Latin tutor, etc) which can be a bit annoying at times since all other characters have names (besides the baker's wife). But I understand that this was a purposeful artistic choice, perhaps to not take away from the other characters and make it solely Shakespeare's story.
The ending was a bit rushed for my liking and I expected a bit more from it, but overall, I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness and Child death
Moderate: Grief and Child abuse