Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

20 reviews

karinaeliza's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Terminal illness

Minor: Miscarriage

yooniereads's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Miscarriage, Medical content, and Pregnancy

Minor: Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

mapscitiesandsongs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

I enjoyed my reading experience overall, but I have one major problem with it: It's not really about Hamnet. I went into this book thinking the majority of the book would be either in Hamnet's POV or would, at least, be about Hamnet. Instead I got a book that's basically about his mother Agnes, which isn't a bad thing per se. It was really interesting seeing her get to know Shakespeare and her inner thoughts were quite intriguing, but I imagined something different from a book titled Hamnet. I also don't think the origin of the play is that prominent in the story even though it's clearly stated in the description that this book is about Hamnet and how the play gets developed because of his death. Another strange thing is the incoporation of magical realism of some sort. Additionally, all of the characters, besides Agnes, were flat and one-dimensional. So when Hamnet dies, I just didn't care. There is no connection, because we only get to see him for a few short chapters before he dies and the rest is basically about his mother. The ending was also quite rushed and underwhelming in my opinion. We find out that Shakespeare wrote said play about his son (which we have know for the entirety of the book!) and then it just ends. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Sexual content

paperbirds's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Miscarriage

redbirdreading's review against another edition

emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Miscarriage, and Grief

ntvenessa's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

A moving fictionalisation of Hamnet Shakespeare's life and death, and the grief that haunts his family, particularly, his mother. It is atmospheric and O'Farrell is incredibly skilled to breathe life into the scant historical details that survive today.

"I am dead:
Thou livest;
... draw thy breath in pain,
To tell my story"
Hamlet, Act V, Scene II

Stunning.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Alcohol, and Classism

carizwerg's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

4% of the (audio)book's runtime was dedicated to an arbitrary, pointless generational family saga of the flea that infected Judith with the plague. finishing the chapter, then the book, and it amounting to nothing was very insulting. i fully recommend skipping the chapter that begins "For the pestilence to reach Warwickshire…"

that out of the way, it was slow at times—part I alternates between past and present, and i felt that the past dragged on while being merely drip-fed the more interesting present—but it's a beautiful character study, heartbreaking and endearing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Terminal illness, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Sexism, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Alcohol

madtnation's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Physical abuse

Minor: Miscarriage

tseth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Grief, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail