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lexcellent's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Terminal illness
katie0528's review against another edition
dark
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
3.75
I picked this up as a big fan of Maggie O'Farrell's book The Marriage Portrait. I liked this one but preferred the other boom better. Despite being the titular character, Hamnet isn't really the main character. Instead, the story alternates between his parents' love stoy and his twin sister Judith falling ill with the plague. After his death, it becomes an exploration of his mother's grief and how the iconic Shakespearean play bearing his name may have come to pass. The book is fiction, purely speculative, but I feel like Shakespeare's family is often forgotten in history, so it was intruiging to read something from their perspective.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Terminal illness, and Medical content
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
midwifereading's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Everything about this book feels real. Shakespeare is never once mentioned by name, and that's because he's not the center of this story. Instead, we find Agnes, his wife, at the center. Everything revolves around her--an intelligent, intuitive, and strong healer and mother who could not save her son.
Hamnet is a book about grief. Especially the grief of losing a child. It's very human, very rich, and very poetic. There's a dreamlike quality to it that suits the story, and it should be ready on a gloomy, rainy day.
O'Farrell paints a vivid picture of both the characters and the setting. The book has a strong sense of place and time, and the setting is almost a character itself. In addition, each character stands out as a richly colored portrait with depth and color and feeling. I found myself utterly lost in the pages.
I loved it.
Hamnet is a book about grief. Especially the grief of losing a child. It's very human, very rich, and very poetic. There's a dreamlike quality to it that suits the story, and it should be ready on a gloomy, rainy day.
O'Farrell paints a vivid picture of both the characters and the setting. The book has a strong sense of place and time, and the setting is almost a character itself. In addition, each character stands out as a richly colored portrait with depth and color and feeling. I found myself utterly lost in the pages.
I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Terminal illness
Minor: Sexual content
sophiestasyna's review against another edition
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Terminal illness
Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
evelynepisodes's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
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? N/A
4.75
This book was bought and recommended by my Grandmother and it made me tear up a bit. But more the character Judith, sister of Hamnet and her relationship with the loss of a sibling that felt personal to me. The description of Hamnet craving the snow to rest was heart wrenching and the ghostly and supernatural is this novel created a life and more drama within the grief. I was worried at the start that these magical elements would ruin the novel, but it actually deepened the understanding of the characters and especially in Agnes’ perspective on her husband and and their relationship. The last part though was a bit of a slog, and not sure why the scenes were there - felt like it was covering all content, however a marvellous book nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Terminal illness
hjb_128's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Infidelity and Classism
Minor: Sexual content
pikkumarja's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Miten kaunis ja koskettava kirja lapsena pois nukkuneesta Hamnetista, äitiydestä ja menettämisestä. Myös sisarusten suhteet Hamnetiin, vanhempiinsa ja suruun olivat koskettavasti kuvatut. Oli ihanaa, ettei kirja keskittynyt isään vaan nimenomaan äitiin.
Rakastin monitasoista ja -näkökulmaista kerrontaa. Etenkin Agnesin nuoruus oli kuvattu kiinnostavasti. Inho Johnia ja Joania kohtaan oli suurta kirjan alusta asti, mutta Marysta tuli kirjan edetessä lähes rakas hahmo.
Rakastin monitasoista ja -näkökulmaista kerrontaa. Etenkin Agnesin nuoruus oli kuvattu kiinnostavasti. Inho Johnia ja Joania kohtaan oli suurta kirjan alusta asti, mutta Marysta tuli kirjan edetessä lähes rakas hahmo.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Mental illness, Blood, Vomit, and Pregnancy
kateships's review against another edition
emotional
sad
4.25
This broke me. I know it’s fictional as we know very little about the actual people depicted, but it was so beautiful.
Agnes is the main character of this, really. I didn’t expect to find such a sweet love story, the heavy depiction of grief that I really felt, or the end that was abrupt but just right.
It’s hard to recommend because once you get to the part where the big thing happens, it’s SO hard to read because of how devastating it is, but it was exceptional and I loved how the author ended it.
Agnes is the main character of this, really. I didn’t expect to find such a sweet love story, the heavy depiction of grief that I really felt, or the end that was abrupt but just right.
It’s hard to recommend because once you get to the part where the big thing happens, it’s SO hard to read because of how devastating it is, but it was exceptional and I loved how the author ended it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Terminal illness
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Death of parent
gingervandorsten's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is one of the best books (i.e. books I enjoyed most) I have read this year. Devoured it. It felt like being taken by the hand and shown around the houses and the people living in them, and the depth of the relationships, especially between siblings and between parents and children is so impressive. There's such lovely detail and vibrancy to O'Farrell's writing. The book's structure was also really impressive to me, the way that the melancholy and the sense of tragedy are always there, but you don't really realise how far they've been building up until the tragedy actually happens.
I've seen some people comment on the fact that very little actually happens in the story, and the narrative style and language of it cover this up. I get this, but personally this was actually one of my favourite parts about the book - the way that O'Farrell was able to pick out such exquisite detail in everything that you don't realise until you take a step back that not very much has actually happened.
This book was so lush and it's going to take me. a while. to recover. Really recommend this.
I've seen some people comment on the fact that very little actually happens in the story, and the narrative style and language of it cover this up. I get this, but personally this was actually one of my favourite parts about the book - the way that O'Farrell was able to pick out such exquisite detail in everything that you don't realise until you take a step back that not very much has actually happened.
This book was so lush and it's going to take me. a while. to recover. Really recommend this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Domestic abuse
benegesserwitch's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Body horror and Child abuse