David Tanner reviewed Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Highly recommended
5 stars
Superb writing and a sad, sad, story.
Paperback, 372 pages
English language
Published Dec. 31, 2019 by Tinder Press.
Hamnet
5 stars
(4 reviews)
Drawing on Maggie O'Farrell's long-term fascination with the little-known story behind Shakespeare's most enigmatic play, Hamnet is a luminous portrait of a marriage, at its heart the loss of a beloved child.
Warwickshire in the 1580s. Agnes is a woman as feared as she is sought after for her unusual gifts. She settles with her husband in Henley street, Stratford, and has three children: a daughter, Susanna, and then twins, Hamnet and Judith. The boy, Hamnet, dies in 1596, aged eleven. Four years or so later, the husband writes a play called Hamlet.
Award-winning author Maggie O'Farrell's new novel breathes full-blooded life into the story of a loss usually consigned to literary footnotes, and provides an unforgettable vindication of Agnes, a woman intriguingly absent from history.
Brian Plunkett reviewed Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Review of 'Hamnet' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Beautifully written. A sensitive exploration of grief and its effect on parents (individually), a marriage and an entire family. I had never given much thought to Shakespeare's background/personal life, and it was very interesting and enjoyable to read this imagining of it. One highlight was the chapter describing how the plague came to Warwickshire.
jv reviewed Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Review of 'Hamnet' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
La trama del libro queda perfectamente resumida en el breve párrafo que lo abre: "En la década de 1580, una pareja [..]. tuvo tres hijos: Susanna y Hamnet y Judith, que eran gemelos. Hamnet, el niño, murió en 1590 a los once años. Cuatro años más tarde su padre escribió una obra de teatro titulada Hamlet".
Alrededor de esa trama, O'Farrel construye una narración minuciosa, penetrante y con la dosis justa de preciosismo centrada esos personajes. Sobre todo en Agnes, la madre, a la que convierte en un personaje complejo y carismático. No es ni mucho menos una novela histórica al uso, sí un relato cautivador sobre una familia y dos tragedias (una real, otra escrita).
Nota: si al principio te parece más morosa de la cuenta, dale tiempo. Merece la pena.
Subjects
- Fiction
- Historical fiction
- Shakespeare
- Black Plague
- Hamlet
- Anne Shakespeare
- Agnes Shakespeare
- William Shakespeare
- Child loss