Hamnet - Maggie O'Farrell
Finished. I can see how others found it to be a slow read. After Hamnet died, I was surprised how much of the book was left, to spend so much on mostly plotless grieving. But ending with Agnes seeing the play, I thought that was a good place to end the book.
I didn't really connect with Agnes as a character. She was just a bit too quirky, a bit too prophetic, to be fully believable for me. I thought she was written best when her powers of prophecy added to the tension.
The Storygraph description is interesting, and much different from the blurb on the back of the book. In particular, it says the book is about the bond between twins, but that was probably one of the less developed parts of the book. I would say it was primarily about the relationships between parents and their children .
I also found it interesting about the names of the characters. I guess, because Shakespeare is such a big name, keeping his name out of it puts him on the same level as all the others. But at the same time, we know what's happening in London for his career, even more than Agnes does
I'm not sure if anyone else read the author's note at the back. Her point of inspiration is interesting, and it is in the form of two absences: both the lack of information about what caused Hamnet's death, and the lack of any mentions of plague in Shakespeare's work, despite it being such an problem in his lifetime that it regularly interrupted his work.
I felt some distance from the characters. That being said, I still felt some degree of immersion, but more in the vibes? There wasn't much that stood out for plot or characters.
