Am Anfang habe ich die ganze Zeit darauf gewartet, dass das Kind endlich stirbt, damit die Geschichte losgehen kann. Irgendwann habe ich mich dann aber in der tollen Sprache und immersiven Geschichte verloren und war einfach glücklich dabei zu sein. Maggie O'Farrell beherrscht die Mythenmetzsche Abschweifung in Perfektion. Aber dadurch zieht sie die Lesenden auch mit, immer tiefer in die Geschichte hinein. Alles ist so lebhaft beschrieben und so gut mitzufühlen, dass es schwerfällt, das Buch aus der Hand zu legen.

This book was spellbinding in a way I wasn't expecting. It drew me in and I did not want to leave. I was surprised by the atmospheric and almost magical qualities it had, but it was wonderful, and I could not put this one down at all. I am definitely going to be reading more Maggie O'Farrell!

An extraordinary interpretation of the life Shakespeare’s family might have led, based on the few things we now know about the playwright’s life.

Maggie O’Farrell knows her grief and how to spin it into print. The descriptions of pain and agony are almost poetic and yet so clear, so moving, that you have no trouble imagining just how the characters feel. I almost cried at times, wanted to slap certain characters straight into tomorrow had they not all been dead yet, and enjoyed the beauty of this work of historical fiction tremendously.

I can’t put my finger on why it’s not entirely a five-star read for me, but I see how the author received the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2020 for this book.

 This book is a crescendo if there ever was one.

I honestly didn't like it much at first. The pacing is very, very slow, even for how short the book actually is. It bears saying that very little happens externally within this book. It's mostly an internal/emotional exploration (which is something I'm generally not used to when reading and had to get accustomed to). This is particularly potent during the first third-or-so of the book, which absolutely crawled for me. With the style this book is written in, you frequently jump around between not only different characters' perspectives, but also different moments in time. At the start we get only very brief moments with a huge array of characters, and this makes it really hard to invest in any of them, but also makes it hard to just follow what's happening. However, in retrospect, these choices do make sense (for the most part). I do honestly wish the cast was tighter, and we focused more closely on the key characters, particularly at the start, but even the very little moments that seem totally inconsequential become important later on. As well, the jog between the past and present (when we switch between them) smooths out over time, and eventually the hopping stops altogether. By around the 50-70% mark, I actually enjoyed the time hopping. It gave very important context, and sometimes a break from the trauma of the A-plot, and kept me enticed to continue reading ("what's going to happen next in present day???"). 

It was around probably page 150 or 200 that this book really started to click for me. It is first and foremost an emotional and character-focused story. I would honestly say it is 100% character focused, honestly. By the 50 or 60% mark you've gotten very close with Agnes, who I would probably consider the main character, and

William

(spoilered because his name goes unmentioned in the book, but that is indeed who he is), and developed an understanding of who their children and the rest of their family are. So, when things get worse, you feel it. When misfortune befalls the family, when Agnes struggles, when there is a loss, an infidelity, an absence, you feel as if it has befallen you. Maggie O'Farrell's writing is incredibly powerful. This is also one of the most nuanced works I think I've ever read, emotionally speaking. So much is communicated in the margins.

The only other criticism I would have is that in areas the writing really feels like it could have been tightened. There are several sections within this novel that are far, far longer than they have to be. I understand the desire to make your reader feel fully immersed with vivid descriptions, and for the most part, this book succeeds, but there are absolutely passages that tow the line from vividness into over-explaining, and I find myself not more immersed but actually dulled and taken out of it. There are at least four points where I actually skimmed full pages of unnecessary description, with much of it being re-statements of what was already conveyed succinctly in a single paragraph or even a single sentence. There are also sections that, while vivid and interesting, draw a bit too long and include a few too many inconsequential details, and could simply stand to have the fat trimmed off. 

With all that said, this is an incredible book. Because of the criticisms I do have, it isn't a five star for me, but I can very very easily see why it would be for anyone else. It really is incredible. It epitomizes the concept of a "crescendo" novel, starting so quiet and slow and unassuming... but gradually, and so smoothly you don't even notice, ascends into an enveloping symphony of grief and emotion, and then carefully quiets back down. The ending is absolutely beautiful and brilliant. 

I have very mixed feelings about this novel.

On one hand, despite what many have said, I actually enjoyed the flowery prose (even if the plot did move slowly from time to time), and the drama of the novel is well-developed. It's definitely a vibes-over-plot book, but I don't tend to mind that, and enjoyed the small historical details the novel had to offer. The flashbacks in the first half are well-executed and tension is kept measured throughout. O'Farrell writes poignantly on love and grief, especially the effects it has on different people.

On the other, I was and still am very conflicted about the fictionalisation of real people, especially when they are as 1) iconic and 2) scant with historical evidence as Anna Hathaway, her children, and William Shakespeare. The ending was the worst offender I feel, as even though the story wrapped up satisfyingly, it felt lukewarm given the knowledge that most of us have going into the novel - this is Shakespeare. Named or not, this novel exists as a comment on his legacy somehow, and I don't know how to marry it with my enjoyment of the novel.

That is to say however that I did, in fact, enjoy the novel - a lot of these are personal gripes that will probably not impact others. This is a good piece of historical fiction that I would happily recommend, but not for those who are looking for anything concrete or definitive on the Shakespeares, as, as O'Farrell herself puts it, the novel is a product of her own "idle speculation".

A truly beautifully written story of love, grief, and how we all experience the two in different ways. This is a slow-moving story focused on emotional development, so if you're looking for a plot-driven story this won't be the one for you.

But if you like the idea of pulling back the curtain on a historical time and place to catch a glimpse of what life might've been like, you'll love Hamnet. I appreciated that the story revolves around Shakespeare, but that the famed playwright is a supporting character, largely absent from the story. His rise to fame is put in the context of the demands of everyday life for his wife and family.

Agnes is amazing and I loved her and would fight dragons for her. If you love a wild, do-what-she-wants protagonist, you're gonna fall pretty hard for her.