I truly thought it would be a great novel at the outset (they had us in the first half, not gonna lie, to be lame with a meme) but it just ended up meandering on and on in the second part. I thought the constant jumps in time with every chapter was jarring in the first part, but it was preferable to how literally nothing of note happens after Hamnet dies. It would be different if the characters changed or had meaningful interactions with one another, but they really don't. I also thought the writing style, though I thoroughly mostly enjoyed it as it seems to be my kind of writing, led to a lot of confusion in plot details and events, some of it due to the awkward syntax and grammar--strangely placed commas were the worst offenders.

Hamnet and Judith's connection as twins was the most interesting which I wish had been explored a lot more, but obviously, the focus is on Agnes. The switch-up confused me when it happened; I feel like it really wasn't as clear as it should have been because I had to reread the same chapters several times to understand what happened. That magical element struck me as the most fascinating, but this is dumped for pointless recounting of the same, unchanging misery for 100 pages.

Another complaint I had with the first half of the novel was this very odd chapter in which the tale of how the plague reached England is told (also told very confusingly). I really didn't see the point at all. It is a strange addition that doesn't fit with the rest of the novel at all.

It had potential! That's as much as I can say.