Debbie's Reviews > Hamnet
Hamnet
by
by
![8665845](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p2/8665845.jpg)
Debbie's review
bookshelves: historical-fiction, favorite-authors, edelweiss, mostly-not-set-in-u-s, 2020-runners-up
Jul 28, 2020
bookshelves: historical-fiction, favorite-authors, edelweiss, mostly-not-set-in-u-s, 2020-runners-up
Squirmed like a worm
Wait, don’t get excited—it wasn’t the story that made me squirm like a worm. It was me trying to rate this book that sent me into squirm-land. I yelled at myself, “Stop wiggling and just whisper 4 already!...Really, what is the big effing deal? It’s Maggie O’Farrell, that’s what the big effing deal is. Although 3 stars kept screaming in my head, I finally went with what I know is right in this world: I gave it a 3.5 but rounded up to 4. Truly, O’Farrell doesn’t write anything that’s just middle of the road. I can’t give it a 3, I just can’t.
This is a totally made up story about how Shakespeare came up with the idea to write Hamlet. Let me just say that it had something to do with a personal tragedy. The book is told from his wife’s point of view. I’m not going to say more, in case you want to go into this one blind.
Don’t ask me why, but I usually don’t like to read anything set in the dark ages (in this case, the 16th century). So I was wary. But lo and behold, I did just fine with the time period. I ended up being happy that I got the chance to imagine what life was like back then. Life was so tough, and death was always right around the corner.
Joy Jar
-O’Farrell’s language always slays me—it fits the contours of my soul. Many of her sentences are long flow-y lists, sort of, with words that jump and make her images come alive. Her prose is so sweet, so rhythmic, so mesmerizing. This is the number 1 reason I just can’t give this book 3 stars.
-A standout flea scene: We watch a flea travel from Egypt to England on a monkey. That doesn’t sound like much, but believe me, you’ll be sitting on the edge of your seat while you watch that little bugger go places. It’s hard for me to shut up, but I’ll say no more because I don’t want to give you even a hint of what goes on. This teensy story within the story is pure gold.
-Good bones, good characters—and all that jazz.
Complaint Board
-Once Upon a Time I got a little bored. This whole story seems like it should have started with “Once Upon a Time...” It had that feel to it. The narration is third person, and that’s all fine and good. I’m just not a big fan of narrated stories; often they’re too long (for my ADD attention span), and clumps of descriptive text aren’t punctuated with enough dialogue and drama. In fact, I’d say there’s a little detail-itis going on. A narrated story for me usually lacks the intimacy that I so crave; it’s dense and distant. A big problem is that reading long paragraphs of descriptive text slows me down; it takes a while for my brain to form the images. I sometimes feel like my brain is stuttering.
-A little woo-woo makes me boo-hoo. There isn’t a lot of woo-woo, but there’s enough to bug me. The main character is sort of a medicine woman. I get tired of the prescient woman running around with a handful of herbs and a woo-woo way of sensing things. At the end, Shakespeare (who has only a small role) even senses someone’s presence. It bugs me in any book I read, and it seems like a gimmick. I don’t understand why a writer throws it in. Ditch the woo-woo, please.
-Good grief! For me, the second half of the book is weak. It’s mostly about grief, with nothing really happening. For me that got old; the story lost its momentum. It was an excellent study in grief, but I wanted some drama, even a little. Please?
-Do something! Say something! I wanted a little more action and dialogue, what can I say?
-This book won’t cheer you up, I’ll tell you that. The major gist is a kid dying. How sad is that? I don’t require Hallmark or happy dances, but the tone is somber for the whole book, with no letup.
O’Farrell doesn’t ever dress her words in polyester; she goes with 500-thread cotton. They’re always beautiful and classy, but here there’s not enough color.
I liked O’Farrell’s other books more. As I obnoxiously keep repeating, I wanted dialogue. There were chances to have conversations and they were missed. I was chomping at the bit for spoken words.
I know I whine and whine, but I adore O’Farrell and I’m not in the least sorry that I read this one. I’m in awe of her creativity; I marvel at how she imagined Shakespeare’s family life and wove this fascinating tale together. Her language is to die for, and man does she know how to put sentences together. And the sentences lead to brilliant paragraphs and then to a whole feast of a story that is incredibly rich. I’m not squirming like a worm anymore; writing this review made me know that giving it 4 stars was the only way to go.
Thanks to Edelweiss for the advance copy.
Wait, don’t get excited—it wasn’t the story that made me squirm like a worm. It was me trying to rate this book that sent me into squirm-land. I yelled at myself, “Stop wiggling and just whisper 4 already!...Really, what is the big effing deal? It’s Maggie O’Farrell, that’s what the big effing deal is. Although 3 stars kept screaming in my head, I finally went with what I know is right in this world: I gave it a 3.5 but rounded up to 4. Truly, O’Farrell doesn’t write anything that’s just middle of the road. I can’t give it a 3, I just can’t.
This is a totally made up story about how Shakespeare came up with the idea to write Hamlet. Let me just say that it had something to do with a personal tragedy. The book is told from his wife’s point of view. I’m not going to say more, in case you want to go into this one blind.
Don’t ask me why, but I usually don’t like to read anything set in the dark ages (in this case, the 16th century). So I was wary. But lo and behold, I did just fine with the time period. I ended up being happy that I got the chance to imagine what life was like back then. Life was so tough, and death was always right around the corner.
Joy Jar
-O’Farrell’s language always slays me—it fits the contours of my soul. Many of her sentences are long flow-y lists, sort of, with words that jump and make her images come alive. Her prose is so sweet, so rhythmic, so mesmerizing. This is the number 1 reason I just can’t give this book 3 stars.
-A standout flea scene: We watch a flea travel from Egypt to England on a monkey. That doesn’t sound like much, but believe me, you’ll be sitting on the edge of your seat while you watch that little bugger go places. It’s hard for me to shut up, but I’ll say no more because I don’t want to give you even a hint of what goes on. This teensy story within the story is pure gold.
-Good bones, good characters—and all that jazz.
Complaint Board
-Once Upon a Time I got a little bored. This whole story seems like it should have started with “Once Upon a Time...” It had that feel to it. The narration is third person, and that’s all fine and good. I’m just not a big fan of narrated stories; often they’re too long (for my ADD attention span), and clumps of descriptive text aren’t punctuated with enough dialogue and drama. In fact, I’d say there’s a little detail-itis going on. A narrated story for me usually lacks the intimacy that I so crave; it’s dense and distant. A big problem is that reading long paragraphs of descriptive text slows me down; it takes a while for my brain to form the images. I sometimes feel like my brain is stuttering.
-A little woo-woo makes me boo-hoo. There isn’t a lot of woo-woo, but there’s enough to bug me. The main character is sort of a medicine woman. I get tired of the prescient woman running around with a handful of herbs and a woo-woo way of sensing things. At the end, Shakespeare (who has only a small role) even senses someone’s presence. It bugs me in any book I read, and it seems like a gimmick. I don’t understand why a writer throws it in. Ditch the woo-woo, please.
-Good grief! For me, the second half of the book is weak. It’s mostly about grief, with nothing really happening. For me that got old; the story lost its momentum. It was an excellent study in grief, but I wanted some drama, even a little. Please?
-Do something! Say something! I wanted a little more action and dialogue, what can I say?
-This book won’t cheer you up, I’ll tell you that. The major gist is a kid dying. How sad is that? I don’t require Hallmark or happy dances, but the tone is somber for the whole book, with no letup.
O’Farrell doesn’t ever dress her words in polyester; she goes with 500-thread cotton. They’re always beautiful and classy, but here there’s not enough color.
I liked O’Farrell’s other books more. As I obnoxiously keep repeating, I wanted dialogue. There were chances to have conversations and they were missed. I was chomping at the bit for spoken words.
I know I whine and whine, but I adore O’Farrell and I’m not in the least sorry that I read this one. I’m in awe of her creativity; I marvel at how she imagined Shakespeare’s family life and wove this fascinating tale together. Her language is to die for, and man does she know how to put sentences together. And the sentences lead to brilliant paragraphs and then to a whole feast of a story that is incredibly rich. I’m not squirming like a worm anymore; writing this review made me know that giving it 4 stars was the only way to go.
Thanks to Edelweiss for the advance copy.
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
Hamnet.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
September 6, 2019
– Shelved
September 6, 2019
– Shelved as:
to-read
September 6, 2019
– Shelved as:
historical-fiction
January 6, 2020
– Shelved as:
favorite-authors
January 6, 2020
– Shelved as:
edelweiss
July 3, 2020
–
Started Reading
July 15, 2020
–
Finished Reading
July 27, 2020
– Shelved as:
mostly-not-set-in-u-s
July 28, 2020
– Shelved as:
2020-runners-up
Comments Showing 1-50 of 54 (54 new)
message 1:
by
Meagan
(new)
Jul 28, 2020 01:08PM
![Meagan](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1645136459p1/3168826.jpg)
reply
|
flag
![Lisa (NY)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1544530609p1/8051792.jpg)
![Zoeytron](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1542977636p1/12656534.jpg)
![Royce](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1708979486p1/2197691.jpg)
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
Thanks, Meagan! My to-read pile is ridiculous!
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
Thanks, Jenna. The flea’s journey was out of this world! I might have to read those pages again!
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
Lisa: I wish I had, too, but I’m still happy I read it. The feeling I got after I turned the last page was a good one. I predict you’ll like it a lot.
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
Thanks so much, Zoey! Sometimes the language is just magic, plain and simple.
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
Thanks, Royce. Oh you lucky dog you! I’m going to look for that interview! Glad to meet another O”Farrell fan.
![Holly R W](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1693166593p1/76100631.jpg)
"I was chomping at the bit for spoken words." I once went to see an exhibit of Escher's art. It was of course, all black and white. As much as I like him, at the end of it I was thinking, "I need color!"
![Cheri](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1649628205p1/106692.jpg)
![Angela M is taking a break.](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1640644927p1/4685500.jpg)
![Robin](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1681583534p1/36555254.jpg)
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
Thanks so much, Holly. If I can make someone smile, it makes my day!
Ah, Escher. His drawings are so brilliant, but yes, we need some color!! pretty please!
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
Thanks, Carmel. Hope you like it!!
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
Thanks, Cheri. You crack me up--a "get better" card is what I need, lol! Most people gave this 4 or 5 stars without squirming in the least. I think you'll love it, so don't put it off for too long. (Plus I'm dying to hear what you think.)
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
My memories of it are fond, so yes, the squirming is over. It's a 4 star loud and clear! Her language just envelopes me. She sure does know how to depict grief, in a visceral way.
I wish she would do another memoir (essay format, like in I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death, is just fine). That was my very favorite, followed by The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. What's your favorite of hers?
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
Thanks so much, Robin. I'm thinking you would like O'Farrell. She seems like a classic writer. I hope you read something by her, because I'm dying to hear your take. My favorite fiction of hers is The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. It made my all-time favorites shelf.
![Bianca](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1589154116p1/29843800.jpg)
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
Thanks, Bianca. Believe me, the early time period doesn't get in the way of the story, to my happy surprise. Her writing really has a classic feel to it anyway. I liked her other books more, so I get it if you choose another over this one.
![Candi](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1721649817p1/3639005.jpg)
![Cheri](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1649628205p1/106692.jpg)
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
Thanks, Jennifer. My favorites of hers are I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death (memoir) and The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. Check them out!
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
Thanks so much, Candi! I loved I Am, I Am, too! I highly recommend The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. Made my all-time favorites list.
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
Oh, exciting! I'm so curious to hear what you think. I predict that you'll love it! (Her language, oh her language!)
![Carmel Hanes](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1608232238p1/44095345.jpg)
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
Thanks, Carmel! I really really must go back and read the flea journey. It was a piece of art in and of itself!
Try I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death (memoir) and one of her novels, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. Those are my two favorites, though all of hers are good.
![Carmel Hanes](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1608232238p1/44095345.jpg)
Thanks....I had those added to my growing TBR list, and it's good to know you endorse them as well. :-)
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
Thanks, Cathrine! So much fun when people agree with me, LOL.
![Kerry](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1657194882p1/32430154.jpg)
![Esil](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1443746908p1/3643764.jpg)
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
Wow. Just seeing your comment now. Thank you!
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
Thanks so much, Kerry. Glad I’m not alone. Sorry you ended up abandoning it.
![Debbie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334166735p1/8665845.jpg)
Thanks, Esil. Definitely check this one out. I agree—I mean, it is O’Farrell! I actually ended up calling it a runner-up for best books read in 2020, despite my somewhat lengthy Complaint Board.
![Mark Porton](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1723798465p1/18643650.jpg)
![Dana](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334771012p1/8869362.jpg)
![Pamela](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1513629929p1/34107633.jpg)
![Margitte](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1650004119p1/7481492.jpg)
However, it seems as though this exploration of The Bard's personal life is something totally different, and you do encourage me to reconsider, lolol.
Gillian Flynn was suppose to release her version of Hamlet as part of the Hogarth Project in 2021, but I don't see it anywhere. The movie rights were already sold as well and promised to be a THRILLER! (as announced by the Independent in the UK. "An adaptation of the thriller is underway, featuring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike in the lead roles." Wednesday 28 May 2014)
My cynical self do not gel well with emotional roller coasters in which the authors manage to sooth the reader's soul with lyrical prose while slowly strangling the reader to death. I knowwwww, it's just me! So I need to consider the novel carefully. Dying children is too much for me. I'm a coward. Bite me! :-))
Loved your review!