Diane Barnes's Reviews > Hamnet

Well. I was looking for something very different from the southern novel I had just finished and the one I wanted to start soon, to give me a change of pace. So, a novel set in the sixteenth century about Shakespeare 's wife and family promised that. I have also been wanting to read something by Maggie O'Farrell as I have read some wonderful reviews, so her newest offering checked that box. I knew from the first page that I had chosen well.

What I didn't realize was that this is a work of art. Any superlative adjective will work here. This author has taken a man with an instantly recognizable name the world over, who, ironically, not much is known about except for a few facts taken from public records of 400 years ago, and she has made him come to life, without mentioning his name even once. More importantly, his wife and children, his parents, brothers and sisters, and the village of Stratford on Avon are turned into real people, real places.

The writing pulled me in, beautifully showing me the courtship and marriage of Will and Agnes (Anne) Hathaway, her pregnancies, daily life, his decision to leave his family and go to London, the death of their 11 year old son, Hamnet, and the grief of the mother and family, especially his twin, Judith.

The lack of facts known about William Shakespeare enabled O'Farrell to give free rein to her imagination, using those facts as groundwork to weave a plausible tale about how it might have been, what might have happened and why.

Lest you dismiss this book because you have no interest in Shakespeare, let me just explain that neither did I. However, this is going on my favorites list and might possibly be the best book I've read this year. It cast a spell that didn't let up from first page to last. Highly recommended for anyone looking for great writing combined with a great story and great characters.