Hamnet Book Review

---

Hamnet tells a story widely unknown though contains one very well known person: Shakespeare. Four years before Shakespeare’s Hamlet was first performed, his son, Hamnet, dies suddenly. His wife, a woman surrounded by people deeply suspicious of her due to rumours that her mother was a witch, adores her daughters and son, and so when he dies, his death will ricochet throughout their family and the years that follow.

I would like to start this review by stating that I love Maggie O’Farrell; I’ve read a few of her books and every time I thoroughly enjoy them and look forward to picking another up. So when I learnt she’d written a book about Shakespeare (whom I also love) I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy!

Upon writing this review, I know I have plenty to say about what I thought, but where I find myself struggling is writing a synopsis, and that’s because… nothing happens. For me, the whole book lacked any kind of palpable plot and while O’Farrell’s writing was stunning as always, I really struggle to comprehend why this book needed to be written. I think it’s certainly an interesting insight into life in the 1580s and the historical events at the time such as the Plague and Shakespeare’s formative years, but otherwise, I’m at a loss for what actually happened.

Honestly the most fascinating part was the detailed description of how the Plague made its way on fleas on the back of rats from ships across the ocean to England. Entirely fabricated of course, I loved O’Farrell’s use of imagination to create what was probably a quite accurate description of one of the most fatal and well known pandemics in history.

Now don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of really profound commentary on important topics such as grief, a woman’s role in the 16th century and general family dynamics – I always find O’Farrell to be a master at writing subtle, and plausible stories which always leave a quiet but powerful impact. But for me, these themes could have been explored in other ways, not to mention the whole thing could have just been a 50 page short story…

Boring but admittedly beautiful I understand why some people adore this book and it has not put me off instantly buying anything else O’Farrell has to offer. I’ll just end by saying, if you’re excited about this book, a word of caution that if you’re expecting juicy tidbits about the bard or a riveting plot, then you will be disappointed.