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Feb 09, 2021krsbozo rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Maggie O'Farrell is an amazing writer. I love her work (I have read a work of nonfiction of hers called "I Am, I Am, I Am" and I loved it, too). The writing in Hamnet is exceptional, and it reads like a work of historical fiction, with an element of mysticism or magical realism. The most abiding feature, though, is the love of a mother and father for their child, Hamnet, who dies from the plague in England. Hamnet is a synonym for Hamlet, and apparently scholars believe that William Shakespeare had a boy named Hamnet who died about three years before he wrote the play, "Hamlet." For me, it wasn't a quick read. There is so much sadness infused throughout the pages. Not many books make me weep. This one did.