Book Log 2022 #25: Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

A novel of the Shakespeare family rather than of the Bard himself, this book is named for William Shakespeare's son Hamnet, who (spoiler alert) died at the age of 11. O'Farrell uses his death to tell two different but related stories, one on how his illness and death affected Shakespeare's work and relationship with his wife, and the other going back to when the pair met and fell in love 15 years before Hamnet's death.

For all the talk of William and Hamnet, the main character of the book is Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare's wife and Hamnet's mother. We know very little about her in real life, possibly not even her first name (at least one surviving document refers to her as Agnes). O'Farrell uses this largely blank canvas to depict Anne as an eccentric, with an interest in healing and falconry. We see how her marriage to Shakespeare leads to conflicts between her original self and her as a wife and mother, and how the loss of Hamnet causes grief, but also an opening through which to reclaim part of herself.

Most commercial reviews of the book were highly positive, while reader reviews seemed more split (a number of people complained about the pacing, as well as finding the characters flat). I did not find either of those to be issues, though as a parent (and as someone who lost a sibling at a relatively early age) I may have connected more with the issues of grief and loss and not noticed other shortcomings.