Post by @dumteedum

4 ⭐️ hamnet is about william shakespeare and his wife agnes, following the death of their son, hamnet, from the bubonic plague. maggie o'farrell won the women's prize for fiction for this in 2020, and reading it, it's not hard to see why. some thoughts: - despite it’s title, the book really centers around agnes. how fierce she is as a woman, how great her love is as a mother. she’s a healer, an outsider, someone who sees things other people can’t. - people say it’s either overwritten or descriptive. i lean more toward the latter. - i love that the famous playwright is never mentioned by name. he's only ever the husband, the father, the son. it keeps the heart of the story about agnes and her children. - i love the chapter tracing the flea that carried the plague. following its journey from a glassmaker's monkey in alexandria, through ships and cities, all the way to stratford, just to get to this one house. - i loved the ending. the slow build of tension leading to the climax was perfect. finished it really early in the morning and i was bawling my eyes out. great way to start the day imo - have i told you i loved it? #commonplacebook #commonplacejournal #journalwithme #journaling #hamnet