Select language, opens an overlay

Comment

Dec 30, 2020Brontina66 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
What an unusual, beautiful book! As the title indicates, the plot is a fictionalized story of Shakespeare's son Hamnet (or Hamlet), who died (supposedly of plague) when he was only 11. The name Shakespeare is never mentioned in the book, and Anne is here called Agnes (apparently a spelling variation of her name). This is clearly a work of fantasy, a very personal interpretation of events happened many centuries ago and about which we really don't know much. But I liked it very much, I think this is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I don't want to give away too much, so I will just say that the story moves on two levels: Hamnet and Judith's sickness and the story of Agnes and Will's meeting and love. The two levels meet at the moment of the boy's untimely death, when his parents react in radically different ways to their loss. The last pages are the most moving and the author's ending is truly memorable. I was crying when I got to the last sentence. This book is a case of suspension of disbelief, because if you want to read it keeping in mind the truth - or what we think is the truth - you will not enjoy it. O'Farrell creates a world of unbelievable characters that we want to believe, using a style so poetic that you will want to reread several sections just for the pleasure of seeing those words again. If you love Shakespeare or a very good book, this is for you.