I had very high hopes for this book. It was in my library queue on hold for a quite awhile before I was able to finally check it out. As an English teacher, a historical fiction novel that centers around Shakespeare's early life and family is in my wheelhouse; however, I just could not get interested in this book. The third-person narration made it difficult for me to really connect with any of the characters, and I do not think there was a strong connection made between Hamnet and the play Hamlet which I thought was going to be the premise of the book. Overall, I just found the writing somewhat dull. O'Farrell develops her story around the scant records that exist about young Shakespeare, his bride Agnes (Anne Hathaway), their children and their life together. Instead of Shakespeare being the star of this story, the focus is more on Agnes and her life raising their children. As the reader, we do get a good glimpse into what her life might have been like; it just was not enough to really draw me in to the storyline. All in all, I didn't dislike this book, but I didn't love it as I had hoped. For those of you who love historical fiction and are interested in Shakespeare and life during the plague, you might as well give it a try. The reviews on Goodreads and Amazon are all overwhelmingly positive, so it might end up being a book you love.
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