From the Bookshelf of Constant Reader…

Hamnet

Maggie O'Farrell

Start date: May 15, 2021

Finish date: June 1, 2021

Discussion: Reading List

Discussion leader: Lyn Dahlstrom

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Reading List

* The Schedule for July through Dec. 2025
By Lynn · 1 post · 43 views

last updated Jun 20, 2025 08:37AM

In Winter I Get Up at Night by Jane Urquhart Spoilers/Discussion
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What Members Thought

May 14, 2022 Laura rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, irish-literature, read-2022, mtbr-challenge-2022

Another excellent book by Maggie O'Farrell. This is the type of book which we regret when it comes to the end.

4* The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
4* After You'd Gone
4.5* Hamnet
TR The Hand That First Held Mine ...more

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Aug 15, 2021 Linda rated it it was amazing

I really enjoyed this. But I don’t recommend it for any mother of twins. The relationship between Hamnet and Julia is so beautiful and the fallout for her very difficult to imagine. I also appreciated Anne’s initial anger and ultimate respect for her husbands grief response. If you’ve ever doubted that everyone grieves differently, read this if only for that understanding. It saddens me, though, that such strong grief ultimately resulted in the play that everyone knows and a great grief displaye ...more

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Jan 20, 2022 Dianne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Devastating. A shining example of a mother’s love and the everyday lives of everyday people (never mind Shakespeare). Gorgeous writing that envelopes me in time and place.

If you go into this thinking it’s going to be other than a quiet reflection on the death of a child, prepare to be disappointed. If you want to be engrossed in one woman’s brief moments in time, you might love it like I did.

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