Book Review: Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Hamnet Maggie O'Farrell When I started this book I found it insufferable. The first section is very anxiety inducing while meandering about overdrawn metaphors. I found the characters irritating. And it felt cruel to be given the spoiler to what half the book leads up to. So you just keep wondering when it's gonna happen. I recall being drawn in for the first time as soon as the storyline regarding Agnes began. She is a uniquely caricatured character that you easily sympathize with. It felt like the author finally finds her footing by centering the perspective from Agnes. After starting the book with such indifference, I was a bit taken aback to find myself on the verge of tears on a bus while halfway through. Despite the drawn out writing, the book manages to entwine the readers interest in the characters' wellbeing surreptitiously. The children's voices I initially found irksome became the most emotionally rich. You become one with Agnes' desperation to change...
