Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

One of Shakespeare's most famous plays is called Hamlet. Did you know that it was named for his son Hamnet who died? This story is about a young life cut short and how it impacted the people around him.

I wanted to like this book, but I couldn't. There are a ton of different voices and narrators and timelines woven throughout and it was too much. Several of them felt unneeded and they just complicated the story.

I liked Agnes and her story. How she lost her mother at a young age and how she was ostracized for being an odd child. Personally the parts about her childhood were the most interesting parts. I wanted more about her and her Kestrel, how her ability worked if it was inherited by her children.

Shakespeare himself is barely in this book and when he is it's forgettable. The ending is the only part where he truly plays a strong part. He's a mostly absent father who leaves his family to go make his way in the world and provide for them only coming home at most a few times a year.