ibnussabel@comelibros.club reseñó Hamnet de Maggie O'Farrell
Review of 'Hamnet' on 'Goodreads'
3 estrellas
Not my cup of tea.
paperback, 352 páginas
Publicado el 22 de Febrero de 2021 por Libros del Asteroide.
Hamnet is a 2020 novel by Maggie O'Farrell. It is a fictional account of Shakespeare's son, Hamnet, who died at age 11 in 1596. In 2020, the book won the Women's Prize for Fiction and National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. The following year, it was named "Novel of the Year" at the Dalkey Literary Awards, was shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize, and longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.In 2023, a stage adaptation of the novel by Lolita Chakrabarti will premiere at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon re-opening the Swan Theatre since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Not my cup of tea.
Maggie O'Farrell ens regala una magnífica biografia novelada de William Shakespeare, plena de fantasia i de moments onírics. La mort del seu fill Hamnet als 11 anys és l'eix central del llibre, però l'autèntica protagonista és la seva dona Agnes, que fa de pal de paller de tota la història i també del matrimoni amb Shakespeare. Una dona amb poders quasi sensorials, amb coneixements ancestrals en medicina natural, en herbes i altres remeis, i capaç de sentir presències fantasmals i de percebre els sentiments dels altres només agafar-los les mans. Al final, viuen els anhels d'eternitat que tots posem en els nostres fills i filles.
I generally don't like historical fiction. My last taste of it was Wolf Hall, which I despised. I'm not a romantic either. I should've hated this book, but I didn't. I loved it.
The characters of Agnes and Hamnet are brilliantly imagined, the rest maybe not so much but this story isn't about the others. The prose is beautiful without being overly pretentious.
Trigger warnings: plague; death of a child.
Superb writing and a sad, sad, story.
Delicioso
La trama del libro queda perfectamente resumida en el breve párrafo que lo abre: "En la década de 1580, una pareja [...] tuvo tres hijos: Susanna y Hamnet y Judith, que eran gemelos. Hamnet, el niño, murió en 1590 a los once años. Cuatro años más tarde su padre escribió una obra de teatro titulada Hamlet".
Alrededor de esa trama, O'Farrel construye una narración minuciosa, penetrante y con la dosis justa de preciosismo centrada esos personajes. Sobre todo en Agnes, la madre, a la que convierte en un personaje complejo y carismático. No es ni mucho menos una novela histórica al uso, sí un relato cautivador sobre una familia y dos tragedias (una real, otra escrita).
Nota: si al principio te parece más morosa de la cuenta, dale tiempo. Merece la pena.
Bravo! Author Maggie O'Farrell has taken a few known facts from history and woven them into a lovely novel. I was absolutely captivated, all the way through. This story is populated with intriguing characters and the pacing is excellent. It is a memorable story, and I am so glad that I picked it up.
In other words, I recommend it.