Hamnet: Beautifully tragic
Read October 6, 2024 → October 26, 2024
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A story where you know who is going to do. It made me wonder how this book could keep me captivated, when I knew how it was going to end. But it did captivate me. This story was so tragic, but beautiful at the same time. I loved it.
This story is about the boy that inspired Hamlet, the famous play written by William Shakespeare. Hamnet (so Hamlet, but written slightly differently) was Shakespeare’s son and died at a young age. This story is his, or perhaps more of his mother Agnes. A smart and confident woman, who is never truly understood by people.
There are two storylines woven into each other. One is the present, where Hamnet dies. The other is the past, where Agnes meets Williams and they fall in love. While it took me a little while to get used to the characters and in what time the story took place, it made it extremely interesting. Seeing the start of the relationship of Agnes and William, who is actually never mentioned by name, and seeing the end of one of their children’s lives was an interesting combination.
The loss of a child is heartbreaking for Agnes. She has always felt more than the average human. She sees more than meets the eye and felt that there would be two children to say goodbye to her when she dies. So when the weaker one of the twins, Judith, gets sick, she tries everything in her power to save her. Not realising that Hamnet is willing to do the same. Hamnet decides to sacrifice himself to save his sister. Agnes blames herself for not being able to tell that her son would be the one to die. She blames herself for not saving him. She blames herself for focusing on the wrong child.
Shakespeare is a background character in this story, which is interesting considering this story is the inspiration for his play. We learn about his character through others. His father, who abuses him. The people of the town, who do not care about him. Agnes, who is the only who sees more in him. She can tell he has something special. She is not even certain what this special something is, but she decides that he must leave for London. It is the only way for him to live his true life, even if it means a crack in their relationship.
I’ve read this book for the Laufey Book Club and I would have never picked it out myself. However, I am so happy to have read it. It is such a tragic story, which the reader is luckily prepared for by the author. This story shows how far Agnes is willing to go to make her loved ones feel happy. She lets her husband go to London, tries everything she can to save her illness, to in the end lose her son.
In short, this story is a breathtaking tragedy, and I recommend it to everyone.
