#24 Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrel Warwickshire in the 1580s. Agnes is a woman as feared as she is sought after for her unusual gifts. She settles with her husband in Henley street, Stratford, and has three children: a daughter, Susanna, and then twins, Hamnet and Judith. The boy, Hamnet, dies in 1596, aged eleven. Four years or so later, the husband writes a play called Hamlet.
I'm not a big Shakespeare fan, nor am I a huge historical fiction fan. Yet I can enjoy both. This book...was a struggle to complete. I never would've picked it on my own but I didn't show up at the book club meeting where we were being assigned books to host. I hated this book. It bounced all over the place in time (and frankly, I read a lot and can handle this technique when it's done well). Lots of cryptic, "Had he only known..." with no follow up. Three people's viewpoints on the exact same trivial moments. Tons and tons of excessive description. An entire chapter devoted to describing the journey of a flea that carried a disease. And the plot could be summed up in one paragraph.
Should be an interesting book club meeting.
