Hamnet, by Maggie O’Farrell

This book tells the incredible story of the lives of the wife and children of Shakespeare and how their lives were changed by the plague. Hamnet (or Hamlet), his son, died of the plague whilst he was very young, and the play that we all know was named after him. It is absolutely beautifully written, and really, really heartbreaking. The story is told in the third person throughout, but the perspective and focus shifts between characters, animals and an omniscient narrator - it was refreshingly different. We jump back and forth in time to different generations and places, and it all weaves together eventually. I really liked that Shakespeare’s name is never mentioned in the book! The author did a brilliant job directing the spotlight away from him (for once), and to the amazing stories of this family's lives.

How dyslexic-friendly is it?

This book gets 5 stars for me because it was so beautifully written, moving and interesting. However I did find it a bit of a challenge to read at first! It took me a while to realise when the story jumps about to different places and characters - we are speaking about the same group of people across the generations and are coming across them in different stages of life. The further through I got, the easier I found it to read, so I’m really glad I stuck with it!

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