Greetings. I hope you’ve had a good week. It seems the CDC created a bit of uncertainty lately when they announced suddenly that fully vaccinated people in the U.S. can now be indoors and outdoors without wearing masks in most places, which prompted such companies as Walmart, Trader Joe’s, and Costco to lift mask mandates, but other businesses to keep them. As of May 15, 36.7 percent of the country’s population has been fully vaccinated. I just wonder: whether it’s too soon to drop masks? I’m sure the vaccines are highly effective, but I sort of thought they’d wait until more of the population was vaccinated. And who’s to know who’s been fully vaccinated. Hmm, the CDC it seems has jumped from one end of the spectrum to the other in their recommendations.
Meanwhile we remain under strict restrictions here in Canada, many public places are closed and in our province they continue to ban outdoor golf and tennis for those from different households, ugh. Recently there was an interesting British study that found that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine generates antibody responses three-and-a-half times larger in older people when a second dose is delayed to 12 weeks after the first injection. I guess this is good news for us since people here must wait months apart to be able to get their second vaccine shot. So apparently the shot will be quite a protector once we are (finally) called up to get it.
Meanwhile it’s been a warm and wonderful weekend with much gardening and bike rides here. We will likely be ready to plant the vegetable garden next weekend. Hooray, spring will soon be in its full glory. Above are some tulips that wanted to be the first to bloom. And now, I will leave you with a review of what I finished lately.
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell / Knopf / 320 pages / 2020
This novel was on many Best-Of lists last year and picked up quite a few awards, namely the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Awards among others. I took my sweet time getting to it, but I knew I eventually would. It’s historical fiction, which I’ve been loving lately, and I knew beforehand that it would be about Shakespeare’s family and the apparent loss of his son, age 11, who I never knew about (he was a twin!) and who happened to have the same-ish name as one of the bard’s most famous plays — “Hamlet.” My curiosity was piqued.
Apparently much remains unknown about Shakespeare’s life … but it’s true he lived more than 400 years ago (1564 to 1616) and grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. His father (who’s abusive in the novel) was said to be a leatherworker who made gloves, and Shakespeare married when he was 18 to Anne Hathaway, age 26, (called Agnes in the novel), who was already expecting their first child Susanna. Then three years later in 1585 they had twins: Judith and Hamnet, Shakespeare’s only son. At some point Shakespeare moved to London to work in the theater, while his wife stayed in Stratford with the children. Then something happened that struck at home. Was it the Plague?
Perhaps it’s likely. O’Farrell’s novel takes these threads of Shakespeare’s real life and weaves quite a realistic story about the family’s domestic existence. The novel, which I listened to as an audiobook, started slowly for me while I was getting my bearings about the family and the late 1500s, but by the story’s end I was totally immersed in their world. It’s very lyrically told and alternates between two storylines: the past — about how Shakespeare and his wife come to meet and their marriage; and the present — with Hamnet looking for help for his twin sister Judith, who’s become ill.
It surprised me a bit that the tale comes mostly from Shakespeare’s wife Agnes. She’s the central character of the book. And the name of William Shakespeare never really appears in the novel — early on he’s the “Latin teacher” and later Agnes’s husband. The story focuses on their marriage quite a bit, which makes it interesting … as scholars apparently have wondered whether their marriage was a strained one. He lived in London a lot of the time, which is about 80 miles from her in Stratford, so it might not have been all roses. The Plague, too, features prominently in the story, which gives it a timely perspective to our own pandemic. Both forced closures and sometimes crazy remedies. And there’s plenty of birthing, dying, and plague and pestilence in this … as well as heartbreaking grief.
O’Farrell does a wondrous job opening up the family’s world and putting you there. It made me imagine the playwright’s life and times in ways I’d never thought about before. The ending too is cleverly done … with Agnes winding up in London and seeing and reacting to her husband’s play. The last chapter, which is a long one, was my favorite of the novel. I’m sure it’ll make me see the play “Hamlet” in a whole new light, knowing now about what Shakespeare went through just four years before.
Kudos to O’Farrell for her talent in writing this. I’m curious to go back sometime and read her 2017 memoir “I Am, I Am, I Am,” which others have liked. I also want to go back and watch Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 movie of “Hamlet,” which I never saw. Did you?
That’s all for now. What about you — have read this novel or author, and if so, what did you think? And how are you doing?
We’ve faithfully worn masks indoors/outdoors, even when we walked in our neighborhood and didn’t run across another person. The lifting of restrictions (based, we were told, on studies done) is good news for us, but it will be terrible for small business owners who haven’t gotten vaccinated yet. And I do not understand why outdoor golf/tennis has been disallowed. Such confusing times.
Tulips have always been one of the most beautiful flowers. Much too hot here to grow them, sadly.
Fabulous review of Hamnet. The author did an amazing job of drawing the characters, the time, and the place, and I felt like I was there. It is sometimes more difficult to tell a story that is somewhat familiar, like this one, but she kept me reading on.
Thanks Deb. I didn’t know anything about Shakespeare’s real life so I was pulled in by the story. Glad you liked Hamnet too.
The Covid regulations here on outdoor activity seem to go beyond science and are crazy. My tennis friends & I are ticked off and hope it changes soon. I’m glad that things are able to open more down south. It’ll be interesting to see people managing the big box stores without masks. Enjoy your week.
Sorry things are still a bit unsettling COVID-wise in Canada. Our state has one of the 3 highest vaccinated populations and we are back in Phase 4 reopening mode with venues like weddings able to have 200. We’ve done indoor dining in 2-different states in the month of May and felt safe. It does feel nice to feel like we are moving in the right direction.
I read Hamnet the end of last year and liked it, sad story really and, I wasn’t expecting Agnes to be at the forefront of the story but, it worked well.
Hi Diane: glad you liked Hamnet … you’re right, Agnes does a good job as the story’s focal point. I’m glad too things are becoming safer where you live. It will be great if the world can get it under totally control by fall. Have a great week.
This was one of my favorite books of 2020. I found it especially effective being told from the wife’s standpoint and focused on the family. O’Farrell evokes the period that she writes about so assuredly and with such empathy for this suffering family that I really felt I was there. It was profoundly affecting and I found myself in tears at times, especially in that wonderful final chapter. I’m delighted to read that you liked the book as well.
Thanks Dorothy, the story seemed totally convincing to me. I agree O’Farrell wrote about it all quite seamlessly It was quite sad and I kept hoping Hamnet wouldn’t pass. The family & marriage were quite interesting to me. I’m glad it was a favorite of yours last year. It appears to be historical fiction at its best. Have a great week.
The new CDC guidelines sure took me by surprise! We will continue socializing with fully vaccinated friends and eating outdoors unmasked, but still wear masks in stores. The vaccination rate is just too low in our FL county. I sure hope things improve in Canada, too.
I’ve been enjoying historical fiction lately, too… quite a surprise! Have been on the fence about Hamnet, but may just give it a try.
Hi JoAnn: I listened to the audio of Hamnet and at first it started slowly for me …. but I plugged on and later became invested in it. I think you’d like the audio of it … which shows how lyrically done it is. Give it a try.
I too was really surprised by the CDC announcement …. outdoors without masks seems fine …. but indoors in crowded areas? We’ll eventually get there!
Hope your week is great.
It does seem a bit unsettling to think that those who have been vaccinated will shed their masks indoors. We will continue to wear ours just to be on the safe side. We still don’t know exactly how long these vaccines will last and while I’m fine with getting a booster shot, there will come a day when we suddenly discover that the efficacy of the original vaccines has diminished. What then? Will we see a surge until everyone gets their boosters? Will we have to go back into lockdowns? I guess time will tell, right?
I’m glad you’ve been able to get outside and enjoy some warmer weather. Bike riding and gardening both sound delightful. And those tulips! Gorgeous.
I am so looking forward to reading Hamnet later this year (for book group) and hope that with all the glowing reviews, it isn’t going to be overhyped. I have yet to hear anything negative about the book, so fingers crossed.
Hi Lesley, I hope you enjoy Hamnet for your book group … just be patient as the story takes a little while to get going. But I think you will be rewarded as it goes along. I particularly enjoyed the audiobook of it. The British narrator did a much better job with it than I could ever do.
As for not wearing masks … I’m sure it feels a bit weird at first. Gosh I can’t imagine going into a grocery without one! Ha. strange world. I think or hope the booster shots will do the trick so it won’t become like this again. Perhaps we’ll have to get one every year, like a flu shot. Hmm. Perhaps in June we will get out of lockdown here. Enjoy your books & week.
So happy to learn you have gotten to Hamnet! You have reviewed it very well and I am pleased you liked the parts that I did as well. I also liked how Agnes was a talented herbalist and healer — which makes the ending all the more tragic. She is an incredibly well-imagined character — as are the children. I too am in the Favorite Book of the Year Club with this one, as you know.
I also read O’Farrell’s The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox last year. It had promise but wasn’t half as good as Hamnet. I will look for her memoir which you mention. Hamnet definitely has me on the watch for anything else by O’Farrell.
Enjoy getting the veggies in the ground & happy spring!!
Hi. Yeah I knew I had to get to it — since it was one of your favs last year. I became taken with it especially towards the end. You make a good point about Agnes being the healer. And she was focusing so much on Judith that she overlooked Hamnet getting sick, ugh. Very tragic tale. Their Plague must have been (so) much worse than ours. The fatality rates must have been brutal. We will see what O’Farrell puts out next. I think she had been thinking about this being a possible tale for quite awhile. What’s next with your book groups? Happy reading …. & thx for stopping by too.
I really feel like the CDC is having us open up too early. I will continue to wear my mask for a while longer. How much longer? Not sure, but it feels strange to take it off inside when I am in public.
I’ve heard such good things about Hamnet, but just can’t get myself to read it though I am not sure why.
Hi Helen: yeah I can imagine it must be a strange feeling not to wear the mask indoors in public places. It’s become so automatic. I think wearing it awhile longer seems a good idea.
The Hamnet novel is not exactly a summer kind of fast read, but it’s not really dense or hard to understand either, which I was glad about. The subject matter is a bit sobering. Maybe for another time. Have a great week.
Australia has adapted the 12 week gap between vaccinations though the roll out is stupidly slow. It’s not really an issue where I live as we’ve only had two cases in our region during the entirety of the pandemic. My parents have had their first shots finally though.
Hamlet has been a popular read, I’m am interested in it but not super eager I must admit.
Wishing you a great reading week
Thanks Shelleyrae. That’s good your parents got their first shots even though you don’t have it there. Good to know Australia has adopted the 12 week gap too. Our rollout has been slow as well …. just picking up lately. We have much more of a Covid problem here … but maybe by June it’ll be better. Hamnet was something finally on my agenda that came in from the Library. Have a great week.
Hamnet is on my list and there is a beautiful new cover for it.
The CDC’s statement has caused so many problems. My son’s shop, Williams Sonoma is requiring mask wearing but now he is forced to police it and it’s not going great. When I went a restaurant the other day to pick up a sandwich, people walking in did not have masks, over 6 separate people and the employees were having a time with at least half of them. Such tension! I don’t need and they don’t get paid enough to deal with it.
Yeah Ti, I sympathize … policing mask wearing is no fun! Good grief, that would be a pain. I was totally surprised by the CDC’s announcement. And it seems to have caused an inconsistent ruckus within businesses etc. Your poor son dealing with this.
I looked at the new Hamnet cover and I couldn’t decide which one I wanted to post with my review. I ended up going with the boy’s picture … sort of emblematic. Now I’m curious about the author’s memoir. Hmm.
Enjoy your week.
Hamnet was one of my favourites from 2020! So moving and I thought the ending was really well done. Glad you enjoyed it too!
We are in semi-lockdown here in Kingston too, but things are looking up.
Take care!
Jillann
Hey Jillann: I’m glad you wrote! And liked Hamnet too. I must credit my sister for pushing me to read it. I’m surprised even Kingston is in a lockdown … you all were doing so well earlier. Alberta is in the cellar …. but I’m hoping it’s turning around. Maybe in a couple weeks … the outdoor restrictions will lift. That part never made much sense to me. We are doing what we can. The Library here seems busy despite been just curbside pick up. I have a big pile of new ones, ha! I can’t get to them all … Enjoy your spring. We will visit Banff in June for a few days and will give your regards to town. Cheers.
I just listened to the author being interviewed on the New York Times Book Review podcast this morning. Very interesting. She said she chose to focus on his wife because she’s gotten a bad rap as not being a good wife and she wanted to set the record straight. Or something like that. I was also cleaning the bathroom and not paying 100% attention. 🙂 My book club is reading it later in the year – I’m looking forward to it.
Awesome Rachel. So glad you told me. I’m going to listen to the NYT book podcast so I can hear what the author says. I hope you enjoy the book when you get to it. By the end, I was wrapped up in it.
I have been wanting to read Hamnet for some time now, and glad you gave it a good review. It is an intriguing premise, and the writing seems good. Maybe in the next week or so.
I’ve heard Canada is still not out of the woods yet. I have a brother in Ontario, and they are on lock down still, and like you said, only half vaccinated.
Take care–stay safe and vigilant–and read one.
Thanks Jane. I appreciate you telling me that your brother in Ontario is going through a similar lockdown. Oh it’s taking forever here. I hope the Covid restrictions will lift soon. Good luck to him.
I think you’ll like Hamnet … it took me a little while to warm to it … but I got into it as it went along. I just heard the author last Friday interviewed about the novel on the NY Times book podcast. Interesting.