I’ve Read Nearly 200 Books in the Past 5 Years—Here’s My Absolute Favorite

Set in 1580 England at the start of the Black Death, Hamnet imagines the story of Shakespeare’s real-life son, who died of the plague at age 11, just as his father’s career was beginning to take shape.

If you’re groaning at the thought of either Shakespeare or sixteenth century England, let me stop you right there. This book requires neither knowledge of nor a particular affinity for either. In fact, Shakespeare’s name is never uttered once within the 320 pages—he’s simply referred to as “the father” or “the Latin tutor.” Rather, the story belongs to his wife, Agnes, a free-spirited herbalist who manages the homestead while her husband is away in London.

I read this book in the depths of the pandemic, while enmeshed like never before in the day-to-day of my own two young children who were suddenly home non-stop. And I found Agnes’ aspirations and grief both relatable and otherworldly; O’Farrell’s language is haunting, and she draws you into a world of catastrophe from the very first page. (Seriously, the opening scene involves Hamnet racing to find a doctor for his ill twin, and your heart pounds along with his every movement.)

Ultimately, it’s this compulsive readability mixed with poignancy that made this my top pick. When I read a book, I want to feel and think and find parallels with my own life and times. Hamnet is the total package.