"Hamnet" is a great book to read, and even better to listen to.
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| The Thread's Must-Read | 
Audiobook Version of “Hamnet” by Maggie O’Farrell
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Maggie O’Farrell is a marvel! Who else has the chops to take the backstory of William Shakespeare’s masterpiece play, "Hamlet," and turn it into a remarkably absorbing and accessible novel?
Put it on your “To Be Read” list for fall and don’t miss it! But I’m here to say that there is extra pleasure in listening to this book, in letting the historical setting and lyrical language in this story pour into your ears while your imagination roams.
The audiobook of “Hamnet” — yes, you read that right — is narrated by Ell Potter and she infuses the storytelling with a kind of mystical fragility, a sense of otherworldliness, that is spot on for the nature of the central characters.
Agnes, an herbalist and introvert who frightens the villagers with her potions and foresight, bewitches young Shakespeare with her wild brilliance and when she becomes pregnant, they marry.
The book moves back and forth in time, giving us a portrait of their happy new marriage and then shifting to 15 years on, as the plague descends on Stratford-upon-Avon and young Hamnet’s twin sister, Judith, falls ill.
Maggie O’Farrell, who donned a Hamlet costume for a party at age 16, has long been obsessed with the character. “I felt he was part of my DNA,” she told The Guardian.
And she was eager to set the historical record straight on Shakespeare’s wife. “People often ask, ‘Why did he marry her?’" They should ask instead, she says, “‘Why did she marry him?’”
My Thread Must-Read and Must-Listen is the audiobook of Maggie O’Farrell’s luminous novel, “Hamnet.”
If you missed my book show interview with physician and memoirist Leana Wen, I hope you’ll find it on the podcast — where you can also catch the clues to my very first Adventurous Reading challenge. — Kerri Miller | MPR News |
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 | | Talking Volumes with Lauren Groff | | Buy tickets to the event
Lauren Groff is a two-time National Book Award finalist and the New York Times bestselling author of the novels "The Monsters of Templeton," "Arcadia," and "Fates and Furies." Join in as Groff and host Kerri Miller discuss her new book: "Matrix" Get your tickets for the Sept. 14 event. | | |
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