Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell has been a tremendous success; therefore, I took it up to enjoy this acclaimed novel…alas, it did not work for him, and this about ends my review. Except there is some more, even if it is irrelevant – I am amused somewhat by the thought that I can still see this text wiped out from Goodreads, together with its author, it happened before, because I voice my various concerns, often unrelated to the topic…I even advertise my blog, in fear that I could be banned from Goodreads, ergo there would still be this space https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html

 

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell has been a tremendous success; therefore, I took it up to enjoy this acclaimed novel…alas, it did not work for him, and this about ends my review. Except there is some more, even if it is irrelevant – I am amused somewhat by the thought that I can still see this text wiped out from Goodreads, together with its author, it happened before, because I voice my various concerns, often unrelated to the topic…I even advertise my blog, in fear that I could be banned from Goodreads, ergo there would still be this space https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html

 

 

8 out of 10

 

I have tried to read Hamnet, that is have someone read it to me, in audiobook format, but somehow, I was not paying attention, evidently, I blamed the ‘other side’, the book was not for me, although I admit it must be impressive, with all that applause, we have the "De gustibus non disputandum est" argument to use

 

Flow https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/01/flow-by-mihaly-csikszentmihalyi.html is a classic of psychology by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, co-founder of positive psychology, and you find there the conditions needed to reach Maximum Experience, Get into The Zone, or Flow, and one of them is ‘nothing else matters’

 

Apart from formidable concentration, there are: you are in control, it is autotelic, you have clear and meaningful goals, feedback is constant and instant, time is relative, as Einstein explained “When you sit with a nice girl for two hours you think it’s only a minute, but when you sit on a hot stove for a minute you think it’s two hours. That’s relativity.”

Another aspect is ‘you are between boredom and burnout’, challenged, but not to the point where you are overwhelmed, and coming ‘to the point’, Hamnet was not boring, maybe I should accept that at my age (I will be 62 on February 10, 2026) I avoid books that do not gratify almost instantly, and make time pass with significance

 

Therefore, I watched the film, adapted by the author and the director, Chloe Zhao, the latter has won the Oscar already for her Nomanland (notwithstanding that, here is another work that did not enthuse me) the movie has multiple nominations, including for Best Picture, and Jesse Buckley is the favorite to win for Best Actress in a Leading Role

She plays Agnes, the real main character of the narrative, a remarkable woman, she can train hawks, and has one that scared my macaws, I was watching the movie with them in attendance, she seems to have magical powers, knows the herbs, has an impressive EQ, emotional intelligence, but she failed to alter all my prejudices

 

For some strange reason, I had known I do not like Jesse Buckley, albeit I must admit that in the end, she over ruled that decision, indeed, I was told by the Governor that the end is ‘ninety percent of the film’, and yes, there is rapture there, it is uplifting, emotional, inspiring, memorable and it does change the ‘picture’

It is maybe one of those cases we find about in Blink https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/01/blink-power-of-thinking-without.html The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, another psychology classic (contested though by some) by Malcolm Gladwell, we find The Thin Slicing Theory, The Harding Effect, the example of John Gottman

 

We form an opinion in a short time, take decisions fast, it goes back to the ‘fight or flight’ the need to escape danger, also to get food, but there are situations where the first impressions are wrong, not that the proverb is correct, because appearances count for the most part, Hamnet seemed to get nowhere for me

What with the rather uninteresting personage of William Shakespeare – now that I write this, maybe he needed some time in the corner, or the shadows, and the theory that his wife, Agnes, could have had such a tremendous impact on Will and his work – and the quite common courtship, struggle, it did not show that we will have that grand finale

 

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – I am on Goodreads as Realini Ionescu, at least for the moment, if I keep on expressing my views on Orange Woland aka TACO, it may be a short-lived presence

Also, maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the benefits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

 There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

 

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

 

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’