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Original poster

Maggie O'Farrell - recommendations

25 replies

maggiethecat · 01/05/2021 22:43

Just finished reading Hamnet which was so beautifully written and I'd like to read another of her books.

Which would you recommend?

OP posts:

Kentuki · 01/05/2021 22:48

She’s brilliant and tbh she hasn’t written a bad book. I would start with After You’d Gone and just read them all, I think she’s only published 7 or 8.

ShowOfHands · 01/05/2021 22:49

I still love After You'd Gone which was her first one but The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox was good too.

mermaidsariel · 01/05/2021 22:50

All of them are great

ShowOfHands · 01/05/2021 22:50

I agree though, I loved them all.

Original poster

maggiethecat · 01/05/2021 22:53

Thank you all!
I'm amazed - that I'd seen her books around but somehow never read her. Her way with words is just breathtaking - I'm off to buy another book!

OP posts:

Smokeybacon72 · 01/05/2021 22:55

Vanishing act of Esme Lennox was first one I read, wonderful beautifully written novel. The hand that first held mine also stayed with me for days afterwards.

ValerieMorghulis · 02/05/2021 08:52

I really loved The Hand That First Held Mine - it was the first of hers I’d read and I can still remember my reactions to some of the events in it

I hated I am I am I am - the first chapter was good and the one with the child but I thought the whole thing was a bit much. Perhaps a mere 7 or 8 brushed with death might have been more tolerable for the reader!

I was given Hamnet recently so will read it very soon

LlamaofDrama · 02/05/2021 09:05

After You'd Gone is my favourite book ever. Her others that I've read are well written, interesting, and a joy to read but just don't quite move me in the way that does.

applecatchers36 · 02/05/2021 09:11

Instructions for a heatwave is also great

Firstaidnovice · 02/05/2021 09:14

I agree with the recommendations to read all of them, but actually, I am I am I am is one of my favourites. And After You'd Gone, although I read that years ago. Might dig it out for a re-read. I also heard her on Desert Island Discs recently which is worth a listen.

LifeInAHamsterWheel · 02/05/2021 09:14

Love her she's one of my favourite authors. Esme Lennox is my favourite book although I enjoyed them all - well, Hamnet is in a different league it's unlike any of her other books. I really enjoyed I Am I Am I Am, found it fascinating and I love the way she writes. Just read them all OP! They're all independent so doesn't matter what order you go. Enjoy!

PostieModern · 02/05/2021 09:27

I think I've read all of them, except Hamnet, and have loved them. Probably my favourite was the Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox but I also have a soft spot for what I think was her first book, After you'd gone, partly because it's partly based in North Berwick, which I know very well

LifeInAHamsterWheel · 02/05/2021 11:04

Hamnet is so so good. She clearly did so much research before writing it, she really brings to life how things were at that time. It's just so well written and so interesting.

Scarby9 · 02/05/2021 11:09

Hamnet is amazing.
I second The Hand that once held mine, but honestly you could pick at random and be guaranteed a good read.

joanneg36 · 02/05/2021 11:28

Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox is the best, IMO.

Didiusfalco · 02/05/2021 11:33

I love ‘After You’d Gone’ but thought ‘This must be the place’ was a load of crap. Felt like it was deliberately confusing for no purpose.

YoutubeZoom · 04/05/2021 22:59

I have read all her books and loved them.

LatinforTelly · 06/05/2021 10:12

I've read a few, not all. I loved instructions for a heatwave(?). The mother daughter relationship is so beautifully drawn. Sentences from it have stayed with me.

barnanabas · 14/05/2021 17:22

The Irish mum, Gretta, in Instructions for a Heatwave is one of most real 'jumps of the page' people I have ever encountered in a book. It's worth reading just for her (though it's generally very good I think).
I really liked After You'd Gone and also This Must Be the Place. I think I may have read all her books, and those are my favourites. I haven't read Hamnet yet though, but I will.

barnanabas · 14/05/2021 17:23

*off the page! Sorry

ElMacchiato · 15/05/2021 12:56

They're all v readable. I prefer Instructions for a heatwave and This must be the place.
They feel more rounded as books.

Am looking forward to Hamnet.

alloverthecarpetagain · 15/05/2021 16:55

I agree with pp that Hamnet is in a different league to the others.

plus3 · 14/06/2021 22:33

Adored After You’d gone, made everyone read it, I also really loved This must be the place. Hamnet though was utterly wonderful. I do think you find different things in her writing at various stages of life - read AYG having just met my DH, Hamnet whilst our DC were older...she is a fabulous writer

BunnyRuddington · 15/06/2021 20:51

I'm glad you started this OP as Hamnet was the first book of hers that I've read as well followed by My Lover's Lover. I was completely hooked in the first chapter but was a bit disappointed overall. I'm willing to give her another go though

TiddleTaddleTat · 19/06/2021 09:50

Agree. Hamnet was just beautiful wasn't it?
I've got I am I am I am which is more biographical. Interested in these novel suggestions

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