Tournament of Books discussion

I was a judge here at the TOF last year, and while I was planning to sit out this one, I answered the call when Maggie indicated she was still shy some judges this year especially as I knew I’d have some time while out on paternity leave in June for the birth of my second daughter. I was assigned two books I had previously read (which was the case for almost all of the books that made it in), Hamnet and The Book of Strange New Things. Described very broadly, the former is a historical fiction novel about The Bard’s son and a fictional accounting of his life. The latter involves a religious missionary on a planet on which an alien species was discovered, with the main character working in that capacity there while things fall apart in a too-close-to-reality version of Earth as it currently is.

I was interested in this pairing for a couple of reasons: (1) I thought I remembered having like both quite well originally but Hamnet more and (2) I pretty much NEVER re-read books. I also have some biases I bring to the table, based on my own lived experiences, which I should disclose, specifically that I am rather ardently opposed to organized religion after growing up in a religious conservative background and private religious school(s) throughout my childhood/youth and including a brief stint for a semester in college as well. I tend to think that organized religion in actual practice tends to cause more harm than the good it could do in theory.

With all of that in mind, I had an inkling that Hamnet might run away with this one, though I was determined to give each a fair shake. I flipped a coin to determine which to start with, and that resulted in my beginning with The Book of Strange New Things.

In reading it again, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. While there were some flaws, including the emotional distance I felt the book kept me from main/POV character Peter, I found myself enjoying the book a great deal. Peter’s devotion to his religious mission, which was easier than he expected due to some of the alien population’s (and we do find out later it is a smaller part of the greater whole) great degree of receptiveness to the eponymous Book of Strange New Things/Bible, made him often oblivious and occasionally purposefully avoidant of engaging with the suffering of his wife (and humanity in general…not to mention their poor damn cat) back on Earth, as well as the personal and emotional experiences or lack thereof of his fellow humans on the distant planet. To me, that parallels what can occur with the true-believer types who sometimes lose sight of the real people and real-world issues when focused on humanity as sinners in need of conversion. Nevertheless, Peter seemed truly well-intentioned, often commendable, and believable in his faith and practice. I liked him though I felt somewhat at a remove from him. It was ultimately a 5-star read for me the second time around, as I discovered it had been the first time as well (until I read each, I avoided looking up my first ratings). I highlighted quite a few passages that resonated with me as someone who removed myself from religious beliefs a long time ago. By the time I finished, I was not at all sure it was going to be Hamnet moving forward.

That is, until I truly got into Hamnet. That book, on the other hand, did not keep me at any distance from its titular character. I felt immersed in his world and his family and their experiences. While reading, I could almost smell the good and (many) bad scents described in the book, and I felt like I knew Hamnet’s mind and emotions intimately. Maggie O’Farrell broke my heart again and again in this book, but she made me feel throughout, and I loved every minute. I won’t belabor my own experience too long here, as this book will be discussed more in this TOF, and I’ve already gone on longer than I meant to in this judgment.

Suffice it to say that when it came down to a book that was well-written but in which the protagonist was kept at a distance from this reader (just as he was by his own beliefs from his own family and humanity as a whole) versus a book in which the protagonist’s closeness to and love of his family made me feel his humanity and actual goodness in a way that moved me, well, it was as easy as a choice as I had anticipated. Reader, I doubted my early gut feeling based on my reading order because the first one was very good, but Hamnet was all-caps GREAT for me and moves on.

Well done Adam. I think you nailed what makes Hamnet so great. You are so intimate and within this world with each and every character.

I read 'Hamnet' last year, guessing that it would make it in to the ToF this year.  I liked it.  It was fine.  I didn't love it on the level that many other readers seem to.  Mostly the sentences were crafted beautifully... I could mostly leave Shakespeare to others.

'The Book of Strange New Things' was like waiting for a slow motion (and very long) train to go off the rails but then the train just stops, seemingly well short of the intended destination.  I also tend to be annoyed by books about religion, but Peter was tolerable to me.  Maybe because Peter was neither great nor bad.  Sadly, though the Earth of this book was created ten years ago, it seems scarily more true for 2023 than even the author could have guessed.  My favorite part was all mentions of the cat UP UNTIL.  ugh.

I'm really not sure WHICH of these two books I would have chose!

I probably need to re-read Hamnet. I recently read Book of Strange Things and liked it more than I expected and found it quite compelling to consider all the psychological angles - like how knowing that the author wrote this book while his wife was seriously ill influenced my emotions and a more generous approach to the story.

I don't recall much from Hamnet but his poor wife and the pie-throwing scene. I might have read it in a hurry.

Great readthrough Adam! Loving this tourney and everyone's comments.

I definitely agree with this judgment. But what did it for me was O’Farrell’s portrait of a mother’s grief. It gave me all the feels and that is what I require from a writer to consider their work truly great.

Thank you so much, Adam, for stepping in! And for your well-considered judgment, I agree completely. I thought I'd love Strange New Things, but I ended up DNF'ing because even though the story was interesting I found myself just not caring. It's a shame because I think if it had had a little more heart I might have loved it.

I hadn't read Hamnet when it came out, but after it made the tourney I found it on sale so picked it up and just read it this week. And oh my gosh, I loved it (so much that it's now face out on my shelves.) I don't read/like much historical fiction, but O'Farrell is just such a good storyteller, and this book was magical, heartbreaking, and so engaging. I agree she puts you right there in the home and village and these characters' minds. I loved the little touches of magical realism, and Agnes was such a wonderful creation. So grateful to the tournament for prompting me to finally pick this up.

Completely agree with those that mentioned Agnes as well! She was so fully and wonderfully herself and a singular character in Hamnet. Her grief, like her love for her children, was palpable. By not wanting to go too long in my write-up, I definitely shortchanged her role in my loving the book.

Another thing that I did not get into in my judgment was that for my re-reads of these books, I read them via a mix of e-books and audiobooks, switching back and forth for whichever was most convenient at a given moment. While both audiobooks were quite well done, I really appreciated the way the narrator of The Book of Strange New Things leaned all the way in to the performance of the alien's speech in light of their anatomical structure that made it difficult for them to speak as a human would. I found myself preferring the audiobook especially when they were talking to Peter, due to the quality of that narration.

Another great judgment in this year’s ToF. Adam, I especially like the point you make about Hamnet bringing the reader close.

Excellent judgement, Adam.

I liked Hamnet and while it was certainly excellent, beautifully written, emotionally resonant and by one of my favorite authors, I found TBoSNT to be the more impressive work. I was also raised in a religious home and now have an aversion to anything that seems even slightly Evangelical, and to my astonishment, Faber made me understand that viewpoint despite myself.

Excellent judgment! The Book of Strange New Things was a bit of a disappointment for me since I felt like the story lightly touched on interesting topics, but stayed at the surface level of them. And the emotional distance Adam mentioned reduced the stakes for me, so I was less invested in what was happening.

I would not have read Hamnet without the nudge from this tournament. I have essentially zero interest in Shakespeare as well as old-timey England as a setting. But, I was pleasantly surprised. While the first half left me a little confused about the characters and didn't quite hook me, the second half and the ending resonated. The idea of giving up one life for another was striking, and the ending scene with the father ("he has taken his son's death and made it his own") was powerful.

I agree with this judgment, although I didn't like Strange New Things as much as Adam did. My opinion may be a little distorted because I listened to the audiobook, and while the reader did a great job, his "alien" voice started to grate on me.

Hamnet was probably my favorite read of last year.
The Book of Strange New Things was my biggest surprise of this tournament.

I confess to all of you that I was not terribly excited to read TBoSNT. I'm not Christian, and so I worried that I would frequently be lost and/or miss important allusions. I don't read a lot of scifi (or is this speculative fiction?). The plot synopsis had me convinced that it would either be a "not for me" or even a DNF.

And yet: I found it quite moving. (Surprise!)

I thought it was a perfect pairing with Hamnet because both novels closely examine a loving but imperfect marriage of loving, imperfect, passionate people. What happens to a loving marriage that is borne of challenging circumstances when the marriage itself faces challenging, life-altering circumstances?

As "far out" (literally) as TBoSNT is in terms of setting and plot, it felt at the same time to me absolutely grounded and real in its depiction of the relationship between Peter and Beatrice. I appreciated the respect and sincerity with which the novel treated Peter's faith, and the realism with which it depicted Beatrice's crises of faith. When I had turned the last page, I concluded that the hours I'd devoted to this novel had been time very well spent, and that I was so grateful to the participants in this tournament for nominating a novel I'd not otherwise have read. Thanks all, and thanks to Adam for stepping up to the plate again and delivering a wonderful judgment.

Risa wrote: "What happens to a loving marriage that is borne of challenging circumstances when the marriage itself faces challenging, life-altering circumstances?."

Such a great comment and insight!

I read TBoSNT a while back and didn't re-read for the tournament, so my memory is pretty hazy. I gave it 4 stars. This comparison made me sad I didn't take the time to re-read!

I was not drawn to TBofSNT but some of these comments have led to me putting it on my list after all, to consider.

And, thank you, Adam, for reaffirming my love of Hamnet. :-)

Thanks, Adam!! I would have gone the same way. I love Hamnet. I read Strange New Things for the first time for this tournament. I’m afraid I am not a fan of Faber. Even though I was told this book is nothing like Under the Skin, for me it was. There is something about the tone, the ick factor, the way the aliens are described that makes it an unpleasant reading experience. And I actually like reading about religion. Not practicing it so much. But I think religion is one of the most interesting things about humanity.