HAMLET – “Forty rooms” proposes an idea: the idea that a modern woman will inhabit forty rooms in her lifetime. These “rooms” form her biography, her whole life, from her childhood until her death.
The mood of the book is tense, dreamy, murky.
But there is always something lurking. An unfulfilled protagonist, she wears her regrets like wounds, like a crutch she clings to. Her soul wanting more. She could have been so much more, done so much more. But as the reader you ask yourself, could she really?
A never-quite-present narrator leaves you wondering what is real and what is not. Is this fantasy or reality?
Was she really a housewife with no hidden talents or any particular degree of genius that went wasted? This reflection is all of us; we never know until the end which we are, and neither does she.
Forty Rooms reads like a warning for us to live our best lives, be our true selves. It is a humbling thought that most of us will not heed but need to be aware of nonetheless.
The final chapters of Forty Rooms will make you take note of your own mortality. You will be reminded of how quickly time goes by. One day, one year, one decade. Then a whole lifetime is gone. Generations fly by in a blink. Lives that should have been lived to the fullest but weren’t – then the chance is lost.
The story in this book is compelling, thought provoking, and complex. The book leaves the reader asking questions about the life of the protagonist but also of one’s own life. Is it a life well-lived? Were the right choices made? Are things left undone and unsaid? A good book leaves you reflecting on the characters while a great book leaves you reflecting on yourself. This is a great book.
