Blurb from Goodreads:
The Irish Midlands, 1859. An English nurse, Lib Wright, is summoned to a tiny village to observe what some are claiming as a medical anomaly or a miracle – a girl said to have survived without food for months. Tourists have flocked to the cabin of eleven-year-old Anna O’Donnell, and a journalist has come down to cover the sensation. ‘The Wonder’ is a tale of two strangers who transform each other’s lives, a psychological thriller, and a story of love pitted against evil.
It’s been over four months since my last book review and I’ve read maybe three books in that time. I’d say that’s life but, honestly, that’s no excuse not to read. This book was recommended to me by my friend, Melanie, and I’m really glad I read it.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a grim as a post-Famine, Irish midlands novel should be. It’s set in a claustrophobic community, in which a young girl is at the centre of a particular type of religious fervour, stoked among the less educated by educated men who should know better. My friend described the experience of reading it as almost like gaslighting, and it is. Lib Wright, a nurse trained under Florence Nightingale, is sent to oversee this evolving miracle, and she is not religious, or spiritual in any way. She is trying to get to the bottom of this mystery, because it cannot be a miracle, but she’s enthralled by Anna, too.
I’m still unsure as to how I feel about the ending. I don’t know if I believe it or even if I’m supposed to believe it; it was neat in a way that clashes with the ugliness of the story to that point. Regardless, this was a compelling read and I do recommend it.
It’s not a long book (though it took me a long time to read it), and there are some beautiful turns of praise. Much to my shame, this is the first book by Emma Donoghue that I’ve read but I’m eyeing The Pull of the Stars.
Rating: 4 stars
TL;DR: A post-Famine Irish novel is never going to be a laugh a minute, but the atmosphere and mystery of this book makes it well worth the read.
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