In Emma Donoghue’s latest masterpiece, an English nurse brought to a small Irish village to observe what appears to be a miracle-a girl said to have survived without food for months-soon finds herself fighting to save the child’s life.
Tourists flock to the cabin of eleven-year-old Anna O’Donnell, who believes herself to be living off manna from heaven, and a journalist is sent to cover the sensation. Lib Wright, a veteran of Florence Nightingale’s Crimean campaign, is hired to keep watch over the girl.
Written with all the propulsive tension that made Room a huge bestseller, THE WONDER works beautifully on many levels–a tale of two strangers who transform each other’s lives, a powerful psychological thriller, and a story of love pitted against evil.
There are none so blind as those that will not see. The Wonder is a story that burns with questions of: ethics, combating final mysteries and even a dose of good discussion all waiting for the perfect hour to share with others. It can also be called an understated tale that may have some sinister “wonders” churning right below the surface. Whatever the final impression, it is sure to have the reader stop and think. I know this book had that effect on me but I’ll be the first to admit I had a completely different idea of what I…
Thought Provoking A skeptical nurse is charged with observing a child who claims not to have eaten in four months. When Lib is sent to Ireland, she initially thinks that 11 year old Anna’s fast is a hoax. Lib is flabbergasted by Anna’s superstitions and Catholic piousness and is determined to expose the fraud. The first 150 pages are just Lib observing Anna and getting to know her family and the local culture. And there wasn’t much happening in Anna’s little Irish hamlet other than…
IF YOU ENJOYED ROOM, IT’LL BE DIFFICULT NOT TO LIKE THE WONDER! Author Emma Donoghue is no stranger to aficionados of a tight and taut read. Her 2010 release – Room – was not only a New York Times Best Book of 2010 but was also a finalist for the Man Booker, Commonwealth, and Orange Prizes. In the tone and tenor of that blockbuster of a book, Donoghue returns with a historical novel with a premise which is equally interesting and extremely atmospheric, if not more. It is a story riddled with secrets, superstitions, faith, rituals, myth and tradition. The…