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scummzz's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Child abuse
Moderate: Incest, Rape, and Sexual assault
bethboo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I really liked this book and the companion movie.
I would not have approached this title without seeing the movie first. But the characters were faceted and realistic and it gave a morose and vacant type of vibe to the story.
I will say that the MC is much more stoic and stronger in the movie. She's more emotional and prone to outbursts in the book.
I'm a sucker for a story where kids are in trouble and a parental figure is there to save them.
I liked the moments when Lib thought she was the only sane person in that forsaken town.
I thought this was very well written and the religious zealotry was a great revolving point for the plot
Things the movie had that were not in the book:
Weird sex and masturbation scene
Drug induced stupors and addiction to said drug
The journalist's back ground was a little different
I would not have approached this title without seeing the movie first. But the characters were faceted and realistic and it gave a morose and vacant type of vibe to the story.
I will say that the MC is much more stoic and stronger in the movie. She's more emotional and prone to outbursts in the book.
I'm a sucker for a story where kids are in trouble and a parental figure is there to save them.
I liked the moments when Lib thought she was the only sane person in that forsaken town.
I thought this was very well written and the religious zealotry was a great revolving point for the plot
Things the movie had that were not in the book:
Weird sex and masturbation scene
Drug induced stupors and addiction to said drug
The journalist's back ground was a little different
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry and Eating disorder
Minor: Sexual assault and Incest
nicoleisalwaysreading's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
a true page-turner. Emma Donoghue writes almost fantastical and disturbing stories so well, and this one was rich with layers about religious fervor and bias. my only qualm is that the epilogue felt inappropriately happy/out of tone with the resd of the story. cant wait to watch the recent film adaptation
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, and Incest
Moderate: Xenophobia
marpaige's review
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Incest, Rape, and Sexual assault
savidgereads's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Minor: Sexual assault
cassie_ellie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, and Sexism
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Child death
wordsofclover's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Child abuse and Sexual assault
maddiebusick's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, and Medical content
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Excrement, Rape, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Vomit, Cursing, Blood, Kidnapping, Violence, and Alcohol
jesshindes's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I picked up a second-hand copy of The Wonder because I saw a great review for the film of the novel, which is currently screening at festivals and which stars the glorious Florence Pugh. Anyway, I'm very glad I did because I really loved this one: it's the kind of historical fiction I aspire to write, which makes sense because Emma Donoghue's account of how she comes by her books meshes really closely with the way I like to do things. She finds an idea, something weird in history, and then works out from that. How would it feel? What would it really be like? In this case, the idea is the 'fasting girls', a phenomenon that apparently persisted from the 16th to 20th century, in which devoutly religious adolescents claimed to be able to survive without eating. Lib Wright, the protagonist of Donoghue's novel, is an English nurse trained by Florence Nightingale in the Crimea, summoned to rural Ireland to watch over one of these girls: a child named Anna who says that she hasn't eaten for four months.
I found Lib a very compelling protagonist. She's a presence from the first page, but Donoghue has the skill to reveal her backstory bit by bit without ever making this slow reveal feel artificial. The traces of Lib's secrets run through her thoughts and actions from the beginning, and I found that I had usually guessed the truth before it was stated explicitly. This isn't a bad thing; it's a sign that Donoghue's writing feels rounded and real. There's also, clearly, an external mystery at the heart of this novel which is unpacked in parallel with Lib's personal story. How does Anna survive? A little like the Essex Serpent (another neo-Victorian novel I loved) this is partly a story about the conflict between faith and science, with Lib a staunch non-believer who initially takes on her task with a healthy scepticism, but who finds her initial judgements upended as she and Anna become closer. The child's devotion perplexes and challenges her, and she's forced to take a hard look at herself, her situation, and her future.
Without giving anything away, I think Donoghue's novel benefits from the fact that as readers, we don't know at the outside what order of reality the book is operating in; that is, we don't know whether the world we've entered is one in which a miracle is possible. It adds to the force of the mystery and puts us in a position closely akin to Lib's. More importantly, though, I found the resolution she gives us - to Anna's story and to Lib's - satisfying on both a narrative and a character level. I'm still struggling with how to write historical fiction without making it really sprawling and unwieldy. Donoghue makes it look easy.
I found Lib a very compelling protagonist. She's a presence from the first page, but Donoghue has the skill to reveal her backstory bit by bit without ever making this slow reveal feel artificial. The traces of Lib's secrets run through her thoughts and actions from the beginning, and I found that I had usually guessed the truth before it was stated explicitly. This isn't a bad thing; it's a sign that Donoghue's writing feels rounded and real. There's also, clearly, an external mystery at the heart of this novel which is unpacked in parallel with Lib's personal story. How does Anna survive? A little like the Essex Serpent (another neo-Victorian novel I loved) this is partly a story about the conflict between faith and science, with Lib a staunch non-believer who initially takes on her task with a healthy scepticism, but who finds her initial judgements upended as she and Anna become closer. The child's devotion perplexes and challenges her, and she's forced to take a hard look at herself, her situation, and her future.
Without giving anything away, I think Donoghue's novel benefits from the fact that as readers, we don't know at the outside what order of reality the book is operating in; that is, we don't know whether the world we've entered is one in which a miracle is possible. It adds to the force of the mystery and puts us in a position closely akin to Lib's. More importantly, though, I found the resolution she gives us - to Anna's story and to Lib's - satisfying on both a narrative and a character level. I'm still struggling with how to write historical fiction without making it really sprawling and unwieldy. Donoghue makes it look easy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder and Child death
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault
lotus440's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Child death, Eating disorder, Incest, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death, Rape, and Sexual assault