Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

6 reviews

jan_coco_day'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? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Donoghue somehow manages to write some of the most fucked up things I've ever read without writing in the horror genre.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Confinement, Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Body horror, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, and Medical content

Moderate: Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and Death

Minor: Sexual violence

jamiejanae_6's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Child death, Incest, Self harm, Body horror, Medical content, and Religious bigotry

kelly_e's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

Title: The Wonder
Author: Emma Donoghue
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.50
Pub Date: September 20, 2016

T H R E E • W O R D S

Intriguing • Mystifying • Distinctive

📖 S Y N O P S I S

A village in 1850s Ireland is baffled by Anna O’Donnell’s fast. A little girl appears to be thriving after months without food, and the story of this 'wonder' has reached fever pitch.

Tourists flock in droves to the O'Donnell family's modest cabin, and an international journalist is sent to cover the sensational story. Enter Lib, an English nurse trained by Florence Nightingale, who is hired to keep watch for two weeks and determine whether or not Anna is a fraud.

As Anna deteriorates, Lib finds herself responsible not just for the care of a child, but for getting to the root of why the child may actually be the victim of murder in slow motion.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Emma Donoghue writes such compelling and distinctive tales unlike anything else and in such a way that I am kept guessing from start to finish. This is precisely why she became one of my auto-buy authors. The Wonder has say unread on my shelf for several years, but with the release of a a full-length film in late 2022, I decided I needed to move it up my TBR before watching.

And what a unique book! Similar Donoghue's past books I've read, it took a good 50 pages to be fully engaged, yet as the story progresses it gets stronger and stronger until the dramatic grande finale. Despite the slow start, I found myself instantly curious to see how everything would unfold. My interest and suspicious continued to rise until everything comes together in the end. It's hard to say too much without giving away big parts of the story, but I just couldn't predict where it was going to go.

Donoghue has a very distinctive writing style, and her phenomenal writing was definitely on display throughout. The characters are well developed that I wanted to know more about each of them. Anna and Lib's relationship flourishes over their time together, even though it is so short. And the setting helped created an atmosphere of lies and secrets.

Bringing together science, religion, and superstation in a variety of ways, The Wonder was such a unique and thought-provoking story. While it started out slow, the ending was highly fitting and the narrative speaks to the power of two strangers coming together to transform each others lives.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Emma Donoghue fans
• readers looking to diversify their historical fiction repertoire

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Good nurses follow rules," Lib growled, "but the best know when to break them."

"I must be cruel, only to be kind." 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Eating disorder, Rape, Sexual assault, Incest, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse

Minor: Kidnapping, Vomit, Body horror, Misogyny, and Fire/Fire injury

amyjmcd's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Excrement, Emotional abuse, Grief, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Confinement

Minor: Incest, Vomit, War, and Xenophobia

Fasting

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

iridium's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Incest, and Medical content