A review by ginabyeg
The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue

dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book will definitely give you a taste of nursing in the early 1900’s. Story is fast-paced, engaging from the start, told from the perspective of a still-single nurse in the maternity ward during the 1918-pandemic. Some parts get rather graphic. There are themes of life/death, trauma, and religion. While the book was published in 2020, the author had finished it before that time. I find this makes the character’s insights in the book even more powerful, somehow, and the parallels between then and now extra startling.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings