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A review by mackenzierm
The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
3.0
Julia Power is a nurse in an understaffed hospital where expectant mothers have come down with the terrible and devastating new Flu and are quarantined together in the city center of Dublin, Ireland. Julia’s world is carefully regimented when two outsiders: Doctor Lynn, a rumored Rebel, and Bridie, a young volunteer join her in this tiny ward. Over the course of a few days, these women change each other’s lives in unexpected ways as they fight to save patients during this pandemic.
THE PULL OF THE STARS is a novel set in Dublin, Ireland in 1918 during the Great Influenza Pandemic. It’s told in the POV of a bedside nurse, Julia Powers, who works in an understaffed hospital on a ward for expectant mothers.
It’s a gritty and raw story that is heavy with emotion and turmoil. It’s also a story that is hard not to compare with our recent collective history.
Julia is a character with loads of strength, courage, and heart. I loved reading the story in her perspective and seeing the care and compassion she exudes even in the hardest of times. Bridie is a character I wholly appreciated as well, diving into an unknown world as a volunteer and doing her best to be as helpful as she can. I adored the relationship that forms between Bridie and Julia, notably the care and compassion they share towards one another as well, supporting each other in such a terrifying and difficult time.
I listened to this as an audiobook – the narration is well done. I enjoyed this book overall but did find the pacing to be slow, winding and a bit too monotonous, preventing me from truly loving it.
THE PULL OF THE STARS is a novel set in Dublin, Ireland in 1918 during the Great Influenza Pandemic. It’s told in the POV of a bedside nurse, Julia Powers, who works in an understaffed hospital on a ward for expectant mothers.
It’s a gritty and raw story that is heavy with emotion and turmoil. It’s also a story that is hard not to compare with our recent collective history.
Julia is a character with loads of strength, courage, and heart. I loved reading the story in her perspective and seeing the care and compassion she exudes even in the hardest of times. Bridie is a character I wholly appreciated as well, diving into an unknown world as a volunteer and doing her best to be as helpful as she can. I adored the relationship that forms between Bridie and Julia, notably the care and compassion they share towards one another as well, supporting each other in such a terrifying and difficult time.
I listened to this as an audiobook – the narration is well done. I enjoyed this book overall but did find the pacing to be slow, winding and a bit too monotonous, preventing me from truly loving it.