Review by rach - Year of Wonders

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rach 's review for:

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

4.0

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

A story of sadness, despair, loss, grief, disillusionment, and maybe a tiny bit of hope and joy. The writing is so vivid and descriptive that at times, I had to stop reading to get my visceral reaction under control. Not only was living in that time a challenge, dying in it was challenging, too. Following Anna’s story was one heartbreak after another, and I can’t imagine the strength it would take to keep living each day under any one of those circumstances. But life goes on, and you either lose your mind or you keep going.

There’s no way so much unrelenting death doesn’t change you, and I’m not sure I would have understood this book as well had I not lived through a pandemic, with the fear and isolation and the unknown, on top of the horrific deaths. Anna and the other survivors question everything, but especially their faith in a God that doesn’t seem to hear their prayers. And as one might expect, those who had the most “faith” had the furthest to fall.

Major, major spoilers ahead:

I’ll admit that I wasn’t against the idea of Anna and Michael being together, with how much they had each loved Elinor, and how they were some of the few survivors left suited to one another. Even so, their rushed coupling was startling after the sedate relations and pace of this story. I was just as horrified as Anna to discover the true details of Michael and Elinor’s relationship - that, despite their “love” for one another, they had never consummated their marriage because Eleanor was being punished for getting pregnant out of wedlock and then terminating that pregnancy on her own. And that Michael believed it was a just punishment she deserved. Here I was thinking he was so open-minded and loving, meanwhile he’s punishing her for things she did before they’d even met. Disgusting. I’m glad she left, and went somewhere he couldn’t find her.

I found the changing opinions on witchcraft and herbal care both heartbreaking and fascinating, and it all seems to come down to people’s desperation, fear of the unknown, and the need to have someone to blame for their misfortune. Despite the side eyes and gossip, no one had any problems taking herbal remedies and care from the Gowdies until they lost their senses and needed people to blame for the plague. Grief turned to hate turned to murder very quickly, as things do when the court of public opinion pronounces their judgement.

I don’t blame Anna for being wary of learning anything about herbs, but it probably helped that Elinor is the one who was teaching her, since she was above reproach in the community, no matter their feelings about her husband. And that knowledge served Anna well in her new life, which sounds pretty awesome.

Content Warnings