A review by _dosia_
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-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

3.75

 This book has all the great aspects of 17th century settings: witches, the plague, religious mania etc. It's a really compelling story, well-written, with a well rounded and believable protagonist. Anna's voyeuristic role as almost a historical witness to the devastation of her village makes her a great narrator, and I just found her really multi-faceted and believable (also bisexual icon??). There's a general sense of dread, desperation and mourning, punctuated by gory and sometimes quite violent moments of madness that keep the narrative tense.

I did think the villagers were kind of difficult to keep track of, and the last few chapters literally lost the plot. Michael's personality switch was undeveloped but forgivable as he was already giving major weird vibes, but Elinor's death felt like such a silly 'gotcha' moment that cheapened the ending for me. It felt like a melodramatic and overly convenient conclusion to an otherwise quietly mournful and skilled fictionalization of real events. Anna moving to the Barbary Coast was also out of left-field and honestly thoroughly unbelievable, but at least it was interesting. However overall I did really enjoy this.