The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue is an adult fiction novel.
It is 1918 in Dublin and Ireland is struggling to survive the end of the war and a devastating flu pandemic. Within this turmoil is Julia, a nurse and primary provider for her brother who hasn’t spoken since returning from the front.
Julia works in the small fever maternity ward, where expecting mothers with the flu are quarantined and cared for. The hospital is understaffed and under supplied. Being all but alone to care for these women, Julia must rely on suspected Irish rebel, Dr. Kathleen Lynn, and an uninformed young volunteer, Bridie Sweeney, to make it through.
Written over the course of three days, Julia’s life will change forever by the end.
I started this one right before I went on maternity leave because my library hold came in and this was probably not the best book for a pregnant/new mom to read, which is probably why it took me so long to get through it.
Overall, this was an interesting read about a time in Ireland I wasn’t overly informed about. At first, I wasn’t sure how an entire book was going to revolve around a three bed fever maternity ward, but Donoghue succeeds in spinning a tale I wasn’t expecting with actual twists that I didn’t see coming. So sometimes it pays off to pick up a book you never even read the blurb for.
This one gets 4 stars from me. Probably higher if I had read it at literally any other time.
That’s all for now!
-M-