The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars rounded up**
Last night I was discussing Emma Donoghue books with a friend. She had just finished Room and mentioned that although she liked the writing, she had to push herself to get through it. I mentioned that I had only read one of her books, The Wonder. I looked it up on Goodreads, as having finished it in March of this year, I couldn’t recall what I had given it for a star rating and discovered I had not written a review yet!
Since one of my 2018 book goals was to review every book I read, I am here to report a few of my thoughts on this one. The Wonder follows an English nurse, Lib, sent to a rural village in Ireland in the late 1850s to investigate a young girl reported to be living for months without intaking any food. Her family claims she is a living miracle, tourists are flocking to the village to witness this and journalists are covering the case. Lib, highly skeptical from the very beginning works closely with the girl, making sure she is never out from under supervision. What sort of fraud is this? Or is it indeed a miracle?
Some of the writing regarding the Irish people and village was a little off putting but I kept reminding myself this was from the perspective of this nurse, traveling to this location from London, in the 1850s and was probably an accurate portrayal of the ideas/prejudices that someone in her position may have had at this time. I don’t want to say too much more about this aspect of the story, it was just something that annoyed me a wee bit whilst reading.
Overall, I felt this was a compelling and enjoyable read. I would have preferred a bit more mystery and a little faster pace but I did definitely enjoy unraveling this tale.