The Wonder [Paperback] [May 18, 2017] Emma Donoghue

Paperback

Published May 18, 2017 by PAN MACMILLAN U.K, PAN.

ISBN:: 978-1-5098-1840-2

(2 reviews)

Set in the Irish Midlands in the 1850s, Emma Donoghue's The Wonder - inspired by numerous European and North American cases of 'fasting girls' between the sixteenth century and the twentieth - is a psychological thriller about a child's murder threatening to happen in slow motion before our eyes.

Pitting all the seductions of fundamentalism against sense and love, it is a searing examination of what nourishes us, body and soul.

In this masterpiece by Emma Donoghue, an English nurse brought to a small Irish village to observe what appears to be a miracle -- a girl said to have survived without food for months -- soon finds herself fighting to save the child's life.

Tourists flock to the cabin of eleven-year-old Anna O'Donnell, who believes herself to be living off manna from heaven, and a journalist is sent to cover the sensation. Lib Wright, a veteran of Florence Nightingale's …

Set in the Irish Midlands in the 1850s, Emma Donoghue's The Wonder - inspired by numerous European and North American cases of 'fasting girls' between the sixteenth century and the twentieth - is a psychological thriller about a child's murder threatening to happen in slow motion before our eyes.

Pitting all the seductions of fundamentalism against sense and love, it is a searing examination of what nourishes us, body and soul.

In this masterpiece by Emma Donoghue, an English nurse brought to a small Irish village to observe what appears to be a miracle -- a girl said to have survived without food for months -- soon finds herself fighting to save the child's life.

Tourists flock to the cabin of eleven-year-old Anna O'Donnell, who believes herself to be living off manna from heaven, and a journalist is sent to cover the sensation. Lib Wright, a veteran of Florence Nightingale's Crimean campaign, is hired to keep watch over the girl. As Anna deteriorates, Lib finds herself responsible not just for the care of a child, but for getting to the root of why the child may actually be the victim of murder in slow motion.

Written with all the propulsive tension that made Room a huge bestseller, The Wonder works beautifully on many levels--a tale of two strangers who transform each other's lives, a powerful psychological thriller, and a story of love pitted against evil.

9 editions

Dubi reviewed The wonder by Emma Donoghue

Review of 'The wonder' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

3.5 stars, really. It's a good story, but I felt the main character was a bit annoying, which made reading it less fun.

I don't know if this is exactly a criticism, but there were no "big reveals" in the story. From start to finish it's pretty much how you would expect the story to proceed, which makes it realistic but also, I dunno, a bit dull and gray at times. I'm not saying I would have wanted a deus ex machina ending, but, I don't know, some level of surprise would be nice.

I certainly wouldn't say it's a bad book. It's emotionally strong, and the characters are interesting to watch most of the time, but I guess it left me underwhelmed.

Jarulf

rated it

July 14, 2019