The wonder

291 pages

English language

Published Nov. 8, 2016

ISBN:
978-1-5098-1839-6
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OCLC Number:
959305466

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4 stars (2 reviews)

An eleven-year-old girl stops eating, but remains miraculously alive and well. A nurse, sent to investigate whether she is a fraud, meets a journalist hungry for a story. Set in the Irish Midlands in the 1850s, 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.

9 editions

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.

avatar for Jarulf

rated it

5 stars

Subjects

  • Fasting
  • Sick children
  • Historical fiction
  • Social life and customs
  • Nurses
  • Religious aspects
  • Girls
  • Fiction
  • Ireland
  • Manners and customs

Places

  • Ireland