The Pull of the Stars

The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A hospital - specifically a maternity ward - in the middle of the pandemic. This book couldn't be more timely or more horrifying in its scope. As a person who was in a maternity ward during a pandemic, I was pretty nervous, but it's nothing compared to the situation women faced in Dublin, Ireland in 1918. I can't say I loved reading this book. You know from the outset that it's going to be a sad book. I just didn't realize how sad. That said, it's well written and so interesting. Donoghue, perhaps best known for Room, does not shy away from the grim realities faced by women during that time or by children in the Irish orphanages. I'm glad I read it, but I will not return to it.

Happy reading and for the love, wear your mask and stay home so this current pandemic will end someday soon.

ps. I did appreciate the imagery of Julia Power's markings on her watch. Very well done.