Yesterday was Collaboreads day, but I was trapped in a tiny room with Sophie for 3+ hours and never got a chance to publish my post. I guess it’s a good thing since I didn’t actually finish the book until after the appointment was over anyway. Amber is taking a bloggy hiatus, but you can visit Rachel to see what everyone else read this month and to find out a little bit about this bookish link up. The criteria for today was to read a “foodie” book. I know what you’re thinking, this doesn’t exactly fit the bill. I actually downloaded the audiobook version of My Life in France and had every intention of reviewing it for today’s yesterday’s post, but I didn’t get started in time and I knew there was no way I could finish. The Wonder was my BOTM selection a few months back and I had forgotten what it was about. Given the ability to loosely interpret the monthly prompts, once I realized food (or a lack thereof) played a heavy role in this novel, I decided to make it work for today’s link up instead.
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According to Amazon, The Wonder is “the latest masterpiece by Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of Room, 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. 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.”
RIVETING.
What part of the book could you NOT get enough of? You learn pretty early in the book that Anna hasn’t eaten anything since her confirmation. While she appears to be thriving, her family swears she hasn’t eaten anything in months. Both Lib and another nurse (who is also a nun) are hired to keep watch over Anna and her family and report back to a committee at the end of a fourteen day period. There is a fair amount of religious tension between the two observers and I found it very interesting how Anna’s Roman Catholic faith came into play.
The story itself unfolds beautifully. Aside from a brief epilogue, the story is told in four parts. I liked how the plot was divided — each section focuses on one element of the story, indicated by a one word title and brief poem at each break — but it made the book slightly more difficult to put down. I would end up reading an entire section at a time, which required a bigger time commitment than I usually have in a single sitting. I also loved how the story is told in such a sparse way. You are given so many details about the surroundings and the movements of the characters, all the while barely delivering enough information to satisfy your curiosity. I kind of loved the pacing, because there was never enough information to spoil the overall plot. There were hints at the overarching story placed cleverly throughout, but at no time did I think I had everything figured out.
ELEMENTS.
How did you relate to/care for the characters? You will adore both Anna and Lib from the very beginning. The book is told from Lib’s perspective, so your glimpse into Anna’s thoughts are few and far between. It makes the book much less predictable as you attempt to piece together what is really happening. Lib is skeptical of Anna’s story and sets out to prove the fasting is a farce, even though she’s only been tasked with observation. The point of the committee is to prove to a watching world that Anna’s story is true and to confirm their belief about fasting, in general. Lib is decidedly not religious and questions everyone and everything in Anna’s life. Aside from the main story, you get glimpses into Lib’s life as a nurse, her marriage or lack thereof and thoughts about children of her own. She is a brave and headstrong advocate for Anna and you will LOVE her interactions with the local reporter, Byrne.
What’s your thought on the plot line and twists and turns? I wouldn’t label this plotline as twisty. We all know that you can’t survive without sustenance for months on end, so obviously there is something else going on here. While the ultimate resolution could be considered predictable, I thought the author did a great job of surprising you with it. There were several moments when I thought something might be important and I loved seeing which of those had real impact as the story came to a close.
ASSOCIATE.
What other books are like this one? If none, did it remind you of a particular TV or movie with it’s themes and characters? Does it serendipitously line-up with things going on in your life or the news right now? The writing style was pretty similar to Donoghue’s previous novel, even though the stories are so different. It’s almost like looking through a telescope and watching as the world comes into focus. You begin the story with a fuzzy outline of what’s to come and the farther into the book you get, the more details are defined and the sharper the story gets. The biggest connection I see to current events is the tension between believers and non-believers. I find that people without any Biblical background are baffled by some of the things we believe and that is exactly how Lib feels. Out of a broader biblical context, she cannot understand the family’s — and the local church’s — response to Anna’s bold statements.
DESIGN.
You know you judged this book by the cover. What did you think of it? How did it relate to the contents of the novel? And the font and layout of the pages? I’m not sure the font and layout of a book ever really play into my thoughts very much, but I am kind of snob when it comes to cover design. I love how dark and worn the cover is — that perfectly ties it back to the content. Before reading, I assumed the spoon was somehow tied to the food or lack thereof. Once Lib begins keeping watch, you read about the teaspoons of water she offers Anna each day. Ultimately, there is an even bigger connection to spoons in Lib’s past that I loved. I didn’t notice the connection the first time Lib tells a story about the spoons, but once Byrne brings it up again at the end of the novel, I found myself from grinning ear to ear. This is one of those times when the cover relates to its content in a perfectly subtle way.
STARS.
How many out of five do you give this book? 4 out of 5. If I had not read and adored Room, I probably would have rated this one a little higher. Room was such a powerful novel that I couldn’t quite award them the same number of stars!
Thanks to Rachel & Amber for hosting us again this month. I love this virtual book club so much and I can’t wait to choose a book for next month’s topic: A Familiar Favorite. I’ve actually been considering a reread of a book I loved in the past, so this is perfect timing!
