The Pull of the Stars

Emma Donoghue is a relatively popular author at our library, but I've never read any of her books. The only exposure to her work was the movie Room, and I just assumed that was what every one of her books was like. I'm glad I finally took the time to read one of her books, and I'll be adding her other work to my to-read pile.

The Pull of the Stars takes place over three days, but packs in so much emotion and action in that short amount of time. I read the book in two sittings because I was drawn into Julia's little corner of the hospital. The Maternity/Fever ward seems like a terrible place to be, and I felt such a connection to all the characters. The protagonist, Nurse Julia Power, cares so much about each patient, and that emotion flows straight from the page.

The plot could have felt repetitive – one woman goes into labor, then another, then another, and so on – but it never did. There was urgency and emotion in every scene, and it kept me reading late into the night.

It's impossible not to think about the timeliness of this book, as well. The author's note addresses the fact that she started writing several years ago, but that the book's release was pushed up in light of our current pandemic. That led to wondering what sections of the book were written when. The discussions about the government's policy, politics, masks, and the staff and supplies shortages at the hospital all mirror what's happening today.

I think I have been realizing the sheer amount of plague books that exist in this world...or maybe its just that I have a keener eye for them now. This historical fiction masters the setting and the characters, and while I did have a hard time every once in a while keeping engaged (a lot of that is because I was thrown off by the lack of quotation marks...get used to it, ladies, gents, and nonbinary fellow readers...because it's odd. And jarring. But I got used to it), all things considered, I found the read timely and enjoyable.