Years of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks is my choice for review for a challenge WINK undertook. And not just because I like her last name. The title captivated me because it is a story about the plague. How could a story about the black death sweeping the countryside be considered a 'wonder'?
There are two main things that made this book interesting. One was the heroine - a woman who watches the disease that took so many of her loved ones and survived (I would have hopped in bed and never moved out of it). The other was that the setting is based on a true story. Eyam is a real town and in 1666 they quarantined themselves so as to keep the plague in their village alone - thinking they would be saving lives.
Geraldine Brooks includes lots of characters and the subject isn't 'light' but it is well worth reading. And while I won't be reading it again in a hurry - I will be keeping it on my bookshelf and recommending it to anyone and everyone. It will move you. That's a guarantee!
This review is part of Wink Girl’s commitment to the 2012 Australian Women Writers Challenge. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Australian-Women-Writers/176862202396763
http://www.australianwomenwriters.com/p/australian-women-writers-book-challenge_25.html
2 comments:
I like this challenge. It has surfaced so many interesting Australian women authors.
Thanks for the recommendation.
I've been deliberating on this one for a while now... Thanks for the review! :)
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