The Wonder
A Novel
-
-
4.1 • 192 Ratings
-
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
Now a major film from the makers of Normal People and Room, starring Florence Pugh and streaming on Netflix.
SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE FINALIST
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER
“Heartbreaking and transcendent.” —The New York Times
From the Man Booker Prize–shortlisted author of Room and the bestselling novel Haven
In 1850s Ireland a village is baffled by young Anna O’Donnell’s fast. The girl appears to be thriving after months without food, and the story of this “wonder” has reached fever pitch. Tourists flock to the O’Donnell family’s cabin, and a journalist is sent to cover the sensational story. Enter Lib, an English nurse trained by Florence Nightingale, who is hired to keep watch over Anna for two weeks to determine whether or not the girl is a fraud. As Anna deteriorates, Lib finds herself responsible not just for the care of a child, but for getting to the root of why the girl may actually be the victim of murder in slow motion.
Written with all the spare and propulsive tension that made Room a bestseller, The Wonder is a tale of two strangers who will transform each other’s lives, a powerful psychological thriller and a story of love pitted against evil in its many masks.
“Beautifully moody with the taut pace of a thriller, The Wonder grapples with the potency of love, both human and divine.” —Chatelaine
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Emma Donoghue gained fame with her heart-wrenching novel Room (she wrote the screenplay, too!), and the Irish-Canadian author continues to amaze us with her range. The Wonder is the story of a lonely English nurse who’s sent to a backwater Irish village to look into the case of a pious girl who hasn’t eaten in months. The story is mysterious and sometimes eerie. Like many of Donoghue’s novels, it digs around in the muck of human experience and celebrates moments of soulful connection.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Donoghue demonstrates her versatility by dabbling in a wide range of literary styles in this latest novel. Set mostly in a small, spare room inside a shabby cabin in rural 1850s Ireland, the closely imagined, intricately drawn story possesses many of the same alluring qualities as her bestseller, Room. Lib, a widow and former nurse, is summoned from London to the peat-smelling village of Athlone for a fortnight to assess whether 11-year-old "living marvel" Anna O'Donnell has truly been able to survive without food for four months. It could be some sort of hoax perpetrated by the girl's family or the village parish, and Lib confidently assumes that it'll be an open-and-shut case. But as each day passes and Anna's health suddenly begins to deteriorate, not only does Lib grow more attached to the earnest girl, but she also becomes convinced that Anna's reasons for fasting a recently deceased brother, devotion to God, her parents' influence run far deeper than Lib imagined. Inspired by the true cases of nearly 50 "Fasting Girls" who lived throughout the British Isles, western Europe, and North America between the 16th and 20th centuries and became renowned for living without food for long periods of time Donoghue's engrossing novel is loaded with descriptions of period customs and 19th-century Catholic devotional objects and prayers. Even with its tidy ending, the novel asks daring questions about just how far some might go to prove their faith.
Customer Reviews
Unusual
Could not figure out how this English nurse who does not like or understand the Irish can help this 11 year old girl. Well done.
Strong constitution, if a little thin
First off I’m trying to be more critical in my sat giving, where 3 is “good,” 4 is a basically perfect book, and 5 is a transcendent classic which will or should endure for the ages, so 3 stars is not necessarily a slight against the book.
The plot, historical inspiration, setting, and religious and scientific conflicts of this novel were interesting, well-evoked, and compelling. I am fascinated by fasting girls and it’s awesome to see them given this kind of serious and empathetic study.
Donoghue is a perfectly competent writer of elevated commercial fiction, and I think part of what I yearned for was more attention to the emotional and spiritual dynamics of the whole work — novel as symphony, something a little more lyrical and artsy and “literary.” She’s dancing on that line here and I think the novel would have been better if she had just gone there. I was convinced by Anna and Lib’s friendship and of few of the other relationships. I felt there was a huge swath of religious intensity that was kept at a very far distance, which could be explained to an extent by our witnessing this from Lib’s perspective, someone whose relationship to faith is ambivalent at best and otherwise contemptuous. But much of the plot revolves around her grappling with the enormous presence of faith, even just as a human construction, and I felt her grappling was somewhat one-dimensional, and punctuated by surrender or transcendence which felt too quick and too easy. I saw the twist coming from a mile away, and the plot overall felt like a good execution of something prefabricated. I know there is nothing new under the sun, but I could see the seams clear as day in the story structure. I liked the live story, the contrasting of someone who is ostensibly a scientist trying to function in a world that runs on religion, and the way Lib’s own personality flaws play into the plot. I think Lib is a fabulous protagonist, one of the most complete and interesting characters I have read in a long time. Overall I am very happy I read this and excited to suggest it to friends who are nurses.
Frustratingly awesome
I felt Lib’s frustration. I was completely shocked at the outcome. It was such an easy read. Emma Donaghue is a genius.