Review: Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks


Rating:  5/5

Year of Wonders is a novel inspired by the true story of the little town of Eyam in Derbyshire, known as the Plague Village, during the years 1665 - 1666.   Although the cause of how the plague showed up in their village is still unknown, the villagers' decision to quarantine themselves in order to stop the spread of the deadly disease has sealed their place in history.

Geraldine Brooks provides us with a fictional account of what life looked like from within the Plague Village and gives us insight into the human nature that accompanies tragedy.  

Anna Frith is a widowed housemaid busy raising her two sons and working in the home of the town's priest and his wife, the Montpelliers.  When Anna's lodger dies she suspects the plague to be the cause of his awful death and it's not long before her fears are confirmed.  The spread is rampant and the fatalities of the villagers grow daily.   No one is safe from the disease and every Sunday the church pews get emptier.  Anna and Mrs. Montpellier team up to care for those afflicted while Mr. Montpellier works tirelessly bringing comfort to the dying.

What really fascinated me in this novel was the human factor - how the villagers dealt with the constant death of their loved ones and neighbors, the trauma of self-exile and how their faith was tried.  They sought a reason why this plague had come upon them, to understand...why was God punishing them or was he testing them?

My favorite part of the novel was the friendship between Anna and Mrs. Montpellier, which has been strengthened by the tragedy is really beautiful to read and you can't help but love both of them and stand in awe of their strength.

The ending is a bit of a rollercoaster with the revealing of secrets and hidden desires realized.   Brooks ties the ends up nicely and while I was a little surprised by the ending, it was a pleasant surprise and I felt a great way to say goodbye to Anna, knowing she would have the happy future she so deserved.

This poor book has been sitting on my TBR tower for ages and I could just kick myself for waiting this long to finally read it!  Brooks' writing is brilliant, I can't wait to read more from her.  Do yourself a favor and read this!  You won't be sorry you did =)

Official website for Geraldine Brooks.



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20 comments:

  1. Thanks for another recommendation. Where on earth do you find the time to read all of these?! You are amazing! Keep em' coming.
    Kirsten

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  2. Lovely review, as always, m'dear. I've had this book on my shelf forever and a day and now I must, must, must read it!

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  3. The ending was pretty crazy. I guess even 'perfect' people are only human. I really liked Year of Wonders when I read it.

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  4. I joined a book club years ago and this was one of the books that we read. Some people couldn't put it down, but I found it extremely depressing and thought that some characters changed too much. I didn't feel that that was believable.

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  5. This book is sitting in my tbr tower too. Your review certainly makes me want to pick it up all the sooner. Glad you liked it so much. Hope I will too!

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  6. Great review, as usual Amy:) I don't have this one..will check it out for sure. Thanks:)

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  7. I can't wait to give this one a shot. The whole subject of the Plague is always so thick and heavy and yet I find reading about it fascinating. Just to imagine what the people went through. Thanks for the review. One for my pile.

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  8. I sure should cos i loved the book I read by her this summer. A terrific author

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  9. This sounds like a really good book and reminds me a bit of a book called "At the Sign of the Sugared Plum" by Mary Hooper.

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  10. I really liked this book too. I appreciated the human factor too; I felt that the author really took a deep look into what the plague could do to these people.

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  11. I loved this book as well, except for the ending, which I didn't really feel fit with the story and characters that we had met during the novel.

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  12. I've been wanting to read this book. The human factor would make this a winner for me.

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  13. My copy is sitting gathering dust, waiting for my attention. Great review, I'll have to make an effort to get to it soon!

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  14. Another excellent review. I have had this one on my bookshelf for quite a while. By the sounds of your review I should dust it off & read it instead of just looking at it LOL

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  15. I really enjoyed this book when I read it. The next time my husband and I go to the UK, I intend to visit the village Brooks wrote about.

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  16. I really enjoyed this book when I read it a couple years ago. One of these days I am going to have to read something else by her!

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