Reviews tagging 'Pandemic/Epidemic'

The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue

22 reviews

a_26_l's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

emjay2021's review against another edition

5.0

Fascinating, incredibly moving historical fiction. I had no idea Dr. Kathleen Lynn was based on a real woman doctor at the time. I found Nurse Julia Power to be a warm, quick-witted, appealing narrator and I loved her interactions with the newbie nurse helper Bridie Sweeney.

Emma Donoghue is a beautiful writer, and the audio version of this really does the prose justice. One funny thing about the audio book: I kept thinking the doctor was saying “N’est-ce pas?” an awful lot, and it made me wonder why she would lapse into French so often. Well, it turned out she was actually saying “Nurse Power” in an Anglo-Irish accent. It took me a LONG time to realize it.

This book is set in a quarantine maternity ward during the 1918 flu pandemic, so there is a lot of pregnancy, baby loss, and death. Heads up if these are things you don’t want to read about at this time. I was OK with it, but there was a time when I would not have been. There is also a lot about the abuses perpetuated on women and children by the Catholic Church.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

swhitzel's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated

2.5

 I have so many thoughts, all of them conflicting.

Generally, this was a beautiful story, but it also seemed quite abrupt (in its ending) and felt as though it had little resolution. Based on the synopsis, I expected more of a relationship to develop between the three main women, and yet the connections felt superficial and forced. They go nowhere, but they also had so much potential!

Also, the depictions of birth and the medical situations were quite graphic. I often found myself sick to my stomach at some of the descriptions, especially early on.

Now that I'm writing this, I think I enjoyed the potential of this story more than the actual story itself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Death of parent, War, and Classism

Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt

isaaah's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, War, and Classism

Minor: Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, and Abandonment

bessadams's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Vomit, Death of parent, and War

racheldallaire's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

It took me a little while to get into this one, but once I got into it I enjoyed it. It gives a very unique perspective into the influenza pandemic, maternity wards, and nursing in Ireland at that time. It would be a slightly higher rating if Donoghue used quotation marks-it drove me crazy to realize halfway through a sentence that someone was speaking.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

There is a LGBTQ+ relationship mentioned briefly.

leontyna's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

It was a great book, although a bit terrifying. I thought I knew a lot about midwifery from my family, I was so wrong.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Sexual violence, Violence, and Vomit

helzie_2023's review against another edition

emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

mjlease08's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Abandonment

stargirlmolly's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Minor: Violence and War