Reviews

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

keimre734's review against another edition

2.0

"When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated mountain village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the plague year, 1666, as her fellow villagers make an extraordinary choice: convinced by the visionary young minister they elect to quarantine themselves within the village boundaries to arrest the spread of disease. But as death reached into every household, faith frays. When villages turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must confront the deaths of family, the disintegration of her community, and the lure of illicit love. As As she struggles to survive, a year of plague becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders"." - Quote from back cover of my copy of Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.

I picked this book up at my local public libraries used book store. It sounded rather interested so I decided to drop $2 on it and give it a second chance at life. This was the first book I have read by Geraldine Brook so I was not exactly sure what to expect. Most of the story I enjoyed. Brooks does a good job of building her characters and painting a picture of the local scenery.

I do have a few problems with this book. The story starts out in a weird spot, as it opens to where the year of plague is almost over. Geraldine Brooks then backtracks to the beginning of the story and lets Anna tell the story of how the plague came to the village and how the villagers reacted. Another problem I had with this book was the STRANGE ending! The ending pretty much comes out of nowhere, and left me rather confused as to what was happening with Anna. The ending has nothing to do with the rest of the book and it seems like Brooks was attempting to force two different stories together.

I did enjoy most of the book, but I am unable to overlook all the problems Year of Wonders has. It is because of those problems that I have decided to give this book a rating of 2.50 stars. Since Goodreads does not yet allow readers to rate by the half star, I rounded down to a solid two stars.

libraryofbees's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

3.0

There are many aspects of this book that I enjoyed - the writing is atmospheric and it felt very much like I was reading the journal of someone at lived during the Plague and the story itself was well paced (mostly) and an interesting study of the character and their surroundings. Unfortunately, the story really lost me with the ending; up until the last 30ish pages, the pacing was great and then everything just went...weird and felt very jarring. Overall, still a good read, just could have been stronger in the end. 

cfork's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

belwood303's review against another edition

4.0

I read this book in like three days I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended, got swept up in the great writting and narrative, just beautiful.

meganreads5's review against another edition

Writing style. Plot did not intrigue me enough to continue

livdimaio's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

ldssas75's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

papernapkin's review against another edition

4.0

I have a problem with a lot of historical fiction. Usually there are some glaring errors in tone or fact, which pull me right out of the story. It's annoying when a maid servant is using the vocabulary of a lady, or a "teenager" is too salty, or someone is using something that won't be invented for 75 years. But there's none of that in Year of Wonders. The dialogue, tone, and plot all ring true to their 17th century setting. A lot of people complain about the end, but I kind of like it, or in any case, don't dislike it enough to deduct any stars. Highly recommend, and I will be reading all of Geraldine Brooks books.

sarah_logan8's review against another edition

sad medium-paced

3.0

ginabeana97's review against another edition

3.0

This book has me so torn.... I loved it until the end and then I wanted to rip my hair out

Read at your own emotional risk