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The Pull of the Stars: A Novel by [Emma Donoghue]

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Emma Donoghue

The Pull of the Stars: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Emma Donoghue (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

9,105 ratings

Goodreads Choice Award nominee

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In Dublin, 1918, a maternity ward at the height of the Great Flu is a small world of work, risk, death, and unlooked-for love, in "Donoghue's best novel since Room" (Kirkus Reviews).

In an Ireland doubly ravaged by war and disease, Nurse Julia Power works at an understaffed hospital in the city center, where expectant mothers who have come down with the terrible new Flu are quarantined together. Into Julia's regimented world step two outsiders—Doctor Kathleen Lynn, a rumoured Rebel on the run from the police, and a young volunteer helper, Bridie Sweeney.

In the darkness and intensity of this tiny ward, over three days, these women change each other's lives in unexpected ways. They lose patients to this baffling pandemic, but they also shepherd new life into a fearful world. With tireless tenderness and humanity, carers and mothers alike somehow do their impossible work.

In The Pull of the Stars, Emma Donoghue once again finds the light in the darkness in this new classic of hope and survival against all odds.

Print length

305 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Little, Brown and Company
Publication date

July 21, 2020
File size

1560 KB
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Popular Highlights in this book

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That’s what influenza means, she said. Influenza delle stelle—the influence of the stars. Medieval Italians thought the illness proved that the heavens were governing their fates, that people were quite literally star-crossed.
Highlighted by 1,247 Kindle readers
COVER UP EACH COUGH OR SNEEZE…FOOLS AND TRAITORS SPREAD DISEASE.
Highlighted by 789 Kindle readers
Nursing was like being under a spell: you went in very young and came out older than any span of years could make you.
Highlighted by 489 Kindle readers

Editorial Reviews

Review

Donoghue offers vivid characters and a gripping portrait of a world beset by a pandemic and political uncertainty. A fascinating read in these difficult times."

-- "Booklist (starred review)"

"Soul stirring."

-- "O, The Oprah Magazine" --This text refers to the audioCD edition.

About the Author

Born in Dublin in 1969, Emma Donoghue is an Irish emigrant twice over: she spent eight years in Cambridge doing a PhD in eighteenth-century literature before moving to London, Ontario, where she lives with her partner and their two children. She also migrates between genres, writing literary history, biography, stage and radio plays as well as fairy tales and short stories. She is best known for her novels, which range from the historical (Slammerkin, Life Mask, Landing, The Sealed Letter) to the contemporary (Stir-Fry, Hood, Landing). Her international bestseller Room was a New York Times Best Book of 2010 and was a finalist for the Man Booker, Commonwealth, and Orange Prizes. For more information, visit www.emmadonoghue.com. --This text refers to the audioCD edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B086JN68M6
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown and Company; Unabridged edition (July 21, 2020)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 21, 2020
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1560 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 305 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #23,583 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #7 in LGBTQ+ Historical Fiction (Books)
- #44 in Medical Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #57 in Medical Fiction (Books)

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Born in Dublin in 1969, Emma Donoghue is a writer of contemporary and historical fiction whose novels include the international bestseller "Room" (her screen adaptation was nominated for four Oscars), "Frog Music", "Slammerkin," "The Sealed Letter," "Landing," "Life Mask," "Hood," and "Stirfry." Her story collections are "Astray", "The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits," "Kissing the Witch," and "Touchy Subjects." She also writes literary history, and plays for stage and radio. She lives in London, Ontario, with her partner and their two children.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

9,105 global ratings

5 star		51%
4 star		34%
3 star		12%
2 star		3%
1 star		1%

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Cheryl V. Schlesinger

Not for the faint of heart!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 24, 2023

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A story of a nurse in Dublin, Ireland, trained as a midwife, during WWI in the height of the Spanish flu epidemic. The nurse Julia, finds herself in charge of a small ward of pregnant women who have been infected with the flu. In comes Bridie, a boarder sent from the convent, to assist Laura as staffing shortages were beyond critical. The story, told over a three day span, is one of the most intense stories I have read in a long time. The patients, the complications, the medical practices and protocols, the friendship between Julia and Bridie, the political unrest in Ireland over home rule, and the hierarchy as well as the judgmental cruelness of the nuns of that time towards orphans, illegitimate births, and lower class women make this novel one of the most explicit, intense books of a terrifying and terrible time. Mesmerizing. Could not put it down. But not for the faint of heart

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Fu epidemic of 1918 hits post Easter Rising Dublin

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 2, 2022

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It was particularly fascinating to read this historical novel on the heels of the coronavirus epidemic stateside as these days a scientific thought is communicated quickly via social media; in 1918 Dublin news travelled more slowly. It was thought then that the influenaz had an incubation period of 2 days and 2 days equals the amount of time Volunteer Birdie Sweeney assists Nurse Julia Powers under the supervision of Dr. Kathleen Lynn. Irish values and political evolution is part of the plot since Dr. Lynn (a real person—a rebel, activitist and doctor) is wanted by the British government in Dublin (called “The Castle” due to the location of its administrative offices.). Dr. Lynn evades arrest a couple of times but is eventually taken under arrest. She had been with the Irish Citizen’s Army in the General Post Office during the Easter Rising. Irish people might remember that Dr. Lynn founded St. Ultan’s Hospital for Infants and she was an active member of Cumann na Mban and Sinn Fein (Ourselves Alone). At the time of Donoghue’s story the Union Jack flies over the city and Julia’s brother has returned from the British front mute with trauma. The closeness and commitment Julia and Birdie share encourages an intimacy probably suspect in 1918 Dublin. Dr. Lynn tells them that Medieval Italians believed that illness was “in the stars” and influenza itself comes from “influenza della stelle”—-the influence of the stars. So, the heavens govern our fate and we must adjust. Social conditions of the times are discussed in terms of medical care, child care, and the Mighty Church. The book teaches us again and again the importance of the times in which people live and thrive. It’s a good read and it feels really appropriate now.

3 people found this helpful

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mark

Hard to get through and hard to put down

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 4, 2022

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Very interesting post covid read on the heels of the pandemic here in the States. I actually found the book brutal to read, gasping at times due to the suffering of the Mothers, Nurses and staff assistant. My wife asked me why if it was so graphic do I keep reading it. It was like watching a train wreck for me. What pain and suffering would these woman go through next were my thoughts. Glad I stuck with it. Childbirth descriptions were graphic compounded by the 1918 pandemic.

5 people found this helpful

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Lynne M. Spreen

Uplifting reminder we've been here before and survived

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 17, 2020

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What a timely book. It's set in Ireland in the "Spanish" flu era of 1918, amidst poverty and hunger and just such cruelty. Yet in the middle of bleakness, grace appears in the form of human connection. Julia is a nurse who's had a somewhat lighter bout of the flu so is safe to work in her assigned area, a maternity "ward" (little more than a closet with, I believe, three beds). She helps pregnant women who come in with the flu, so there are two medical issues going on at same time, leading to really interesting (and graphic--so be forewarned) situations. Into this difficult setting comes a helper, a sparkling young woman named Bridie who is appallingly ignorant thanks to growing up in slavery (and I don't use the word lightly) to the nuns of Dublin. The third character in this story is the doctor, a political activist who's brilliant but also on the run from authorities for daring to challenge the status quo.

The three women form a bond, working together against the flu and the hardships of the time, like ignorance and poor health generally. Another antagonistic force is the practice of sending poor, abandoned, or orphaned children to homes run by nuns, who get money for their keep but also starve them, abuse them, and gain profit from their labors. Bridie is one of these children, although in the story she's nearly grown. She and Nurse Julia work so well together, it's beautiful to see, and Dr. Lynn is their hero, although she's in a precarious position legally.

Some readers have commented on the fact the author writes dialogue without use of quotation marks. It's an odd practice, but you get used to it. Another author who did this in every book was the great Kent Haruf.

For anyone who's thinking this Covid pandemic is horrific, it's nothing compared to the flu as depicted in this novel. The author does a great job of placing us right there in the middle of it, and showing us the resilience and heroism of everyday people under enormous pressure. Uplifting.

4 people found this helpful

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Alison

beautiful beautiful

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 17, 2022

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I read this book in 2 days. Couldn’t put it down. Nurse Power’s shift lasts the first 1/3 of the book and I walked every step with her. Hard to believe the author is not a nurse herself. The authors note at the end was so amazing I forgot this was fiction. Highly recommended.

3 people found this helpful

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Anne S.

I love Emma Donoghue's writing

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 2, 2022

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This a great story about individuals dealing with pandemics on the front lines. I love the character development in all her books.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 6, 2022

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Brilliantly written in the first person this book is an intense and involved narration of a nurse's time in a small maternity ward whose mother's are all suffering from the The Great Flu of 1917. Taking place over only 3 days, you really feel like you are part of this ward, and privy to the nurse's brilliant experience and education of 100 years ago as she cares for her women patients. I couldn't put it down and I have had a hard time finding a book that will engross me like this lately~! At times heartbreaking and even a bit depressing, it is a keen look into how women care for women through a trying and desperate time in the past. I loved it.

One person found this helpful

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Megatron

HISTORICALLY ACCURATE BUT THE DESCRIPTIONS OF MISERY ARE OVER DONE

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 6, 2020

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This is good historical fiction on the Spanish Flue epidemic which killed millions in 1918. BUT my main problem with the book is that the misery, poverty, and general horror in Dublin at the time is incredibly overdone, there is no relief, no contrast,. Thus the depiction of horror ultimately becomes boring and passive, when it should be shocking. Also characterisation is a little hollow, people have weak line drawn personalities, I just don't think it's particularly well written, especially if you compare it to work of people like Pat Barker. I feel it's a waste of money. Sorry.

21 people found this helpful

Mrs. Kimberley J. Barnetson

An intense and emotional read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 23, 2021

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As others have described the story, I won't worry about that. But it was clearly well researched, the characters were complex and believable. It is also a short book and a very quick read. My only criticism is the lack of speech marks, I'm not sure if this is a fault on the kindle or some literary device that I'm not clever enough to understand but it made the spoken narrative difficult to disern from the main character's thoughts. So much so that I had to keeping skipping back to work out who was talking. Other than that I highly recommend this book, if you are interested in historical fiction and the history of women's bodies this will suit you.

13 people found this helpful

Coogs

Excellent

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 30, 2020

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I really enjoyed this book. I'm Irish and work for NHS in the UK, so the history lent an additional layer to the story for me. I would add a note of caution for the squeamish, however. Ms Donoghue doesn't hold back when describing the obstetrics and midwifery and, given the era in which the story is set, some of it is really quite breathtaking. I was left wanting to know what happened next, always the sign of a wonderful story.

14 people found this helpful

suerob

Unputdownable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 18, 2020

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I did actually read this non-stop, apart from a comfort break!
I’ve always found Emma Donoghue’s books draw me in and don’t let me go, even after I’ve read the last page.
This is no exception. I started reading this morning and haven’t bothered to stop for lunch. Now it’s in my head and I’m going to be thinking about it for a long while.
The irony of our present existence isn’t lost on me. Perhaps it makes this story more poignant? I don’t know, but I do know I’m very glad I’ve read it and know I will read it again.

12 people found this helpful

Maybelle

Absorbing but sometimes painful to read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 24, 2021

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An absorbing book which is at times painful reading, The Pull of the Stars is set in the midst of the 1918 flu epidemic in Dublin. Julie Power, a nurse in a small isolation room for pregnant women with flu, works heroically to save the lives of the mothers and babies, with the help of an inexperienced but enthusiastic volunteer, Bridie, and Dr Katherine Lynn, a real-life character, an Irish nationalist whose involvement with Sinn Fein made her a target for the police.
The links to the present COVID-19 pandemic are clear, though unintentional: Emma Donoghue wrote the novel in 2018, the centenary of the flu epidemic. The book focuses on the minute detail of a small compass of time (three days) and is mostly set in the overcrowded, understaffed hospital, and in the isolation room in which there is a lack of space between the beds: it feels enclosed, crammed in - lockdown reading? Detailed descriptive writing absorbs the reader; at times the gruesome details of obstetric complications may be too intense for some, but the need to find out if the characters will survive is powerful.
It has become a fashion for authors to forgo the use of speech marks and line spacing for dialogue. I found at times this pulled me out of the flow and I had to re-read to make sense of what was being said. Other than that, I found the narrative compelling and original.

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