Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

Well, I'm finally done with this novel about the plague, and I have to say that it was wonderfully written and had strong characters, but moved a little slowly for me. It is the story of a woman who loses her whole family to the plague and her subsequent life in a village that becomes shut off from the rest of the world. The minister believes that if they leave the village, they will spread the disease which is already so prevalent among them. He persuades the population that staying there is the sacrifice they must make, and that they may therefore be spared because they can care for each other. The history of the plague was very interesting, and the reader can't help but feel the villagers' turmoil, pain, and confusion because of the lack of general medical knowledge during that time. Childbirth was also so unnecessarily risky, and it's so hard in our times to understand how surgeons could think bleeding someone would heal them. It was also interesting that it was the women who were trying more natural remedies such as roots and plants to help the sick and to build up those who weren't sick to try to fight off the disease. This had to be a new concept then, and I loved that two women, one educated and one not, really were the only ones who actually did any good to help save the rest of them. Although the entire book, naturally, was quite sad and dark, the satisfying ending (although a bit bizarre)was worth the wait. I'll let you know what the book club says this week about this book, but please post your own comments!

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