"An obsession, a mania, Lib supposed it could be called. A sickness of the mind. Hysteria, as that awful doctor had named it? Anna reminded Lib of a princess under a spell in a fairy tale. What could restore the girl to ordinary life? Not a prince. A magical herb from the world's end? Some shock to jolt a poisoned bite of apple out of her throat? No, something simple as a breath of air: reason. What if Lib shook the girl awake this very minute and said, Come to your senses!"
Emma Donoghue's The Wonder, set in 19th century Ireland, a country that has witnessed the Great Famine during the mid 19th century , is one of those rare Irish novels that in the years to come will form the canon of Irish literature. Emma Donoghue conjures a set of characters against the backdrop of the Irish mid-lands known for its peats and bogs, who are pitted against each other in this tale of religious fanaticism and Scientific reasoning. Much more than a psycho-drama, The Wonder is a gripping historical fiction that is atmospheric and true to the time it is set in.
The Wonder follows the story of a Nightingale nurse, Lib, trained by Florence Nightingale herself in Scutari, who is appointed in the Irish midlands to observe a fasting girl, Anna, who has claimed to live without food for 4 months since her 11th birthday. Our English nurse along with a nun are to take turns and maintain a strict observance on the girl for a fortnight and see to it whether the girl truly lives without food, set within a claustrophobic room. Lib is determined from the first day itself that it is altogether a hoax and sets her mind to rip apart the fraud.However, as days pass by, Lib becomes more and more unsure of herself and her pragmatic approach. What follows is a riveting tale with the dark and murky secrets being discovered, that were lurching behind the narrative all this while.
The book provides you with a strong jolt of emotions at each juncture and shocks and wakes you with its revelations. There will be instances when one would just want to shake these characters up and for the reader's own sake,, plead them to be a little sensical and logical. It is also a story of resilience which makes the story all the worthwhile. The book deals mainly with two themes, that of religious fanaticism and the other of bodily transformation. It is also unclear whether Anna suffers from any eating disorder, which is quite true to its time when diseases and disorders were thought to be either divine punishments or boons. Anna's fasting is also believed to be one such boon, a miracle by God. The local quack, the church-parish , each have their own motives to prove or disprove this case. What is also striking is the functionality of the mother in the novel. The mother, Rosaleen o' Donnell also claims her daughter to be performing a miracle and at the outlook seems to be least bothered whether the child eats or not. In a land ridden by superstitions and one that almost seems antediluvian , every character quite fits in the role they are supposed to play. It is only with the slow progress of the plot that all the underlying secrets are revealed. The ending also provides you with a sense of hope that glimmers in the narrative ,and tries to make its way out as if it was being stifled in the dark. Overall, The Wonder is a notable and riveting book that deserves to have your time . Emma Donoghue has made her mark on me and I will surely be looking out for her other books.
My rating-10/10 Goodreads rating-3.62/5
Goodreads link- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29409721-the-wonder Published in -2016
Happy reading :)
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