The Wonder

The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When comparing this book to ROOM, I would say it wasn't as good, but on the other hand I was constantly interested to know what was going to happen to Anna and especially what Lib (one of her watchers and a nurse) was going to do about the situation. I didn't know this but historically there have been almost 50 cases of Fasting Girls and how they survived for long periods without food for religious reasons and some for reasons unknown. I found this very intriguing because ... lets be honest I love food... but different strokes for different folks, right! The setting was a small village in 1850's Ireland and Donoghue did an amazing job describing it. From the inn that Nurse Lib resided in, to the bogs that were absolutely everywhere, to the homestead that Anna and her family resided in. Everything was very plain and there was an air of depression and sadness in this remote area. I found the characters of Anna's mum and the cousin Kitty to be quite annoying. They were always kind of brash and rude with Nurse Lib when really it was the town that imposed Anna be watched to determine whether or not she was truly surviving on no food. Things do take a twist which was handled very interestingly by the characters. Anna's reasoning for doing the fast is something that is totally out of her control and she feels guilt for what has happened. The ending seems to happen in a whirlwind but surprisingly it didn't happen the way I thought it was going to. Overall, I was pleased with this book.


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