One is that The Wonder has a fairly slow-moving plot, which may be a turn off for many. Whether this was intentional or not by Donoghue is up to you to decide. What was actually interesting was that the Church doesn’t come across as the ‘big evil’ they often do today. Some beliefs may seem absolutely foreign now but if you are a 30-year-old raised Catholic like myself, some elements are familiar. The O’Donnells are a very religious family and this leads to problems. However, I can say that it is interesting to see yet again how far we have evolved in terms of religion. Unfortunately, I can’t go into much detail about the inclusion of religion due to spoilers. The theme of religion is probably the strongest in The Wonder. Along the same vein, the reader also gets an idea of how different medical procedures were during this time and can breathe a sigh of relief at how far we have come. Lib trained under Florence Nightingale and there are many instances in the book that show how much more knowledgeable she is regarding medicine than her (male) superiors deem her to be. Through Lib, we also see how nurses were viewed at the time. Therefore, it’s fair to say that I didn’t have a good first impression of the main character. During the first few pages, Lib looks down her nose at the Irish locals and touches on many stereotypes of the time. One that we meet immediately is the reflection of Ireland at the time and especially how it was perceived by the English. What stood out for me were the underlying themes woven into the chapters of this book. Instead, it is a period book with a gothic element that was inspired by actual cases of fasting girls. Just in case you are thinking the same, it’s not. I don’t know why I thought this but I originally believed that The Wonder would be some sort of fairy story. Tourists have flocked to the cabin of eleven-year-old Anna O’Donnell, and a journalist has come down to cover the sensation. Lib’s job is to find out if Anna is indeed a miracle – or a top-notch scammer. English nurse, Lib Wright, is summoned to a tiny village to observe what some are claiming as a medical anomaly or a miracle – a girl said to have survived without food for months.
The Wonder* by Emma Donoghue is set in the Irish Midlands in 1859. After being slightly let down by the hype surrounding Room, I was curious to see how this book would pan out. The last book of the year was The Wonder by Emma Donoghue. It is run by the Irish Embassy in Berlin and its aim is to promote contemporary Irish books also translated into German. One of the best things I did last year was join a book club.
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