Dublin, 1918, the world is being ravaged by the Spanish flu, influenza. Men are returning from the war, damaged, changed. Julia is an almost thirty, single woman, living with her brother who cannot or will not speak. She is also a nurse, which is one of the only decent employment available to women. Her hospital is beseiged by flu cases and her ward is one that handles the flu in those that are also pregnant. Staff so short, she is alone, in charge, handling what can only be described as our pre...

Here we are in the golden age of medicine— making such great strides against rabies, typhoid fever, diphtheria— and a common or garden influenza is beating us hollow. Serious question: were there always this many books about pandemics? Is this like one of those things where you learn about something you'd never heard of before and then, suddenly, it's EVERYWHERE. Because I keep reading these books that were written pre-COVID and pandemics seem to be stalking me.Anyway, I really liked this und

‘blame the stars… thats what influenza means. influenza delle stelle - the influence of the stars. medieval italians thought the illness proved that the heavens were governing their fates.’ not gonna lie - this started out rough for me. the narrative style is… a choice. lol. i was actually quite adverse to it in the beginning. but ive really enjoyed EDs other books, so i stuck with it and im so glad i did. and i wouldnt consider this the most recommendable story out there - its a very niche t

4.5 stars rounded to 5 starsWhat a quiet yet powerful little gem this is. Emma Donoghue escaped my radar up until now. The blurb enticed me, and my impulse decision to hit the green Net Galley request button paid off nicely.This is a 3-day slice of life centering on 3 women and several key minor characters. The book takes place during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Much of the story unfolds in the tiny “lyingin ward” (really a small room) for pregnant women ill with the flu in an understaffed hosp...

Just released my Worst 2020 Books Video - now that you know this one made the list, click the link to find the rest! The Written Review Nurse Julia works tirelessly in the maternity ward as the plague and the war ravages through Ireland. As the night wears on, she's joined by a suspicious new doctor (a rumored rebel) and Birdie (a volunteer). Together they fight save as many lives as humanly possible.Soooooo....it may just be me but I did NOT enjoy this one at all.I'm not big on historical

The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue (author), Emma Lowe (narrator)It's 1918 Dublin, the city and the country ravaged by war, poverty, and the Great Flu. Very few people aren't suffering from the flu or the after effects of the flu and Nurse Julia Power's inner city hospital is running on a skeleton crew, with not enough workers or supplies. A tiny room has been set aside for expectant mothers that are suffering from the flu, and for the first time, Nurse Julie is in charge of a "ward". The ti...

Pain and suffering gather at doorsteps.No particular street. No predestined number. Certainly, without invitation.Julia Power rides her bicycle through the darkened streets of Dublin in the pouring rain. Her destination is the understaffed and over-populated hospital reeling from the onslaught of The Great Flu of 1918. The world, and in particular Ireland, takes on an invisible enemy the likes of which they've never known. And in parallel, the human enemies lay in trenches and on battle fields d...

This one read a little like “ A complete idiots guide to giving birth” in a pandemic in 1918 . I really wasn’t going to read this novel as being centre stage in a pandemic is enough without having to read about it in my leisure time. I took a chance as I loved The Wonder by this author. The book is historically accurate and interesting it was way too medically detailed for me. The story takes place over 3 days and most of the drama is played out in a maternity Ward in the hospital. The med

Wow... This story felt so short!The history, ( inspired by the Spanish flu), and story ( not for the squeamish), in “The Pull of the Stars”, is certainly relevant to our current pandemic health crisis today.........The writing was compellingwith spare yet vividly descriptive prose. ...Parts were slow -...Parts were disturbing and graphic - ...The eerie environment descriptions were strong....It was haunting and easily imagined. ...Not my favorite book of the year - but it had redeeming qualitie...

All the stars!I finished The Pull of the Stars over last weekend, a buddy read with my dear friend, @bibliobeth. We gobbled this book up. At 304 pages, and taking place over only 3 days, this book is something, and I mean something remarkable. The Pull of the Stars makes my second book I’ve read about the 1918 influenza pandemic in the last month.On a related note, Emma Donoghue began writing the book in 2018 for the 100 year anniversary of the pandemic. Little did she know that the coronavirus

Vita gloriosa vita. Life glorious life. There’s an aura throughout this story that is somewhat bleak, while at the same time gripping in the dangers, the then fairly recent uprising that occurred Easter 1916, WWI, the conditions these people face during the 1918 pandemic – something that we have all recently become too familiar with. There’s also so much tender consideration, kindness from this nurse and her young charge that comes to assist the ward where Julia Power works, the Mate

A compelling offering by Ms Donoghue which, read in the times of COVID, could not escape comparison between the present and 1918.Nurse Julia Power is in charge of the maternity ward in a Dublin hospital. Thirty, taking care of her brother who suffers from shell-shock, Julia concentrates on her three charges, pregnant women who are of different background and whose pregnancies are endangered due to flu complications.The plot spans over three days during which Julia helps new life to appear and wi...

4.5 stars! Another fantastic novel by a favourite author of mine.Relevant and timely. Eye-opening and informative. Outstanding and unforgettable characters!Dublin, 1918: Julia Power celebrates her thirtieth birthday while working as a nurse in the maternity unit of a hospital overloaded with patients battling a new and deadly strain of influenza. Expectant mother’s who show signs of the Great flu are transferred to Julia’s charge. Her makeshift ward is an old supply closet that fits three beds w...

The timing on this one is perfect, and surprising when you think about how Emma Donoghue starting writing the story in 2018, and it is so relevant today. It's startling when you think about how history can repeat itself and leaves you to consider how we can learn from history. The one thing that might not change is the astonishing heroes in times of crisis. The ones of yesterday and we see today! It's stories like this that focus on the remarkable, selfless heroes that rise above all the ugly, p...

"The human race settles on terms with every plague in the end, the doctor told her. Or a stalemate, at the least." Talk about a timely book. In the Author's note, Emma Donoghue shares how she began writing this book after being inspired by the centenary of the great flu, and by the time she had delivered her last draft to publishers in March 2020, COVID 19 came on the scene."**The influenza pandemic of 1918 killed more people than the first World War - an estimated 3 to 6 percent of the human

A beautiful, uplifting tribute to mothers and nurses, The Pull of the Stars, is a very fitting book to read on Mother's Day. A lot of times, I forget why I've chosen the book I'm reading. This one I was drawn to, initially, because it is set in Ireland during the flu pandemic of World War I. It is so much more than that. Some authors give you a history lesson and some, like Emma Donoghue, send you back in time and you feel you are there. Nurse Powers is smart, strong, kind and efficient. Suddenl...

4.5 ✭3 days. That’s all it takes to change lives drastically during the 1918 flu pandemic for a nurse, a runner, and a doctor in a maternity ward in Dublin.Julia Power, a passionate nurse trying to help her patients with her hands tied by not being a practitioner but knowing as much as one; Bridie, the charming girl who has come in as a volunteer runner completely taken off guard by the devastation of the illness; Dr. Lynn. A rebel doctor on the run from the police.This is the story of frontline...

“This flu was clogging the whole works of the hospital. Not just the hospital, I reminded myself—the whole of Dublin. The whole country. As far as I could tell, the whole world was a machine grinding to a halt. Across the globe, in hundreds of languages, signs were going up urging people to cover their coughs.” It's 1918 and the flu pandemic is raging across the globe. Nurse Julia, along with her aide, Bridie, is in charge of a small hospital ward, a supply closet really, for pregnant women suff...

"Cover up each cough or sneeze... fools and traitors spread disease." The Pull of the Stars is Emma Donoghue's newest release, eerily relevant to today. We follow Nurse Julia Powers in the midst of the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918 Ireland. She works at an overcapacity hospital in the maternity ward, and we see her both bring life into the world and struggle against the pull of the stars- the merciless influenza. Critically understaffed, Julia takes upon an uneducated volunteer, Bridie Sweeny