This is typical Emma Donoghue, excellent writing and well-developed characters. The coincidence of her being interested in the 1918 Spanish flu at the 100 year anniversary in 2018 and making it the backdrop of her novel and then having her novel come out in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic was an unintended benefit, as I think more people will be drawn to this story. The events of this story take place over a 3 day period amidst supply shortages and other challenges that parallel our current situation. This was a great read and I would have enjoyed it no matter when it was published, but I have to say the timing of the release did pull me in a little bit more.

Has our current pandemic made you curious about the great flu pandemic of 1918? I know I have kicked myself for never thinking to ask my grandmother what it was like for her and her family during those times, especially after realizing she was pregnant with my mother in the fall of 1918, giving birth the following spring. How frightening those times must have been!

Emma Donoghue says she was inspired by the centenary of the great flu pandemic of 1918 to begin writing this book in October, 2018, delivering the last draft of the book to her publisher in March of this year. What timing!

Her book is set in Dublin, Ireland, and is told through the eyes of 30-year-old unmarried nurse Julia Powers who is working in one of the many Catholic hospitals in the area. Most of the action of the story takes place in the Maternity/Fever ward where pregnant mothers are being sent when they are showing signs of the flu--usually fever and coughs. The 'ward' is little more than a large closet that has been converted to hold three cots for patients.

The hospital is short-staffed and Nurse Powers is working her shift alone until a young volunteer named Bridie shows up to be her 'runner.' Through talking to her in free moments, Julia begins to learn how young women are treated in church-run homes for orphans, where Bridie has been living.

Julia struggles to keep her patients comfortable with the few supplies she has, then helps them deliver their premature babies when the inevitable labor begins. Oh why can't there be a doctor present in those desperate moments! But unfortunately doctors are few and stretched thin throughout the hospital. Don't forget, WWI is going on at this same time and many have been sent to the battlefields. The hospital is making do with older, retired doctors and even a woman who is a known political agitator (based on the real life Dr Kathleen Lynn). Those doctors they do have available dash in and out, sometimes giving Julia a free hand to do what she thinks is necessary. It's touch and go with many of these women as Julia watches them struggle through difficult labor to deliver their babies. Those very ill with the virus show the impact of lack of oxygen on their skin as it turns from red to brown to blue to black as death from cyanosis sets in. Julia keeps a sad record of patients she loses, the mother or her baby, by marking scratches on her pocket watch.

This story highlights how poorly women were treated just 100 years ago. No one liked to interfere between a husband and wife. Even if it was obvious the man was mistreating her, it was deemed his prerogative. Catholic woman were expected to give their husbands 12 children, though many died in the process. (When we were in Montreal last year, we were told early settler women were told by their parish priests that it was their duty to the church to get pregnant every year!)

Julia learns one patient is an unwed mother and Bridie confides that the nuns run homes for those women as well. They are expected to stay and work off their debt after their baby is born, sometimes for a year or more, like indentured servants. If one dies while living there, she is simply dumped in a hole, buried in an unmarked grave. Joni Mitchell's song, The Magdalene Laundries, ran through my head while I was reading this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATaFy...

Julia's home life is interesting too: she lives with her younger brother who has returned from the war unscathed physically but is unable or unwilling to speak. How will he react to a decision she makes at the end of the story?

As to who has it tougher, men or women, Julia makes a point of reminding one of the annoying male orderlies that women are also like soldiers, laying down their lives to bring the next generation into the world, so many of them dying in the process.

The similarities and parallels between our two flu pandemics is quite astonishing--as is all the misinformation that some people still believe. This is a wonderful piece of historical fiction, so timely in its significance to our own times. By the way, Donoghue mentions in her afterward that "the influenza pandemic of 1918 killed more people than the First World War--an estimated 3 to 6 percent of the human race." That doesn't bode well for for the results of our current pandemic, especially as we watch the numbers rise again this summer. Has nothing much been learned? Wash your hands, wear a mask and practice social distancing.

I must mention the significance of the title, which I loved! "In Italy, they used to blame the influence of the constellations for making them sick. 'Influenza delle stelle--the influence of the stars.' They believed that the heavens were governing their fates, that people were quite literally star-crossed." So interesting!

Another interesting piece of information: When babies are born facing upward, they are called 'stargazers.' Looking towards the sky.

I received an arc of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. Many thanks for the introduction to Emma Donoghue's writing.

Wow, I understand that Emma Donoghue started this book a few years ago in anticipation of the one hundred year anniversary of the 1918 flu, but somehow she also managed to include an activist character fighting for equality and freedom. This book is incredibly timely. The novel covers three days in the life of Julia Power, a nurse in a maternity ward in an Irish hospital during the flu pandemic of 1918. Along with the flu, the book covers issues like financial inequality, feminism, The Pull of the Stars drew me right in, the writing is beautiful, the story mesmerizing. and the characters full developed. At times heartbreaking, at times hopeful, this is a must read.

This is definitely on my top ten list of books for 2020. So timely in oh so many ways. An excellent telling of resiliency, the importance of science, the unfailing dedication of those in the medical profession, wait, could I be writing about now? Or might I say we have yet to learn our lessons from history? Excellent character development, strong plot lot, believable characters and situations. I’ve recommended this book many times over since I read it.

This is the first book I have read by Emma Donoghue and I was hooked from the beginning. While reading a book about a pandemic DURING a pandemic might not be wise, the book was so much more than that. I loved the setting and characters and this held my attention until the end. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book takes places over 3 days during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. Nurse Julia Powers is a nurse on the maternity ward in Dublin, Ireland taking care of pregnant women who are hospitalized with the flu. Brodie Sweeney is brought as an aide for Julia and a bond quickly forms between the 2 women. This book is timely given the fact it has been published during the current pandemic. I recommend it highly.

1918, influenza, family-dynamics, friendship, historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, history-and-culture, medical-treatment

"That's what influenza means, she said. Influenza della stelle-the influence of the stars. Medieval Italians thought the illness proved that the heavens were governing their fates, that people were quite literally star-crossed."
For Nurse Julia, those three days working the Maternity/Fever Ward in a Dublin hospital in 1918 was like being in hell with one ice cube to share among her patients. The medical research was very meticulous, but I'm not sure how non-medicals react to the bloody truths laid out in the story about several women who entered the hospital pregnant and yet with Le Grippe as it is quite graphic (I am a retired RN and did work Labor and Delivery for a number of years). This is not so many years after The Rising, and the doctor who plays a big part in this story, Dr. Kathleen Lynn, is very real and worked hard to right many wrongs of the time. This is a very moving story at any time, but even more meaningful in 2020. I cannot say enough positive things about it.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Little, Brown and Company via NetGalley. Thank you!

I have had trouble concentrating on books during this pandemic, but could hardly put down this gripping new novel by Emma Donaghue. Others reviewers have provided ample description of its premise and setting, so I will just say that I found this book riveting, moving, and historically fascinating. (Not recommended for the medically squeamish, however, especially if pregnant!) A 4.5 for me, with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC.

Emma Donoghue's The Pull of the Stars is an exceptional piece of historical fiction--easily the best of the Donoghue's novels. The story involves a 30-year-old nurse midwife, Julia Power, and her newly assigned hospital runner, Bridie Sweeney. What unfolds is a novel about life in Ireland during the 1918 flu, from the disease itself to childbirth in early 20th-century Ireland, from World War I to Irish home rule. It also shows the ways in which all of these things were subordinate to the Church and the horrifying effects of that.

Donoghue is a master of a certain novelistic version of the drawing room play. Moving in between just a few rooms with few characters, she manages to create a whole world. The Pull of the Stars is unique among Donoghue's novels for the way it depicts love: romantic, familial, platonic. Her love is one of acts, of duty, of kindness, and it is a pleasure to see her writing grow in that way. While I found the ending of The Pull of the Stars slightly jarring, I accept that it was the natural conclusion and suited the novel. Overall, highly recommended.

Not finished yet but am enjoying the book so far. While some might question the sanity of reading a book about a pandemic during a pandemic it is more than that. It is about the women in the maternity ward and the women who care for them. Fans of Call the Midwife and other period dramas will be fans.

The Pull of the Stars is set in Dublin during the Influenza. outbreak in 1918. It tells the story of Julia Powers, a nurse working with expectant mothers who also have been infected.

This is an honest look at a deathly pandemic, adding in the tragedy of infected mothers to be. The whole novel basically takes place in one setting, for the most part, and spans only a few days.

I found the many medical procedures to be too much, as if reading of so much bloody tragedy numbed me to it and the grotesque became almost routine to me. However, isn't that the point? Isn't that what happens in times of war and disease? You see so many awful things you become numbed to them.

I would have liked more settings, more action, and more character back stories, but reality isn't always fun, beautiful, or exciting. Reality can be bloody and tragic and repetitive. Looking back on this, I completely appreciate what the author did here. This was a pandemic war zone, Julia was a soldier, and none of it was pretty.

There is also a shocking look at the treatment of orphans, unwed mothers, and the poor during that time.

While showing us the brutal and bloody, the author also wove some hope into the story, some certainty that life would go on.

Anyone who is interested in the history of the Influenza outbreak of 1918 will enjoy this book.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley. My review is voluntary.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Little Brown and Company for the digital review copy of this one. I also bought the audiobook version from Libro.fm, because the narration is fantastic.

This graphically detailed account of three days on the maternity ward of a hospital wracked with the Spanish Influenza in Dublin, 1918 completely wrecked me. Nurse Julia Power has been working with expectant mothers for years, but the pandemic has added so many complications to her job, and the mortality rate of mothers and their newborns has skyrocketed since the outbreak. When Doctor Kathleen Lynn, a rumoured Rebel on the run from the police , and a young volunteer helper, Bridie Sweeney show up, Julia’s chaotically-ordered life is thrown into a tailspin, and these three days will change the course of her entire life.

This book is so expertly timed, it’s eerie. I shared it with my Facebook friends with a reminder that COVID is real (I have friends who don’t think it is) and reminded them that reading fiction makes us more empathetic to people at large. Plus, the parallels of the Spanish Flu epidemic to COVID are uncanny. When the characters talk about the world never being the same and the hope of going back to normal at some point, I felt that in my soul.

Be warned. There are graphic depictions of childbirth, its complications, and the barbaric ways that these births were treated. I physically cringed many times throughout the book and felt worn out by the end of it, but it really is a masterful work. If you’re a reader who likes stories you can relate to when you’re going through it, you should definitely check this one out.

It’s freshly out, and if audiobooks are your thing, Emma Lowe does a phenomenal job. I even went to audiobook sites to find more books narrated by her. I love her Irish accent, her cadence and tone, and her ability to convey the pain of childbirth with just her voice. It’s magnificent.

It's 1918, and Julia is a nurse in Dublin. She lives with her brother Tim, a war veteran who has returned a very different man. The Great War is raging, and the flu pandemic is overloading the medical staff. Her ward is maternity patients who also have flu symptoms, and they are so short staffed that she finds herself the only one on duty. When she asks for help, Bridie appears, a volunteer who by all appearances is poor and uneducated. Bridie turns out to be a godsend, helpful and eager to learn. It becomes clear that this is not an easy time, what with the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church, and the treatment of women, but Emma Donoghue has created a strong and compassionate character Julia. Donoghue is one of my favorite writers, but this timely novel should appeal to both readers of historical fiction and fans of the PBS series Call the Midwife.

Dublin 1918. A hospital ward for pregnant women suffering from the Spanish flu. This is a novel in which most of the characters are women and the issues that arise- from childbirth to the lingering effects of the Easter Rising to the abhorrent treatment of children in workhouses to the shameful practices of the Church and its representatives- are relayed in a matter-of-fact way that nevertheless exposes the depth of emotion beneath. Donoghue is a master and I am compelled to seek out her work at every opportunity.

I absolutely loved this book! The novel takes place during the Influenza pandemic in 1918 Ireland. The First World War is still going on, and the book did an excellent job of touching on issues surrounding the war, the Easter Rising in Ireland in 1916, and the flu itself.
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The book occurs over a few days in the maternity/flu ward in a hospital in Dublin. The main character, Julia, was a super complicated character and I love how we got to know her and love her in the span of just a few days. Her brother is injured in the war and has returned home, and she must work as a nurse to not only provide for her and her brother, but to also help the suffering mothers. She is a thoughtful and loving nurse who truly cares for her patients and really wants to make a difference. You would think that only a few days in a flu wing would not make for a very exciting book, but so many things happen that this book is action packed! One thing to keep in mind is the scenes of childbirth are very graphic in this one, so if you are very squeamish this might not be for you, or you can skip through those scenes. If you love historical fiction then you will definitely love this one!
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CW: hospitals, giving birth, violence, gore, death of a mother and baby.

Oh wow. This book was a timely read. Set in Dublin during the Great Flu of 1918, Emma Donoghue brings us inside a maternity ward set up for expectant mothers suffering with the flu. Nurse Julia Power is understaffed as she attempts to keep these women - and their babies - alive as they are quarantined together.

When a young and inexperienced volunteer shows up, Julia teaches her how to disinfect equipment, insists windows remain open to aid air circulation, and teaches the importance of clean hands (sound familiar?). In stark contrast to Bridie Sweeney's inexperience, Doctor Kathleen Lynn is competent and empowers Julia to make decisions on her patients' care. So what if she's a rumored Rebel, on the run from the police?

In the midst of fear and illness, the women support one another, offer hope in the darkest of places, and change each others' lives in ways they could never have imagined.

This book was truly fantastic. Emma Donoghue is a master story teller, and The Pull of the Stars is no exception. If you were a fan of Room, while this book is different, I think you will also love this book. Grab a copy ASAP!

3.5 stars!
Julia Powers is a nurse in Dublin during the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918 and the tail end of World War 1. Julia works on the maternity ward with the pregnant mothers who have been quarantined due to infection. Julia does her best to treat her patients while forming relationships with Bridie Sweeney (a mysterious volunteer from one of the nun’s boarding houses for the unfortunate) as well Doctor Lynn (a rebel fighting with the Irish Republic). The story takes place over the course of three days as the three women face horrific situations in the current state of panic that is Dublin.

I had a really hard time deciding between 3.5 or 4 stars for this historical fiction piece. I really liked the character development of Bridie and Julia, but felt as though Dr. Lynn could have been focused on more. I really liked the commentary Donoghue made about the role of the church and women during this time and how it influenced the culture of Ireland. I found the beginning and ending to be really interesting but the middle really dragged. It was full of graphic depictions of medical procedures so reader beware this is not one for you if you are squeamish. It focused on a heavy topic given the world’s current state but I encourage readers to judge this one themselves if you are a fan of Donoghue!

Thank you Netgalley, Little, Brown and Company and Emma Donoghue for free e-ARC of The Pull of The Stars in return of my honest review.

What a great time for The Pull of The Stars, the story about pandemic, to be published during present pandemic. The readers follow a few days of Nurse Julia Power life during Spanish Flu pandemic in Dublin amidst Great War.

Unpredictable, heartbreaking stories of women in Ireland during the worst of times. Nurse Power is responsible for pregnant patients with the flu. Among the pandemic chaos and limited doctor’s availability, she has to be quick in her situation assessment and decision making. In the few days of the story, Julia meets Dr. Lynn, rebel-doctor, who is smart, professional and strong-opinionated, and Bridie, an orphan from convent, comes in as an extra hand to help out in the hospital due to staff shortage. These two women change Julia’s life forever.

I mostly enjoyed The Pull of The Stars. I would make an assumption that it is the the character-driven novel. All female characters, including the patients, were outstanding. Emma Donoghue manages to expand the scope of Irish women tragedy by sharing small bits of stories of every patient. It flows in a simple conversations and open up a hole of misery, desperation and hopelessness. Bridie‘s revelations are like a nail in the coffin. I struggled to keep my tears from flowing. The tragedy upon tragedy.

On the other hand, I find The Pull of The Stars a bit too mechanical and full of professional slang. I assume it is necessary in a hospital environment and I did google a few procedures which made me feel lucky to be living in 21st century. However, it also made me feel a bit overwhelmed by the slang.

Nevertheless, I do recommend The Pull of The Stars to anyone. Perfect book for our current unprecedented times.

I was very excited to receive an ARC from NetGalley as I enjoyed “The Room“. In fairness, I watched the movie and had not read the book. Maybe the book played out much differently. If you are really into midwifery and the types of labor women experience, etc., etc. then maybe you wouldn’t be bored by this book. There were some relationships but it definitely took a backseat to all the details of taking care of women during the 1918 pandemic flu who were also in labor. Towards the end of the book the relationship aspect picked up as well as my interest but it was very brief.