The Pull of the Stars was a fairly easy and quick historical fiction read for me which I enjoyed. There may be some TW given that there are some medical/hospital settings so be warned. The plot centers around the influenza about 100 years so it is somewhat of an eerie coincidence to be reading this in the midst of 2020.

This timely book told the story of several women and the medical frontline workers In a maternity section of a hospital in Dublin, Ireland in 1918 during the Spanish flu pandemic. The characters were well developed and the description of the setting made it truly believable and quite a page turner. Nurse Julia Powers was very compassionate and caring for her patients and Bridie, her volunteer helper. It was an amazing coincidence that the author chose this subject for her novel before the 2020 pandemic became a global crisis. I was hesitant at first to read this novel when I realized the subject, but I do highly recommend this novel.

I could not get into this book for a couple of reasons. First, the story didn’t capture my attention immediately. There were so many unnecessary details and descriptions of the city and hospital that I found my mind wandering as there wasn’t a firm plot to hold on to. Second, the writing felt choppy. There was little dialogue, and what little there was was interspersed with thoughts or non-dialogue and I found that confusing to read.

I'm a fan of Emma Donoghue, but HOW did she release this book just at the right time ?
Living in a world in the midst of a pandemic, and reading about characters in a novel doing the same.
Lots of consolation knowing that humans have done this successfully before.
Excellent story, with compelling characters. Another winner for Emma !

My year of enjoying Irish literature graciously continues with this summer's pandemic novel, The Pull of the Stars.

The year is 1918 and the world is fighting two wars: the Spanish Flu epidemic and WWI. In Dublin, Irish political tensions add to the pressure cooker of fear, violence, and illness. Our protagonist, Julia Power, is maternity ward nurse in Ireland's capital, caring for expectant women fighting off the flu. Along comes a bright young volunteer, Bridie, and Irish rebel Dr. Lynn. The three women save and lose lives over the course of three days.

The book weaves together fact and fiction to transport us to last century's plague, which is not so different from the pandemic we are living in now. Donoghue began writing this book in 2018, before any signs of COVID-19 appeared on the horizon, and rushed publication in March 2020 when our very own pandemic arrived one century after the book's. Donoghue somehow had insight into the minutia of plague life before living through one herself, from wearing masks to propaganda signage at the bus station to the low thrum of anxiety and distrust.

While Nurse Power and Bridie are fictional characters based on historical testimonies, Dr. Kathleen Lynn is a true historical figure (1874-1955). A feminist, lesbian, and activist, she was involved with the Irish rebel group Sinn Fein and was passionate about public and women's health. Donoghue referenced Kathleen Lynn: Irishwoman, Patriot, Doctor to inform her character.

I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who needs a reminder that while right now the world seems to be caving in on itself, many points in history felt hopeless and scary, too. I'm surprised I found hope in reading a novel about a pandemic. Several scenes detailed intense and painful childbirths, so this book is not for the squeamish. Also, I'm grateful that I had previous knowledge of the Irish political/rebel situation thanks to the fabulous book, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland. Without that knowledge, Dr. Lynn's character would have completely blown over my head. In fact, I would have liked to see more of her character, as she was a complex and loyal woman.

What a relevant book to today's world. A novel about the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. Julia ia a nurse working in an overcrowded maternity ward during the flu pandemic. It tells the wonderful and heartbreaking story of being a caregiver during such scary and turbulent times.

I am really glad I stuck with this book to the end - I was debating putting it down around the 50% mark because it was a little slow and medical for my preferences, so I was having trouble staying engaged. However, it took OFF shortly after that and I ended up very happy that I finished it. Blazed through the remaining half of the book! This had some odd emotions, considering the current pandemic, but was different enough to not freak me out. I definitely enjoyed this, although I want to know so much more!

This book was simply amazing. Captivating and unputdownable. Julia Power’s world of 1918 Dublin is vividly captured and the characters all come to life as if they are real people. What a time for a book about the 1918 influenza pandemic to be released, too, while we are dealing with our own pandemic.

Let’s just say the timing of this book will not be good for everyone. For me that wasn’t an issue. I was actually intrigued by the Spanish flu pandemic. This is the first book I read about it set in another country. Another Emma Donoghue book I enjoyed. Absolutely love her writing and she’s becoming an auto buy author for me.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I heard a review of this book on NPR and was excited to read it (generally). I read Emma Donoghue's previous novels "Room" (loved it) and "The Wonder" (did not like it), so I figured this book could be the tie breaker and help me decide how I felt about the author. It definitely won me over and tilted the scale in favor of Donoghue. The book starts off a little slow, but does a great job of setting the tone and style. Once I was through the first 3rd of the book I was hooked. I typically do not love descriptive medical scenes in books, movies and tv shows but I was mesmerized by the detail and process. This book really sucked me in and I found my heart racing at some parts. This was followed by thoughtful interludes and discussion. Anyone that loves historical fiction will love this!

First of all it is impossible to read this without making the connection to our present pandemic. I think the book would have been just as powerful if we were not going through similar things right now. I just couldn't help but think of how much things have changed and how much they have not in the last hundred years. The women who are caring for patients and making the life or death kinds of decisions all day long without any real recognition, respect, or status rang so true for me. There was just such a strong connection to this story that I couldn't stop reading. I will be recommending to everyone I know who would love a little piece of historical fiction.

In 1918, Nurse Julia Powers struggles to manage an Irish maternity ward ravaged by influenza and short-staffed by the war. With the help of volunteer Bridie Sweeney and controversial Doctor Kathleen Lynn, Julia tries her best to save the lives of expectant mothers as they bring new life into the world. An interesting character study, Donoghue's novel reflects the strain of being a healthcare worker during a crisis. A heartbreaking story that vividly describes the details of childbirth, The Pull of the Stars will remind you how hard life has always been for women.

I have always enjoyed reading first person narration, and this book did not disappoint! The story takes place in a “maternity fever” ward in a span 0f a few days during the 1918 influenza epidemic in Ireland. We experience the emotional turmoil of the main character, Nurse Powers as she struggles with the devastating consequences of ultimate decisions she has to make while being the head nurse of the ward. The story is not for the faint of heart as it is full of descriptive passages and emotional drama. I found it hard to put down at times, and was able to read it in two days! Thank you, Netgalley for allowing me to read for an honest review!

Donoghue’s (Akin) latest offering, with its focus on the impact of the Spanish flu in Dublin, Ireland, provides chilling similarities to today’s pandemic. Almost thirty-years-old, Julia Power is a nurse in a maternity ward for Spanish flu patients in Dublin, Ireland. Many of her patients are young and impoverished, especially unwed mothers. Julia assists as best as she can, knowing that her efforts might not be enough to save their lives. For every patient who dies, she carefully etches a marking on the back of her silver watch.

Julia is desperate for assistance which arrives in the form of Bridie Sweeney, a cheerful untrained volunteer who endured both physical and mental abuse at orphanages and now resides at a convent. Julia is grateful for Bridie’s help as she assists with prolonged difficult births and eagerly aids in the most gruesome of tasks. The women work long hours with minimal assistance from physicians, the most knowledgeable of whom is Dr. Lynn, a female physician wanted by the government for her rebellious acts. And when Julia and Bridie spend a memorable night on the hospital roof, their friendship evolves into something more profound.

Donoghue’s immersive novel is gritty and realistic, capturing the desperate plight of Dublin’s poor, especially the women who often died in childbirth or were victims of brutal medical procedures to enable them to continue having more children. The consequences of World War I and the aftermath of the Spanish flu simmer throughout Julia’s first-person account is this must-read.

Set in Dublin, in 1918, during the influenza pandemic, this novel takes place almost exclusively on the maternity/fever ward of a hospital. Over three days, Nurse Powers, along with a helper, Bridie, are in charge of pregnant women who also have the flu. The scenes of childbirth are graphic and not for those squimish at the mention of blood or needles. This novel examines issues of class, gender, religion, war, sexuality, and loss.

I liked the character development of Nurse Powers. She became more confident as the book progressed and found her voice by the end of the novel. I would have liked to see more progression of the relationship between Nurse Powers and Bridie. It felt rushed at the end.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I liked learning about the history and culture of Dublin in 1918, and felt physical and emotional pain right alongside the patients. If you’re expecting a lot of scene change, this is not the book for you.

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.

The story follows a nurse, Julia, in Ireland during the 1918 pandemic as she is tasked with taking care of pregnant flu patients in a tiny, makeshift ward. Set over the course of three days, the hospital is so short on staff that Julia is left to run the ward alone, with only the help of a volunteer named Bridie and Dr. Lynn (who was a real historical person).

Beautifully written, detailed, heartbreaking, and with a perfect timing. The author started this in 2018, but some of the scenes in the book felt so eerily similar. Almost as if they could have been pulled right from our current pandemic. And the atmosphere that the author is able to create, it really pulls you in. It's not a fast-paced book but it's captivating.
The story is also very graphic as it depicts childbirth and medical procedures in the early 1900s.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read and review.

This book was very timely. It takes place over 3 days during the flu pandemic of 1918. It was released fairly quickly after the global Covid-19 pandemic spread in 2020.

The story has vivid characters who you can't help but laugh and cry with. Nurse Powers is our main character and we follow her throughout as she tends to pregnant women who have the flu.

The only complaint I have is that it wasnt longer. I wish we could have followed the story beyond where the novel ended.

Oh how I loved The Pull of the Stars! It captured my attention from the very first page and held it until the end. Reading about a pandemic right now was tough and was all too familiar. But the writing is beautiful and is very unique. Emma Donoghue does not disappoint with her latest novel. Highly recommend!
Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

It may seem like insanity to read a book about a pandemic while currently living through a pandemic. And not just any pandemic but THE pandemic, the one to which all experts compare our current COVID pandemic - the Spanish Influenza epidemic. However, in the capable hands of Emma Donoghue, The Pull of the Stars becomes a story so much more than its setting with its universal themes of hope, love, and compassion.

Told through the eyes of one Julia Power, we experience her life as a midwife living in Dublin in 1919 before the end of the Great War but still in the midst of the Spanish Influenza pandemic. We experience three days as the head nurse of an isolated maternity ward for those pregnant women who have the flu. Short of staff and room, we see her come into her own as she must make life-or-death decisions while providing comfort and care to her patients.

Julia is a remarkable character, so well-defined that you forget that she is fictional. Her experiences in those three days are insane and yet one gets the impression that they are also completely normal. Her constant level-headedness and, most importantly, the compassion she shows each of her patients are a refreshing reminder of how people should act in times of crisis.

So much of the story could happen today. Through her patients and through her own commute to and from work we see the same poverty, the same loss, the same abuse, the same scorn for anyone who is different. Even eerier, we read posters that talk about keeping your distance from others to stay healthy, we see people wearing masks to protect themselves, and we see the fear that occurs when someone in public sneezes or coughs. Yet, at no time did I feel uncomfortable about reading the novel. If anything, there is a strange comfort one finds in understanding how little things change sometimes, even when it should.

The one thing The Pull of the Stars did do is to reinforce my belief that the Catholic Church is not only hypocritical but also evil in the damage it has done to those they profess to protect. Taking place in the very Catholic Dublin in a Catholic hospital no less, one encounters the policies established by the Church in a myriad of ways. However, it is the impact of those policies and the Catholic belief system on the women in Julia's care which drive home that hypocrisy.

The Pull of the Stars is a remarkable story for several reasons. For one, Julia Power is a fascinating character. She doesn't do anything other than act with compassion, but you finish the novel thinking her the wisest of women. For another, the story has a timeless quality to it because the social issues Julia sees occurring within her own little ward occur across time. Lastly, it reinforces today's messaging about mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing as the only acceptable ways to maintain your health while the current influenza virus rages around the globe.

I was enraptured by The Pull of the Stars from the moment I began reading it. The author paints a shockingly parallel scene to current circumstances, depicting an impoverished country overran by the Great Flu. People wear masks, shun strangers, wait in line for medical care, while the government issues snappy slogans and onions to cull the spread.

Somehow in the midst of overwhelming poverty, war, and pandemic, Emma Donoghue manages to cultivate a heartbreaking love story that has you hoping for a happy ending that you know is highly unlikely. Carefully complex and flawed characters disrupt the normal girl meets boy story line for oddly satisfying ending. It is a great fiction read with some relevant substance.