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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4965.Year_of_Wonders?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Year of Wonders" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165517036m/4965.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4965.Year_of_Wonders?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Year of Wonders</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/211268.Geraldine_Brooks">Geraldine Brooks</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25936314?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 4 of 5 stars 1666. A young housemaid walks through the empty streets of a village decimated by plague. She attends to the rector, a formerly charismatic leader now sequestered in his empty house, listless and faithless. The previous year a bolt of fabric from London brought bubonic plague to this remote northern village, and as one by one the villagers began to die, the rector convinced them that instead of fleeing the village and bringing plague to others (who probably would drive them away anyway), they should quarantine themselves and ride it out. As nearly two-thirds of the inhabitants sicken and die, our 18 year old heroine joins forces with the rector and his wife to minister to the living, dying, and dead, and try to prevent the village from descending into superstition and barbarity. At times they succeed more than others, but watching those who rise to extraordinary challenges and those who don’t is compelling entertainment.
 
 At a dinner recently a friend handed this over to me and said, “You should read it — it’s wonderfully written!” She was right — the prose is beautiful, the story gripping, and the portrayal of human nature fascinating. Then (fun coincidence) I was two chapters into the book when another friend brought me to a book reading by Tony Horwitz, this very funny travel writer, who turned out to be Geraldine Brooks’s husband! Who knew?! Well, obviously he did, as did the book store lady who introduced him. So I grabbed a copy of Year of Wonders and asked him to sign it along with one of his own books, which he did without making me feel too ridiculous. He also told me that this was his favorite of his wife’s books. It’s a fast read, and guaranteed to make you feel really good about living in the 21st century. My only problem is with the ending. All through the book a couple of characters display obviously modern sensibilities, but the end really does seem to go off the rails with bizarre plot twists more suitable to a supermarket paperback than good historical fiction. Added to that is the toll on faith that the plague takes — really, nobody’s faith is strengthened after going through this sort of ordeal?? Granted, who knows if mine would be, especially given the absence of plumbing, medicine, or decent food, as well as the cast of illiterate drunkards I’d have to endure, but shouldn’t we at least hope for characters who come through the refiner’s fire wiser and stronger? Other than that, very interesting and beautifully written.
 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1040930?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Laura's review
rating:

1666. A young housemaid walks through the empty streets of a village decimated by plague. She attends to the rector, a formerly charismatic leader now sequestered in his empty house, listless and faithless. The previous year a bolt of fabric from London brought bubonic plague to this remote northern village, and as one by one the villagers began to die, the rector convinced them that instead of fleeing the village and bringing plague to others (who probably would drive them away anyway), they should quarantine themselves and ride it out. As nearly two-thirds of the inhabitants sicken and die, our 18 year old heroine joins forces with the rector and his wife to minister to the living, dying, and dead, and try to prevent the village from descending into superstition and barbarity. At times they succeed more than others, but watching those who rise to extraordinary challenges and those who don’t is compelling entertainment.

At a dinner recently a friend handed this over to me and sa...more 1666. A young housemaid walks through the empty streets of a village decimated by plague. She attends to the rector, a formerly charismatic leader now sequestered in his empty house, listless and faithless. The previous year a bolt of fabric from London brought bubonic plague to this remote northern village, and as one by one the villagers began to die, the rector convinced them that instead of fleeing the village and bringing plague to others (who probably would drive them away anyway), they should quarantine themselves and ride it out. As nearly two-thirds of the inhabitants sicken and die, our 18 year old heroine joins forces with the rector and his wife to minister to the living, dying, and dead, and try to prevent the village from descending into superstition and barbarity. At times they succeed more than others, but watching those who rise to extraordinary challenges and those who don’t is compelling entertainment.

At a dinner recently a friend handed this over to me and said, “You should read it — it’s wonderfully written!” She was right — the prose is beautiful, the story gripping, and the portrayal of human nature fascinating. Then (fun coincidence) I was two chapters into the book when another friend brought me to a book reading by Tony Horwitz, this very funny travel writer, who turned out to be Geraldine Brooks’s husband! Who knew?! Well, obviously he did, as did the book store lady who introduced him. So I grabbed a copy of Year of Wonders and asked him to sign it along with one of his own books, which he did without making me feel too ridiculous. He also told me that this was his favorite of his wife’s books. It’s a fast read, and guaranteed to make you feel really good about living in the 21st century. My only problem is with the ending. All through the book a couple of characters display obviously modern sensibilities, but the end really does seem to go off the rails with bizarre plot twists more suitable to a supermarket paperback than good historical fiction. Added to that is the toll on faith that the plague takes — really, nobody’s faith is strengthened after going through this sort of ordeal?? Granted, who knows if mine would be, especially given the absence of plumbing, medicine, or decent food, as well as the cast of illiterate drunkards I’d have to endure, but shouldn’t we at least hope for characters who come through the refiner’s fire wiser and stronger? Other than that, very interesting and beautifully written.
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