Although there are explicit details of delivering babies, and dying from complications from influenza, the story holds your attention. In today's pandemic there are so many comparison's that you appreciate all the work nurses and doctors are doing both now and in the past. How so many people rise above their own issues to support and help. Finding your own way in troubled times, is the underlying theme, which propels the book. Very enjoyable.

Heartwarming and hopeful in a terrible time of the great Flu. It revolves around just three days in a maternity ward in Dublin and the lives of strong and courageous women. I could not put this book down. Tremendous feat of writing in our own bleak times.

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 during World War I. Julia's own brother, Tim, has returned from the war altered in every way.

But Julia, a trained nurse of nine years specializing in midwifery, trudges up the stairs to come face-to-face with a daunting reality. She will be on call flying solo during her shift today. No extra hands to lighten the burden of caring for women in labor harboring the harsh symptoms of the flu. Julia survived a case of it a few months back. Most doctors have been called to the battlefields with few to take up the gauntlet of fighting this monster pandemic with limited supplies and even less sleep and endurance.

Emma Donoghue writes with a sharp-ended pen here dipping into the ink of suffering, remorse, helplessness, and endless heels caught on the rim of hopelessness. The Pull of the Stars speaks to the reality of the times. The birthing is explicit and detailed. Panic rises and rises with very little recourse. If you are of a gentle persuasion, this book may be a bit of heavy lifting for you. But if you lean toward the gallant efforts of humans pushed to the limits, this novel will leave you with a solid respect for those who came before us and for those who still battle the unspeakable every day.

Yes, this novel cuts close to the grain as we battle the Covid 19 pandemic. Pain and misfortune will never leave this world. But it is an eye-opener as to how these brave individuals gave their all with such antiquated knowledge and materials. The Irish government set out posters advocating eating onions and wearing eucalyptus to fight the grippe. And in spite of the odds, so many survived. Packed on crowded trams, a bad cough would get the response: "Sure you might as well spray us with bullets."

The Pull of the Stars is an exceptional read. Brutal, but not without the essentials of compassion and dedication. And the profound reality is that humanity rises up, time after time again, for another day.

I received a copy of this novel through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Little, Brown and Company and to the talented Emma Donoghue for the opportunity.

4.5 stars rounded to 5 stars

What 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 hospital in Dublin. Twenty- nine-year-old Julia Power is an nurse and midwife; we are privy to much of what is in her head. Her volunteer helper is Bridie, “around 22 years-old,” who is a product of the miserable nun-run orphanage in town. Dr. Kathleen Lynn, a member of a rebel group who is wanted by the police, also plays a key role in the novel. Her character is based on a real person of the same name—do not fail to read about her in the wonderful Author’s Note by Ms. Donoghue. Each of these women have their issues that play a major role and influence the relationships forged amongst the three. Interesting side characters include Julia’s brother, rendered mute by his experiences during WWI; orderly Groyne doing his best to cope with issues in his own way; and, of course, the ill mothers-to-be: Honor White, Delia Garrett, Ita Noonan, and seventeen-year-old Mary O’Rahilly, all with their own burdens to bear.

This book is not for action fans. It is a slow burn, to be sure, yet it somehow drew me in quickly and captivated me for the duration. Despite it being character-driven and nearly totally confined to one small space, there was a tremendous amount of tension and suspense in that tiny room that shackled me to the pages.

Oh, and what a learning experience! Gosh, I took an OB-GYN rotation in medical school, but I was so much more entranced by all the knowledge I gleaned about the state of the art of delivering a baby in the early 20th century in a time of little help and rampant illness. Ms. Donoghue really did her research.

The ambiance is well portrayed as the dark and dreary times it was. Such hardships, but how strong people were back then to do the very best they could with the situations they found themselves in. I particularly loved how people by helping others and sticking together could accomplish a great deal in making the most of their lives.

This book isn’t for everyone, but it was for me. I highly recommend it for all who are interested in reading about admirable people doing their best under less than ideal circumstances and taking lessons learned from those who pass through their lives.

I wish to thank Net Galley, Little Brown and Company, and Miss Emma Donoghue for an advanced copy. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

The Pull of the Stars
A Novel
by Emma Donoghue
Little, Brown and Company
You Like Them You Are Auto-Approved
Historical Fiction | Literary Fiction
Pub Date 21 Jul 2020 | Archive Date 27 Oct 2020

Not my favorite Emma Donoghue book. But it was intriguing and interesting. Thanks to Net Galley and Little, Brown, and Company for providing the ARC.

This book was compelling! It told of the time in Dublin in 1918 and the country was going through a pandemic. SIckness was everywhere and the future was bleak. We meet a nurse who is left to deal with a maternity ward and is blessed to have an assistant who comes to guide her. The sadness and gloom of that time in history is very apparent.

Welp, this book is incredibly well-timed; even though it was begun long before the current pandemic, the connection with and similarities to COVID-19 are inescapable and illuminating.

Told from the point of view of a nurse midwife during the 1918 Flu epidemic, The Pull of the Stars spans three days in a tiny three-bed "ward" for maternity patients who have the flu. The variety of patients that Nurse Julia Power sees and tends to over that brief span of time really demonstrates the fact that flu viruses, like COVID-19, don't discriminate and don't spare any gender, race, or social class. At the same time, the poorer patients do not fare as well, due to underlying conditions to which poverty certainly contributed. Some things never change.

Donoghue does a great job outlining the social conditions and expectations that prevailed at the time, like the non-discussion of issues relating to soldiers returning to society from the Great War and ways they found to deal with it, or not. The inclusion of the text of actual government signs ("THE GOVERNMENT HAS THE SITUATION WELL IN HAND AND THE EPIDEMIC IS ACTUALLY IN DECLINE. THERE IS NO REAL RISK EXCEPT TO THE RECKLESS WHO TRY TO FIGHT THE FLU ON THEIR FEET. IF YOU FEEL YOURSELF SUCCUMBING, REPORT YOURSELF AMD LIE DOWN FOR A FORTNIGHT. WOULD THEY BE DEAD IF THEY'D STAYED IN BED.") adds much, and again, is completely in sync with the current plague. As Julia thinks, "The Line i found most laughable was the one about laying down for a fortnight; who could afford or manage that without a houseful of servants." Touché, Ms. Donoghue. Touché.

Nuanced look at three women living through the influenza of 1918 in Dublin. It is rich in historical detail about midwifery and childbirth at the time as well as about medical practices and beliefs--many of those beliefs suspect and pushed by the government at the time. One of the final plot points was not at all as surprising as it was meant to be.

Interesting read in this current time of COVID-19 to see the parallels and differences in our response to a pandemic 102 years later.

Emma Donoghue deserves every single writing award out there. And some non-writing awards too. Nobel prizes and Oscars, etc.
I was SO jazzed when I heard she had another book coming out and that it was historical fiction. Slammerkin was life altering-- I couldn't remember having such a reaction to a book. The Pull of the Stars gave me a similar feeling. I was Right There with Julia in the ward. When she went home exhausted at the end of the chapter, I felt wrung out and tired too. That awful visceral reaction when describing the birth, literally clenching when talking about how they might have to split the pelvic bone-- I've never given birth but I _felt_ it. The horror when Bridie started sneezing.
This didn't feel like a very long book, but it was intense and chilling and brilliant. I will always recommend Emma Donoghue books and this one is solid gold.

Let's just be honest, ok? Emma Donoghue is not really known for her upbeat novels. Room? The Wonder? I mean, these have pretty bleak premises. However, each book also has some hope and perseverance of the human spirit, and all of that is present in this book as well.

The story was intriguing and timing was perfect, the writing was difficult to navigate. It felt rushed. I enjoyed her last book more

Another mesmerizing book by Emma Donoghue a book about a midwife during the Spanish Flu epidemic.Reading it during the pandemic we are living through makes it even more compelling.The author writes beautifully no matter how harsh the topic.#netgalley#litllebrownuk

An astonishing read, on so many levels, especially as we confront our own time of pandemic. Gloriously researched and powerfully moving, this novel showcases the mastery Emma Donoghue has brought to all of her work. A devastating, haunting, piercingly timely read.

Emma Donoghue set out to write an historical novel as an remembrance to the Centennial of the Spanish Flu pandemic. "The Pull of the Stars” is remarkable. But what I will always remember is that I had a chance to read an Advanced Copy in the throes of Covid-19.

We’ve been told endlessly that the corona-virus is not the flu, that all comparisons to the Spanish flu are misleading and potentially dangerous. Well, let me just enumerate a few of the parallels that Ms. Donoghue shares with us when she had no idea of Covid-19: the angels that are front-line health care, workers, the impact of the shortage of PPE, the burden of women, the efficacy of masks, social distancing, quarantines, business shutdowns, economic disparities, voting rights, as well as inept politicians who talk about foreign elements at work, quack cures, and premature ends to the pandemic. “Influence of the Stars” takes its title from an old Italian definition of influenza. My favorite quote Is, “We all live in an unwalled city.” meaning the pandemic knows no bounds. “

The Pull of the Stars” is certain to be a great hit. Emma Donoghue has already made in indelible mark as a master novelist. Most fell in love with her while reading “Room”. Just a word of caution. While “Room” was devastating in what it was depicting, it was, after all, narrated by a child. “influence of the Stars” is just as devastating but leaves less to the imagination. Set in a hovel of a room in an understaffed state hospital in Dublin, mostly indigent pregnant women are forced into care due to the Spanish flu. The story is graphic, gripping, and tragic. There are a few heroes, including one truly amazing doctor who is a real life wonder-woman. Highly recommended,, but not at all for the faint of heart.

Thanks to Little, Brown and Company and Netgalley for the eARC.

What an appropriate book to read during our current pandemic! Set in 1917, during the Spanish flu, the book follows three characters whose lives intersect in a maternity room for pregnant women with the Flu. ( Beware, the deliveries of these women"s babies are quite graphic.) I loved the book, the characters., the historical period in which it took place and the author"s great detail to the time period. Will strongly recommend.

What a bizarre experience to read about the Spanish Flu amidst our own current pandemic! Some of the similarities were quite striking and I found it fascinating to read about what has changed (and what has not) in the 100+ years since.

I'm always drawn to tales of midwifery and birthing, and this one is almost flawless. The story is captivating and raw and real, and Donoghue paints the character of Julia with authenticity. I wish I could have a peek into the future to see where the road leads these characters.

*My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had previously read ROOM by the same author, and I liked it. But this one held me spellbound. Not a wasted word. Some parallels to today's virus pandemic, but so much more. Action by action, we are shown (not told) how it feels to work in an emergency maternity ward, understaffed, under-equipped, exhausted, and coping with a shortage of doctors who are the only ones allowed to prescribe pain meds. This is about the world-wide flu that hit near the end of World War II, and the details seem awfully realistic. Painfully so. Life, death, and all of it hanging on chance and good preparation. But the writing! I have now ordered several more of Donoghue's novels.

Thank you Net Gallery and the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced Copy of The Book Of Lost Names. Like so many people during the late 1930’s Eve and her parents didn’t see what the Nazi’s would do. Once she does, her specific talents develop. She becomes a forger which allows Jewish Children and others in Peril to escape Nazi occupied France. This was a wonderful story with fully developed characters and evolve over the course of the war. I sobbed through the ending but wished there were a few more chapters to allow Eve, to see the fruits of her labor. I loved this book. I am a great fan of Kristin Harmel. This book does not disappoint. I think it was one of her best.

Reading this novel about the pandemic of 1918 seems all too real in light of the COVID19 Pandemic a century later. Unknowingly, the author's book was ready for publication right on the heels of this more recent virus. The author brings the struggles of Doctors and especially nurses into reality. The darkness of such times is lightened only by the compassion and personal care given to those suffering from this rare flu. It is definitely a timely novel, being able to read the revelation of the past Pandemic while living with the present Pandemic.
This was a difficult read because the narrative did not include dialogue tags or punctuation for dialogue that makes it easier for the reader to follow the context of the story.

I’ve always been a fan of Emma Donaghue’s books, and this one did not disappoint! This book follows Julia Power, a nurse on a Labor and Delivery floor during the 1918 flu pandemic that cares for expectant mothers with the flu. The story follows three days in the ward, and tests Julia in many ways from caring for sick patients to managing her relationships with the people around her.. This book feels incredibly timely and absolutely worth picking up. Once I started it, I couldn’t put it down!