Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks



To me, novels either "work" or they don't: they either succeed in creating a world--or they don't. This one worked and it was a joy to read even though the topic was horrific and the details graphic. (The only sour note was the revelation at the end of the rector's character.) This is the kind of book that would lead to excellent book group discussions (although it might have a smidge too much sex and violence for some book groups). Recommended.

3 comments:

Melissa said...

I totally agree... what did you think of the ending. I posted it, and a commentor said that it threw her off; she hated how it ended. I didn't mind it so much -- I figured that's probably how a person would react given the stresses of the year.

I've got Brooks's book March on my bedside table waiting to be read. I can't wait to get to it. :)

Julie M. Smith said...

I hated the ending; I didn't want the rector to be a bad guy and the 'let's go be Muslim and free' meme didn't work for me either.

I wanted the villager's sacrifice to be honored and honorable.

leila said...

i just read this over the weekend and had mixed feelings---i definitely enjoyed it, but there were parts and aspects of it that i definitely could have dispensed with. including the way it ended.

i will be coming back to this blog to check out more of the book reviews; thank you for the picture of this one!

love from leila

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