The Pull of the Stars: A Novel

It’s 1918 and the Spanish Influenza is raging, through Dublin, Ireland, as well as across the rest of the world. But for nurse Julia Power, the world has narrowed to the hospital where she works in the fever maternity ward, caring for expectant mothers who also are fighting off the deadly virus.

While a small story, just one woman and those she meets in a three day period, this story grabs readers by the throat and refuses to let them breathe. An understaffed hospital and a doctor on the run from police. A nurse torn between the hospital and home. And a young volunteer called Bridie Sweeney, who will change how Julia sees the world, as well as herself. By the end of the three days, nothing will ever be the same for Julia.

This is the type of book that seems slow, but keeps you reading on the edge of your seat, heart in your throat. Its breakneck pace, with “the bone man” always lurking, The Pull of the Stars is tightly constructed suspense from start to finish by a masterful storyteller, Emma Donoghue. Powerful, haunting, disturbing, and eerily timely, this is a fantastic book by a fantastic storyteller.