This was an oversight also made in England this year and it took some time before measures were made to help support the more vulnerable members of the population. For instance, it's remarked how closing schools results in some children going hungry because they aren't able to get the free lunches that might be their only meal of the day if they come from a poorer family. There are also astute observations made about the pernicious side effects of trying to close down society in order to protect the population. The story fully captures the nervousness of people on public transport and the sudden hyper-awareness when someone so much as coughs. When Julia is travelling in the city there's an all-pervading sense of dread about the virus spreading. What amazed me were specific details regarding the effects of a pandemic that Donoghue gets so right in this novel and that I've witnessed this year. But through all the strife comes a beautiful message of humanity and a tender love story. Matters aren't helped by the misogyny and dogmatic religion in Ireland at that time. Though Julia is very knowledgable and dedicated, there's only a limited amount she can do for them so I was utterly gripped by this harrowing situation.

Expectant mothers were particularly vulnerable to suffering more from this pandemic. Just as we're getting to know several idiosyncratic patients, one might become gravely ill while another might recover. It's terrifying how death feels perilously close and can come swiftly. Set in a Dublin maternity ward in 1918 amidst the outbreak of the Great Flu, it follows a nurse named Julia who struggles to care for her patients in the understaffed hospital. But I've not read a book that captures the feelings of living through it like “The Pull of the Stars” by Emma Donoghue. Of course, such widespread and devastating illness has always been a part of human history so naturally historical novels will incorporate it into their stories. There have been books such as “Hamnet” published this year whose content and focus on a pandemic seem eerily prescient regarding the world we find ourselves in.

Pull of the stars book review