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ClareR (5603 KP) rated The Pull of the Stars in Books

Nov 8, 2020

The Pull of the Stars

Emma Donoghue | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

This book, and in particular the Audible version that I listened to, really pulled me into the world of 1918 Dublin. This isn’t a story for the faint-hearted. It’s really graphic and gory in a lot of places, and it portrayed just what life was like for women in Ireland at this time. Childbirth was portrayed as a punishment, babies being still born equally so. This was a time where it was normal for women in Ireland to birth baby after baby: on average ten.

Nurse Julia Power is unmarried at 30 and seems to be happy with that, as she sees women whose bodies are worn out from giving birth so many times and so closely together, women who have been abused by their fathers and forced to bear their children, women who have conceived their babies outside of marriage and will be forced to give them up - as well as young women who have been institutionalised from birth and forced to give up their lives to repay the nuns who raised them through free labour (Magdalene laundries). Like I said, this was no time to be a woman. The abuse and poor treatment of the women on the ward is alluded to, but never explicit.

Whilst most of the story takes place on the quarantined labour ward, we do get a glimpse in to the home life of Nurse Power, and it was interesting to see how the war had impacted on and affected her brother.

This is a beautifully told story packed full of heart. It may not have been my best move to read it during a pandemic, but nevertheless, I absolutely loved it.

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Books Editor (673 KP) shared own list

Oct 11, 2017

An exploration of all things Bourbon, a toast to history’s greatest women, and a guide to medicinal cocktails – these are The Spirits Business top books for autumn 2017.

List

Top Books on Alcoholic Spirits This Fall

This season The Spirits Business explores the distilleries of the Scottish Highlands, as well as guides to perfecting cocktails with Bourbon, and a nerd-friendly cocktail book that’s out of this world