Wonder by Palacio. R.J. ( 2013 ) Paperback

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The town seems mired in myth and fairytale; indeed fairies are much to blame for things gone wrong in this strange village, which Lib can’t quite comprehend. Rituals abound to prevent the fairies from their naughtiness. I actually probably felt more comfortable with the writing in this one than I did with Room and Frog Music and I found myself into the plot much sooner than I did with both of those. But, I just couldn’t get comfortable with what was happening in this story. It really just felt like the plot was trying to rub me the wrong way. Now, I know it is sometimes the point of the story to make you feel this way, but it is almost like it surpassed that and made me feel just wrong.

THE WONDER has a uniquely imaginative plot that kept me guessing where it was headed, and an ending I truly enjoyed. As I was reading the book, nothing supernatural had actually happened, and yet I felt an overwhelming sense of otherness. Like something was not quite right; like being in this tiny, unknown place in Ireland was somewhat like stepping into another world where the paranormal was possible. I didn't just read this book; I felt it. Auggie struggled with his health when he was younger. However, his main problems during the book are caused by other people’s unkindness.This is a cruel game started by Julian. The rules are that anyone who touches Auggie has 30 seconds to wash their hands or they will catch the Plague. Lib arrives on the scene ready to expose the girl's deception. She searches every nook and cranny for the tiniest of crumbs and keeps meticulous records of all the girl's vital signs. She is concerned about the integrity of the investigation, because she doesn't fully trust the the second watcher, a nun, to be as scrupulous with her observations. As Lib spends time with the girl, her attitude softens and her concerns become more complicated. Emma Donoghue writes her characters so empathetically that they make my heart ache. I felt every bit of Lib's psychological journey as if it were my own. I desperately clung to the hope that one of the adults in Anna's life would take control of the situation. It was frustrating to watch the obviously capable nurse being disregarded and being forced to make "her voice as soft and womanly as she could" in hopes that the "important men" would listen to her concerns. Even though I could relate to Lib's incredulity, I liked when her preconceived notions were called into question. The skeptical journalist William Byrne makes her confront her homeland's part in intensifying the culture she has been so prejudiced against. She admonishes one character for telling Anna a "lurid" religious tale, but she discovers that she had greatly misinterpreted the situation: “I don’t think you understand our stories, ma’am.” The setting for Emma Donoghue's novel is the Irish Midlands about seven years after the end of the potatoe famine in Ireland. This location is approx 20 miles from where I reside and I was eager to see how this historical novel would read for me. This does have a sense of mystery to it in that so many are trying to prove their side of Anna’s story. Is she surviving on air and water alone or is she somehow obtaining nourishment some other way? There are over 50 cases documented between the 16th and 20th century, of what were termed “Fasting Girls” in Europe and North America, even though that’s a lengthy period of time for only a relatively small number of cases, why would anyone choose to fast permanently?

Lib has been nursing wounded soldiers during the Crimean War, trying desperately to keep men alive and as free of pain as possible. She was trained by the famous Miss N, as they called her, Florence Nightingale, and when she arrives in Ireland to take up a position, she is greeted warmly as “A Nightingale!” Wonder is narrated by six different characters. Each voice brings its own perspective and lets us see things from a different point Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free ebook copy of The Wonder By: Emma Donoghue in exchange for an honest review. El Prodigio" nos plantea preguntas interesantes, y Donoghue desplegó la trama a su alrededor con una muy inquietante atmósfera que aumentó la tensión, poco a poco. Muy bien planteada no sólo una historia bien pensada e interesante. Sino también los pequeños detalles de su desarrollo y el ambiente en el que te sumerge.Creo que la autora ha conseguido una novela que roza la perfección, describiendo el ambiente opresivo tanto de la familia como de la comunidad de forma llana pero muy convincente. Me he sentido allí, acompañando los turnos de vigilancia de nuestra enfermera inglesa. También está muy bien reflejado el resentimiento mutuo entre ingleses e irlandeses, vecinos mal avenidos pero condenados a entenderse. El tema que subyace en el relato dará para muchas controversias, pero ED ha sabido mantenerse a una distancia prudentemente equidistante entre ambas corrientes. I was a huge fan of Room, so while this was a disappointment, I will be happy to give her another try. Lib had a dizzying sense that time could fall into itself like the embers. That in these dim huts nothing had changed since the age of the Druids and nothing ever would. What was that line in the hymn they’d sung at Lib’s school? The night is dark, and I am far from home. Ladybird, Puffin and Penguin are imprints of Penguin Random House UK. Across their extensive list, we believe there is a story for every child, everywhere. Spell Binding and so atmospheric, The Wonder is one of the best Irish historical novels I have read in a very long time where facts and fiction come together to create a story that gets under your skin.

Lib's increased frustration was one I shared - a need to discover the truth. A need to solve this simple but baffling mystery. Between the religious fanaticism of 19th Century Ireland and its infuriating sexism, I got so caught up in everything. And I think so much of it comes down to one thing: atmosphere. Libby Wright is an English nurse hired to keep watch over Anna for two weeks, alongside another nurse who happens to be a Nun. Mr Browne is Auggie’s English teacher. Every month he teaches the children a new motivational quote, called a "precept", which helps them to think more carefully about their actions. At the end of the year, the children must write their own precept. Libby as well as many others believe what's happening to be a hoax. Someone must be feeding this child. How could she possibly survive on just spoonfuls of water? Others believe Anna truly is a miracle girl.I enjoyed the structure of the book. Grammatically there was nothing amiss and the few typos there were can be forgiven. The dialogue I always thought was really rather good and gave enough information to keep it all alive but didn't kill the story by giving away too much. Punctuation and everything else that is taken in to account when talking of factually good writing was good. Well done, Emma. La propia Anne tiene secretos y razones para hacer lo que está haciendo, y el médico local os dejo a vosotros como lectores pensar que hacer con ese elemento. Will Emma Donoghue ever top the success of Room? The Booker-shortlisted, Oscar-generating novel was a huge hit with readers and critics alike. Frog Music, her next effort, didn't quite strike the same chord with audiences and seems underappreciated. I believe The Wonder falls somewhere between the two - a fascinating, flawed and crowd-pleasing story. Extremely atmospheric, I felt the same frustration and desperation as Libby, this is such a vividly told story. Running up against Irish superstitions, so much she does not understand, and the hard and fast faith of this family and the people who pilgrimage to come see the child. She makes a friend of a newspaper reporter and he will help Libby see the truth before her unseeing eyes. Anne, herself has secrets, reasons for doing what she is doing and the local doctor should be hanged for being inept. Everyone has their reasons for doing what they do and I felt like shaking so many of them. Hard not to engage fully into this story. Where is the line drawn between evil and faith, duty and neglect, responsibility?