Year Of Wonders

This a story that stays with you long after you finish the last page. Yes, it is about the plague in 17th century England but don't let that scare you away from this superb read about a remarkable women. The emotions Brooks conveys are so real that you are hooked by the third page. While the story is set during a time of great loss, questioning and poverty, the real story is one of strength, survival, pereverance, compassion and imagination.

Ms. Brooks' first novel is about the devastation caused by plague in a small, 17th century English village. As the scourge begins to take its toll, the inhabitants are faced with a wrenching choice: flee and risk spreading the contagion or remain and face almost certain death. Harrowing, unflinching, and inspiring. My favorite book by a great contemporary author.

When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition. As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love. As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders."

Inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the rugged hill country of England, Year of Wonders is a richly detailed evocation of a singular moment in history. Written with stunning emotional intelligence and introducing "an inspiring heroine" (The Wall Street Journal), Brooks blends love and learning, loss and renewal into a spellbinding and unforgettable read.

"The novel glitters . . . A deep imaginative engagement with how people are changed by catastrophe." (The New Yorker)

"Year of Wonders is a vividly imagined and strangely consoling tale of hope in a time of despair." (O, The Oprah Magazine)

"Brooks proves a gifted storyteller as she subtly reveals how ignorance, hatred and mistrust can be as deadly as any virus. . . . Year of Wonders is itself a wonder." (People )

Geraldine Brooks is the author of two acclaimed works of nonfiction, the bestselling Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women and Foreign Correspondence: A Penpal's Journey from Down Under to All Over. She is also a former war correspondent whose writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Washington Post.

Publisher: Penguin Group USA, Inc
Imprint: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Distributor: Penguin Group USA, Inc
Publication Date: 04-30-2002
Pages: 352
Measurements: 7.78in X 5.13in X 0.70in X 0.51lb