The Wonder by Emma Donoghue (2016)

An English nurse is hired to travel to Ireland and watch Anna, a young Irish girl who is said to have, miraculously, eaten nothing for four months.

Book review: The Wonder has many parallels with Irish author Emma Donoghue's successful previous novel, Room, some for the better, some worse. Donoghue has certainly established her ability to tell a story with a single overriding plot line that compels the reader to keep on, a question that drives the novel, that overwhelms all other elements in the book. But there are other elements here, as the 19th century edges into the 20th, valuable tho tangential to the plot. The overwhelming contempt that the English have for the Irish is hammered home with a sledge, as Nurse Wright painfully interprets everything the Irish villagers do in the worst possible light, completely ignorant of their customs, and invariably wrong. Just as you'd think Scully would've started believing in aliens, you'd think Wright would have begun hesitating to leap to her bigoted and ignorant conclusions. She's slow to learn and slow to understand. She also seems to have entirely missed any hint of the recent Famine, in which Ireland lost a quarter of its population, although she is bright, educated, and trained in science. A reporter fills her in on the history of the blight and England's role in the mass starvation (a parallel to the young girl going without food). The nurse also served during the Crimean War, where the massive horrors and loss of life contrast to the concern for a single life here. One strength of The Wonder is that the nurse acts realistically, as a woman of the time would, understandably constrained and conspicuously frustrated by the restrictions of the time. She is not a 21st Century woman miraculously having traveled back in time, as is so commonly done by less talented novelists. There's significant discussion and demonstration in The Wonder of the power and harm of religion in rural Ireland, the blind faith and superstition of the populace, which leads to the question whether the devout Anna is being driven by religious mania, hers or others'. Donoghue's descriptions of priest-ridden Ireland at the time seem spot on (put in high relief by the changes in recent years). The characters of Anna and the nurse (other than as noted) are well drawn, the suspense and mystery carry the reader along, and the background on Florence Nightingale (who trained Nurse Wright) is welcome. On the other hand, the romantic element, although limited, seemed odd, insensitive, and inappropriate to me, tho it may work for some. Donoghue also inserts the requisite over-sensationalized plot twists, which have become expected in successful novels (thank you Gone Girl) these days. Additionally, the success of the ending will be a matter of personal taste; to me it seemed a wee bit too easy and tacked on, especially after the strength of the story that preceded it. The nurse is awfully slow at figuring things out; the audience will be way ahead of the character. The Wonder is a good, not great, novel, well worth the read, with a touch of grace (much of it from the young girl, Anna) that may linger, and containing strengths that outweigh awkward weaknesses. [3.5 Stars]