Geraldine Brooks is a deft storyteller. This tale of the devastations of the bubonic plague in an English village is a disaster story, pastoral romance turned gothic and then an adventure story. It was engaging and I was transported into the world of Anna the protagonist throughout. It's ending made me interested in reading Brooks' non-fiction book NINE PARTS OF DESIRE, which is about the lives of Arab women. This is a very traditional woman's novel, it seems to me, but with a deeply feminist cast. I found Brook's treatment of the characters' religious lives superficial and was puzzled by the revelations at the end which came from a a sudden atmosphere of bodice ripping. Still, it was an engaging story. It kept me going.

I've decided to give this book a surprise bookcrossing home. I've found a bookcrosser who enjoys historical fiction and this is an engaging read. That said--and not to spoil the book for readers to come--I have to say that Brooks' interpretation of Restoration Anglicanism is pretty violent. An Anglican priest of that day would never have interpreted marriage as an institution of penance. It was always a bond between a man and a woman to reflect the relationship of Christ with his Church, which has always been a loving relationship in Catholic and Anglican theology. Perhaps a Puritan minister might have made such a big theological leap, but it seems unlikely. I did admire Brooks' use of the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer--but as a "secular" writer she grossly reinvented the spiritual lives her subjects would have had in that time period. The people of the village of Eyam certainly made a brave Christian sacrifice. I'm glad Brooks has brought this to our attention but I wish she had been able to understand their brave faith better. She does put Restoration England in a technically correct historical context--but, after reflecting on this time period, I hurt a bit at the liberties she takes.

May this traveling book be a pleasant surprise for it's next finder, Izzy.

Thanks for these books! You're right, they are books I would read :)

I really enjoyed this book more than I expected to for a book about such a topic as the plague. It has it's morbid and even vulgar points, but you after reading it becomes apparent why it is such a year of wonders.

Sending to the winner of the International June/July Sweeps!

Thank you. Arrived today. A great surprise. :)

Sending to mitziyah as a RABCK. Enjoy!

Excellent. Thanks for sending this. I'm looking forward to reading it.

This was a lovely read and not what I was expecting. Powerful and evocative descriptions but with an economy of words that I admired. Lots of different perspectives and experiences are represented and it was a fascinating new look at this time period and this disease. I will say I felt the ending provided a very abrupt change in tone, in tempo, and in speed of narrative. The rest of the story is a slow unfolding and suddenly 12 million things happen all in about 5 pages, which is a bit wild and jarring.

Still, I quite enjoyed reading this. And I appreciated that the story plot points often surprised me. There is some true ugliness and a lot of tragedy wrapped up in this story, and it's so full of small domestic details that it's a very effective way to tell this story.