The Pull of the Stars

A Novel

By: Emma Donoghue

Narrated by: Emma Lowe

Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

In Dublin, 1918, a maternity ward at the height of the Great Flu is a small world of work, risk, death, and unlooked-for love, in "Donoghue's best novel since Room" (Kirkus Reviews).

In an Ireland doubly ravaged by war and disease, Nurse Julia Power works at an understaffed hospital in the city center, where expectant mothers who have come down with the terrible new flu are quarantined together. Into Julia's regimented world step two outsiders - Doctor Kathleen Lynn, a rumored Rebel on the run from the police, and a young volunteer helper, Bridie Sweeney.

In the darkness and intensity of this tiny ward, over three days, these women change each other's lives in unexpected ways. They lose patients to this baffling pandemic, but they also shepherd new life into a fearful world. With tireless tenderness and humanity, carers and mothers alike somehow do their impossible work.

In The Pull of the Stars, Emma Donoghue once again finds the light in the darkness in this new classic of hope and survival against all odds.

©2020 Emma Donoghue, Ltd. (P)2020 Hachette Audio

The lnfluenza Pandemic of 1918!

I wrote a review for Goodreads. The review written for another
book was shortened for them when l wrote one for Audible

Timely

The plot description sounded so timely and interesting that perhaps my expectations were too high. I found this very disappointing. Slow to start, then an overload of midwifery and medical drama surrounding deliveries ( all with complications). The prose also seemed a bit flat to me, as if the book was rushed to publication to take advantage of a release during the current COVID pandemic.
*Spoiler* the romance with Birdie and her death, all within 12 hours, seemed unrealistic and rushed. The most interesting characters were Birdie and Dr. Lynn ( a real life person ).
The narration was a bit hard to understand initially, because of the heavy Irish accent and changes in volume.

Call the Midwife and the Sufragettes

If you have seen or heard about the TV series: Call the Midwife, on PBS, and you love the series, you will love this book. Raw humanity, history about to change, and female heroes, that risk it all! A time where England started to wake up, become more modern at the cost of so many, yet some stood up and did it the right way. They did their jobs, respecting the sacred lives of others, withstanding critique, eager to learn how change things for the better. This book is a trip back in time, worth reading and thinking about how blessed we are today. There will always be hard work, but these women paved the way for so many positive things we enjoy now. I can highly recommend this book, you will not regret it. Performance is excellent.

Makes you thankful for our current circumstances..

I enjoyed this book. It was eye- opening during this current pandemic to realize how much technology and circumstance has changed in our favor. As much as we complain about quarantine, at least for the most part we all have food, water and good medical care.
I enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book more than the last as it became a little predictable... but that didn't take away from the meaning of the story. I would have liked to hear more information about the effects of the pandemic in populations other than maternity but that is probably my curiosity as a Healthcare worker. Overall a good book with good narration that I would recommend.

Not for the faint of heart, but a must listen.

This beautifully written and narrated novel will grab you by the heart and won’t let go. The story of a few days in an Irish maternity ward where women try to survive childbirth and the 1918 pandemic simultaneously. Cared for by the type of nurse, and assistant and at least one physician that everyone deserves but seldom experiences. This book is graphic in its descriptions of L&D in 1918 (and some things never change). It is difficult to listen to at times because it is heartbreaking, yet it is brilliant and beautiful and hopeful and well worth the journey.

Powerful

This book was soooo good! Covering three days in an Irish hospital during the flu of 1918, it is a book of heartbreak, hope, and love

I thought the detail was interesting and important

I saw some reviewers think there was too much information about childbirth and maternity nursing. People watch doctor and hospital shows a lot - I don’t think this is any different. I think it is quite realistic for that period, as far as the types of procedures available and the complications. Set during a pandemic, we see how difficult the challenge of caring for patients is, and pregnant women infected with the 1918 flu were a particularly vulnerable population. The dangers of childbirth are important for people to know. There are still dangers to many pregnant women, and there are locations in the world where the mortality rate of birthing women is rather high, as is infant mortality. I found it very moving, with well-depicted characters, as well as a lot of good historical detail. There was also some criticism of the 4th part. I think overall part 4 led to a reasonable conclusion to the book, based on the criticism I saw I kind of guessed what might be coming on that one matter that might have bothered some people. It didn’t bother me so much as feel unnecessary, like an attempt to make the book more in tune with a lot of today’s discussion and awareness. I felt it was unnecessary just as I feel that romance in most historical novels is unnecessary, unless it is true to the actual character being depicted, and even then, it should be kept in proportion to the main focus of the story. I also appreciated the inclusion of the evils of the church-run facilities in Ireland. Given the number of victims, the types of exploitation and abuse, and the vile messages taught in the name of Jesus, this can never be overdone. The quality of the audio seemed to start out a bit tinny, but was fine pretty soon. The narrator was fine. I highly recommend this book.

Fantastic

I love the book I read it for . It is one of the best books I have read.

Breathtaking!

I’ve barely been able to do anything else since I began listening to this wonderful book. It is heartbreaking, filled with love and devotion and incredibly graphic medical events. The courage and pain shared by women delivering their babies and the heroic Nurse Julia in the 1918 flu epidemic was gorgeously written by Emma Donoghue and narrated from the heart by Emma Lowe.
This book and performance will stay with me for a long, long time. Thank you so much.

Not the story I expected, but the story I needed.

I read this through in one day. It wasn't what I thought it would be, but it is beautiful and poignant. I see several reviews talking about the relationship between two women and readers annoyance with this "strange turn." This isn't "about homosexuality" or a ploy to "add some of this and that" - it's a story about love. A story about sacrifice and unadulterated fear. The way that your world shrinks down to the immediate surroundings and, if that's a hospital, ceases to make sense amid flagrant (and harsh) moral judgements and stark naked Death. Although it wasn't written to be a story about THIS pandemic, it ended up working out as something that "fits" in our world today.
The narrator is average and at 1.5x speed kept my attention throughout. I really enjoy audiobooks where the female voice actors have an accent. Irish sounds so whimsical to me. That fit wonderfully with this story.
At times I was outraged (and yelled aloud more than once) by the complete hypocrisy and injustice of it all. Other times, my heart was buoyed by the human spirit of kindness and giving. And then...I was crying at the heart break and loss that seemed never-ending.
I think the story is great. It's a quick read and leaves you thinking long after you've finished. Much of the book examines duty - duty to others, duty to society (in this case King and country) and the duty of the masses to ensure the care and safety of the invisible. As a pediatric mental health provider, I have several clients at any given time that are living as wards of the state. Either in a group placement or a foster home. Sadly, their stories are not much different than those in this book (minus the bit about going to work). The drawback of this story I guess, is that it's not that happy. It's not one with a happy ending and it just reminds me that 100 years doesn't mean much.