The Wonder

Starred review from July 4, 2016
Donoghue demonstrates her versatility by dabbling in a wide range of literary styles in this latest novel. Set mostly in a small, spare room inside a shabby cabin in rural 1850s Ireland, the closely imagined, intricately drawn story possesses many of the same alluring qualities as her bestseller, Room. Lib, a widow and former nurse, is summoned from London to the peat-smelling village of Athlone for a fortnight to assess whether 11-year-old “living marvel” Anna O’Donnell has truly been able to survive without food for four months. It could be some sort of hoax perpetrated by the girl’s family or the village parish, and Lib confidently assumes that it’ll be an open-and-shut case. But as each day passes and Anna’s health suddenly begins to deteriorate, not only does Lib grow more attached to the earnest girl, but she also becomes convinced that Anna’s reasons for fasting—a recently deceased brother, devotion to God, her parents’ influence—run far deeper than Lib imagined. Inspired by the true cases of nearly 50 “Fasting Girls”—who lived throughout the British Isles, western Europe, and North America between the 16th and 20th centuries and became renowned for living without food for long periods of time—Donoghue’s engrossing novel is loaded with descriptions of period customs and 19th-century Catholic devotional objects and prayers. Even with its tidy ending, the novel asks daring questions about just how far some might go to prove their faith.

Another powerful novel from noted author Donoghue, this one explores the dynamics of science colliding with faith and faith as an escape from responsibility. Kate Lock's deliberately paced narration is fully voiced--with occasional lapses when a line spoken by one character begins in the tones she has crafted so well for another. Her performance suits this historical novel and the Florence Nightingale-trained nurse hired to evaluate the truth of a family's conviction that their daughter lives without earthly food but on the mana of her faith. The nurse evolves from dismissively scornful to life-affirmingly helpful when she discovers the root of Anna's self-starvation. The child, her parents, doctor, priest, and journalist play significant roles both in the story and in Lock's portrait of rural Ireland in 1859. F.M.R.G. � AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Starred review from January 30, 2017
In the mid-19th century, English nurse Lib Wright is sent to a tiny Irish village for an unusual task. An 11-year-old girl, Anna, is being hailed as a miracle and potential saint because, it is claimed, she has eaten nothing in four months yet survives in good health. Lib’s job is to watch the girl like a hawk for two weeks and either confirm that she doesn’t eat or expose her as a fraud. But over the course of her watch, she uncovers a dark secret and faces an urgent moral dilemma. Voice actor Lock’s narration is masterful: she creates a wide variety of memorable voices with authentic accents (from Lib’s English accent to many different types of Irish voices—lower-class rural people, men, women, the elderly, and innocent little Anna). During scenes of conversations and arguments, listeners may think they are hearing a full cast of actors, so distinct are the voices and so committed is Lock’s performance. At every moment, Lock is fully engaged, giving every word meaning and emotion and suspense. It’s a thrilling, award-worthy performance of this dark and suspenseful mystery with a rich historical background. A Little, Brown hardcover.