REVIEW: The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
The Irish Midlands, 1859. An English nurse, Lib Wright, is summoned to a tiny village to observe what some are claiming as a medical anomaly or a miracle - a girl said to have survived without food for months. Tourists have flocked to the cabin of eleven-year-old Anna O'Donnell, and a journalist has come down to cover the sensation. The Wonder is a tale of two strangers who transform each other's lives, a psychological thriller, and a story of love pitted against evil.
Donoghue’s ninth novel – her first historical one set in her homeland of Ireland - was a bestseller in Canada even before publication, and was shortlisted for the Giller Prize there, as well as for Ireland's Kerry Group Novel of the Year and a Shirley Jackson Award for the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic as well as a Medici Award for book-club favourites. (Via EmmaDonoghue.com)
Review
I was very intrigued by the idea of this book and quite excited to read it, unfortunately, the actual experience of listening to it is the most frustrating I have ever had. I recognized Donoghue's name from Room and the summary drew me in. I was picturing it as rural mystery steeped in history, what I got was a fantastically dull and anticlimactic novel seeming written to show off the authors writing prowess rather than an actual story.
The first half of The Wonder was just so incredibly boring, it was on par with watching bread go stale. Lib watches Anna not eat while thinking about how stupid her current situation and the people around her are. That is all that happens in the first half of this book, a long train of thought while nothing happens. When the plot gains some traction in the second half every new revelation and the slight uptick is brought crashing back to infuriating mediocrity by the overwhelming stupidity of the main character. For all her inner thoughts of outrage, she does diddly squat about it but still whines when her non-plans and kept secrets have no positive effects on Anna’s situation.
I am honestly astonished at the number of positive reviews this book has received on GoodReads, especially considering the overall negative reviews this book received from the mainstream critics. I regret putting in the time to finish this book, I stuck it out thinking there would be some big payoff in the end but the 'payoff' we received was so negligible. The Wonder is a painfully boring and overwritten book with no tangible draw aside from flowery, technically 'good' writing.
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