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The Pull of the Stars

A gripping and deeply moving historical novel from the bestselling author of Room

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The Pull of the Stars

By: Emma Donoghue
Narrated by: Emma Lowe
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About this listen

Three days in a maternity ward at the height of the Great Flu. The Pull of the Stars is the Sunday Times Bestseller from the acclaimed author of The Wonder and Room.

'An immersive, unforgettable fever-dream of a novel' – The Times

The old world dying on its feet, a new one struggling to be born . . .

Dublin, 1918. In a country doubly ravaged by war and disease, Nurse Julia Power works at an understaffed hospital in the city centre, where expectant mothers who have come down with an unfamiliar flu are quarantined together. Into Julia's regimented world step two outsiders: Doctor Kathleen Lynn, on the run from the police, and a young volunteer helper, Bridie Sweeney.

In the darkness and intensity of this tiny ward, over the course of 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 tells an unforgettable and deeply moving story of love and loss.

Shortlisted for the An Post Irish Book Awards -- Eason Novel of the Year
The Telegraph's 'Best Novels of 2020'
Guardian's 'Brilliant Books to Transport You This summer', 'Best Books of 2020'
Cosmopolitan's 'Best Books to Read this summer'
Stylist's 'Best summer Reads

 20th Century Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Women's Fiction World War I Romance Heartfelt Tear-jerking

Critic reviews

A visceral, harrowing, and revelatory vision of life, death, and love in a time of pandemic. This novel is stunning (Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven)
The Pull of the Stars has a fever dream-like quality . . . as a tender record of humans coping as best they can with a pandemic, it’s about as moving and absorbing as it gets
A timely, exquisite and unputdownable reminder of love and compassion in the smallest room where women are giving birth and other women are dying and yet love - in all its joy and complexity - still finds a place (Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry)
Extraordinarily prescient . . . With The Pull of the Stars, [Donoghue] again conjures up a setting that is at once claustrophobic in feel yet epic in sweep
Donoghue writes with such brilliant relish . . . fascinating and resonant
Eerily topical, Donoghue’s new novel reads like an episode of Call The Midwife set during a pandemic . . . It is some cocktail and Donoghue mixes the ingredients with impressive skill
Remarkably prescient
One of the Emerald Isle’s most glittering literary lights, Donoghue here delivers a historical fiction turned timely reminder of human resilience
It is rare for such a fast-paced story to be told so beautifully, and the writing is comical & exquisite
Moving, gripping and dazzlingly written
As strong and compelling as Jack in Room and Lib in The Wonder . . . a haunting and finely balanced literary novel (Sarah Moss)
Certainly, the currency of The Pull of the Stars gives it a gripping edge, but at its heart this is a story about friendship, love and compassion in extraordinary times . . . It's an engrossing read. Donoghue's writing is visceral and her female characters strike a powerful chord of humanity that stays with you
Donoghue offers vivid characters and a gripping portrait of a world beset by a pandemic and political uncertainty. A fascinating read in these difficult times.
Narrator Emma Lowe's layered characterizations include distinct Irish accents and diction that illuminate the backgrounds of the protagonists and hospital staff. The pregnant women in their care are depicted with particular sensitivity; their pain, joy, and loss are all keenly felt. As circumstances around the women intensify, so will listeners' investment in the outcomes of their stories.
Donoghue’s searing tale . . . Her blunt prose and detailed, painstakingly researched medical descriptions do full justice to the reality of the pandemic and the poverty that helps fuel it. Donoghue’s evocation of the 1918 flu, and the valor it demands of health-care workers, will stay with readers
All stars
Most relevant
Narrated with a lovely Irish tone, this book kept me guessing until the end. A lovely story which highlighted many current issues and got me thinking deeply.

Timely and poinient

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As a midwife I really enjoyed this fictitious account of life as a midwife in Ireland in 1918 during the flu pandemic. A must read or listen. I found myself totally immersed in the story and enjoyed the performance of the narrator on Audible. Details of the cases are well researched and feel very real.

Immersive novel

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There was lots to enjoy in this novel but sometimes I felt that it was overly grim in its handling of childbirth and the awful details of motherhood in early 20th century Ireland. Having said that, it harms no-one to learn more about the dreadful things that happened to unmarried mothers and their children in that country, most of it in the name of religion and perpetrated by the Church and religious orders. Truly shocking stuff.

Set over three days in the Spanish Flu panidemic of 1918, this is the story of three main female characters and how they deal with expectant mothers in a fever maternity ward. There is much poverty, tragedy and violence but little joy to be found in these women’s lives but somehow the reader is drawn into this sad and bleak world. There are moments of relief - a birthday gift of Truffles, a baby saved, friendships forged and a stolen night of companionship and bliss- but overall the ‘feel’ of the story was on the black side.

Perhaps not Emma Donohue’s best novel, but certainly a timely one. The narrator did really well.

Interesting but not sure if I enjoyed it or not.

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very moving, brilliant storytelling. I loved it and learnt so much about the Spanish flu and the position of women in Ireland.

loved it

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Lovely, sad, and harrowing. Really enjoyed it, cried a few times! On to the next.

Brilliant

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