Pull of the Stars

A visceral, harrowing, and revelatory vision of life, death, and love in a time of pandemic. The Sunday Times bestseller and Richard & Judy Book Club Pick, from the acclaimed author of Room. 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 the unfamiliar Spanish 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, 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. In The Pull of the Stars, Emma Donoghue tells an unforgettable and deeply moving story of love, loss, and the unbreakable bonds of friendship forged in the face of adversity. '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.' - Booklist '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 'Reads like an episode of Call The Midwife set during a pandemic' - Mail on Sunday Guardian, Cosmopolitan and Telegraph's 'Books of the Year'