Showing Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks

The story is narrated by Anna, a young woman who is wonderfully written - she is compassionate, smart, funny, honest, flawed. So many of the events in this story are heartbreaking, and hearing them in her voice not only made them come alive, but also somehow made them more bearable. The author also did an excellent job of bringing the time period and setting to life - I felt immersed in Anna's world, and of the way in which the plague affected the lives of every single person in the village, sometimes in unexpected ways. The way the book is set up, we know several details about what will happen from the very beginning of the story, but not how these things come to pass. I thought the pacing of the story in this way was excellent - even knowing what would happen, there were still many surprises in store. As I got near to the end, I had some thoughts and hopes about what would happen, and was pleasantly surprised when things took a turn I had not expected. The epilogue in particular is lovely. I highly recommend this book; it's one of the best I've read in years. herebedragons