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The Pull of the Stars
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Emma Lowe
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
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Publisher's summary
In Dublin, 1918, a maternity ward at the height of the Great Flu is a small world of work, risk, death, and unlooked-for love, in "Donoghue's best novel since Room" (Kirkus Reviews).
In an Ireland doubly ravaged by war and disease, Nurse Julia Power works at an understaffed hospital in the city center, where expectant mothers who have come down with the terrible new flu are quarantined together. Into Julia's regimented world step two outsiders - Doctor Kathleen Lynn, a rumored Rebel on the run from the police, and a young volunteer helper, Bridie Sweeney.
In the darkness and intensity of this tiny ward, over 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 once again finds the light in the darkness in this new classic of hope and survival against all odds.
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In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, just a block or two up from the East River on Division Avenue, Surie Eckstein is soon to be a great-grandmother. Her 10 children range in age from 13 to 39. Her in-laws, postwar immigrants from Romania, live on the first floor of their house. Her daughter Tzila Ruchel lives on the second. She and Yidel, a scribe in such demand that he makes only a few Torah scrolls a year, live on the third. Wed when Surie was 16, they have a happy marriage and a full life, and, at the ages of 57 and 62, they are looking forward to some quiet time together.
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A great book
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By: Goldie Goldbloom
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My Dear I Wanted to Tell You
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- Narrated by: Dan Stevens
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The lives of two very different couples - an officer and his aristocratic wife, and a young soldier and his childhood sweetheart - are irrevocably intertwined and forever changed in this stunning World War I epic of love and war. Moving among Ypres, London, and Paris, this emotionally rich and evocative novel is both a powerful exploration of the lasting effects of war on those who fight - and those who don't - and a poignant testament to the enduring power of love.
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Just read it!! Or rather, listen!
- By Annie M. on 08-31-14
By: Louisa Young
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The Things We Never Said
- By: Susan Elliot Wright
- Narrated by: Kate Lee
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- Unabridged
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In 1964, Maggie wakes to find herself in a mental asylum, with no idea who she is or how she got there. Remnants of memories swirl in her mind - a familiar song, a storm, a moment of violence. Slowly, she begins to piece together the past and the events which brought her to this point.
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Disappointing
- By Anonymous User on 01-18-22
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Domina
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Beautiful and courageous, Samantha Hargrave dares to dream that she will become one of the first female doctors - and surgeons - in America. Born in the slums of London and possessing a special gift for healing, Samantha struggles to enter the all-male medical profession. When her ambition encounters hostile rejection in England, she sails to America, where she meets an eccentric doctor who takes her on as an apprentice.
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Really bad.
- By Anonymous User on 12-29-17
By: Barbara Wood
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Solving Sophronia
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Lady Sophronia Bremerton is a far cry from the typical debutante, but she’s the toast of London’s upper class for one simple reason: she’s a society columnist for the London Illustrated News, and the gentry loves seeing their exploits printed in the gossip pages. But Sophie has bigger plans - she aspires to be an investigative reporter. When a stuffy ballroom during yet another Season proves to be nothing more than the usual rumor mill, Sophie seeks respite in the library, alongside four other young women who, for their own reasons, are also looking for escape.
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American blend narration awkward
- By Laurie S on 12-12-21
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Our Last Goodbye
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A heart-wrenching, poignant and totally unforgettable tale of a young woman who must finally face up to the secret she has hidden for a lifetime. 1943, England: On a foggy night during the blackout, 25-year-old May Robinson watches in horror as her mother, Ivy, is tragically killed. Heartbroken, May is not sure she has the strength to harbour the secret she has kept for so many years - a secret that her mother devoted her life to hiding and that would tear their broken family even further apart.
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Great listen
- By MichelleO on 07-03-23
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The Nightingale Girls
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Three very different girls sign up as trainee nurses at a big London teaching hospital in 1934. Dora leaves her overcrowded, squalid working-class home for a better life. But has she got what it takes to keep up with other, better-educated girls? And will her hated stepfather ever let her go? Helen is born for the job; her brother is a doctor, her all-powerful mother a hospital trustee. But will Helen’s secret misery be her downfall? An aristocratic rebel, Millie’s carefree attitude will find her up in front of Matron again and again. Will she ever care enough to make a nurse? Or will she go back to the glamorous life she was born to?
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For young girls
- By deborah jernigan on 12-31-16
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Delayed Diagnosis
- Rhea Lynch, M.D., Book 1
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Dr. Rhea Lynch left a suffocating life in Charleston to practice medicine in the ER of a small South Carolina Hospital. Now, Dawkins County is her home, a place that holds the only real family she's ever known. But when she returns from vacation, Rhea is shocked to discover that her best friend, Marisa, is near death and unable to communicate. The official diagnosis: a paralyzing stroke. Despite the family's attempts to keep her away, Rhea is determined to make her own diagnosis.
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Engaging
- By Jean on 07-10-15
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Somewhere in France
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Lady Elizabeth Neville-Ashford wants to travel the world, pursue a career, and marry for love. But in 1914, the stifling restrictions of aristocratic British society and her mother’s rigid expectations forbid Lilly from following her heart. When war breaks out, the spirited young woman seizes her chance for independence. Defying her parents, she moves to London and eventually becomes an ambulance driver in the newly formed Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps - an exciting and treacherous job that takes her close to the Western Front.
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Somewhere in France
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Brick Lane
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Nanzeen's inauspicious birth in a Bangladeshi village imbues in her a sense of fatalism that she carries across continents. Married off to a man old enough to be her father, Nanzeen moves to London and cares for her family. But gradually she begins to question whether fate controls her or whether she has a hand in her own destiny. She discovers both the complexity that comes with free choice and the depth of her attachment to her husband, her daughters and her new world.
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A truly wonderful book!
- By A M on 11-24-03
By: Monica Ali
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What listeners say about The Pull of the Stars
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- K. Berg
- 10-07-21
Not the story I expected, but the story I needed.
I read this through in one day. It wasn't what I thought it would be, but it is beautiful and poignant. I see several reviews talking about the relationship between two women and readers annoyance with this "strange turn." This isn't "about homosexuality" or a ploy to "add some of this and that" - it's a story about love. A story about sacrifice and unadulterated fear. The way that your world shrinks down to the immediate surroundings and, if that's a hospital, ceases to make sense amid flagrant (and harsh) moral judgements and stark naked Death. Although it wasn't written to be a story about THIS pandemic, it ended up working out as something that "fits" in our world today.
The narrator is average and at 1.5x speed kept my attention throughout. I really enjoy audiobooks where the female voice actors have an accent. Irish sounds so whimsical to me. That fit wonderfully with this story.
At times I was outraged (and yelled aloud more than once) by the complete hypocrisy and injustice of it all. Other times, my heart was buoyed by the human spirit of kindness and giving. And then...I was crying at the heart break and loss that seemed never-ending.
I think the story is great. It's a quick read and leaves you thinking long after you've finished. Much of the book examines duty - duty to others, duty to society (in this case King and country) and the duty of the masses to ensure the care and safety of the invisible. As a pediatric mental health provider, I have several clients at any given time that are living as wards of the state. Either in a group placement or a foster home. Sadly, their stories are not much different than those in this book (minus the bit about going to work). The drawback of this story I guess, is that it's not that happy. It's not one with a happy ending and it just reminds me that 100 years doesn't mean much.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 05-30-21
Disappointed
This was more of a novelette, no real story. Rather it seems a few very artificial characters were constructed to demonstrate the points the author had researched.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Angela Dieckman
- 11-27-21
Heartbreakingly Relevant
3.75/5: I love historical fiction and I loved Donoghue's book, Room, so I was interested to read more of her work. I listened to this book and enjoyed the Irish accent of the narrator. This was an interesting read given it set in Ireland during the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918; all of which greatly parallels Covid and our current times. The story takes place over a few days in a maternity fever ward and chronicles Julia, a nurse and main character, as she cares for and tries to save the lives of the moms and babies born (both complicated by the flu). Julia is joined by a young orphan woman, Bridie, and a new doctor who is running from the police for being an antigovernmental resistor. There are many heartbreaking scenes in this story but also a sense of hope as Julia adapts and works around all the unknowns of the flu. There is also the societal elements of how society views and handles unwed mothers and their children, as well as orphans or surrendered children, such as Bridie (cruel treatment, neglect, deprivation, and hard work). Typically I would be annoyed by inserting a romantic subplot, but in this story it actually brings a new level of tenderness and love. The ending that Donoghue creates is the perfect mix of restorative justice and hope for the future. I gave this the rating I did because I felt there was just something absent that would have taken this the extra distance although I can't quite put my finger on the exactness of that.
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- LeAnn
- 06-28-21
Great Story
This was a great story about a maternity ward during the Influenza pandemic of 1918. It is limited in characters and does have a dry start but pressing on, a person can find the value in it.
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- Stephanie Epps
- 08-23-20
The tory is good, but the editing style is off.
There is no punctuation to any dialog in this book. No "" or who said what comment. So, it's easy to miss some of the finer points of the story. I feel the editing style detracted from a good story.
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- Linda
- 08-27-20
Timely story!
It was unreal that Emma Donoghue wrote a story about the great influenza epidemic of 1918 and was able to get it published at the time of COVID 19. The story of the hospital in Ireland and nurse Julia was interesting and captivating. The author also added part of the real story of a female doctor who was wanted by the police and eventually arrested. The character of the volunteer was based on true stories of children who were raised in orphanages. Great historical fiction!
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- Kristen Turner
- 11-30-20
So relevant and compelling! Narrator was exceptional
I chose to get this book on Audible because I had a credit. Once I started the story, I couldn’t “put it down,” and I did all my Thanksgiving cooking and cleaning as well as my daily walks consuming this story. Each character was so developed that I felt like an observer to the story right from inside the room. For me, the narrator made the experience of listening to the story especially powerful. Her voice is exquisite and the accents add so much texture to the setting. I will be recommending it to all my book loving friends!
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- "jkeva"
- 05-28-22
Harrowing, graphic, depressing - but timely
i had to force myself through the last half. Quite depressing, but I’m afraid it’s mostly accurate historically.
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- Carly B Smith
- 02-17-22
Wonderful and moving story
This is a wonderful and moving story. Subject is timely, as it feels like history repeating itself. Great narration.
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- Jacqueline
- 01-15-22
Best Book
this is the best book I've read in a while. I highly recommend it.
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