Year of Wonders

Yes, it's another book review, and this time for a book that I've read before for RBC (Real Book Club). My church book club read Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks and met together to discuss it this week. Since I read a lot, it seems that I am stuck sometimes having to read books for the church book club that I've already read before. I always have to decide whether to reread the book, or to go from memory for the discussion. Usually I decide to reread the books, but I procrastinate so long that I don't have time to finish. This was the case with Year of Wonders, but I finished it today (two days late), and I am so happy that I took the time to read it again.

Year of Wonders is about a small village in rural England that finds its residents infested with the bubonic plague in 1665. The rector of the village church challenges the members of the congregation to voluntarilly quarantine their village so as to prevent the spead of the disease.

The main character of the story is Hannah Frith, a young widow who works in the rector's home. She is a woman of remarkable intelligence, having taught herself to read and write at a young age. When she goes to work for the rector, his wife, Elinor, recognizes her desire to learn, and begins to teach her, helping her to improve the skills that she taught herself and expanding upon them. When the plague strikes their village the two women become friends as well as the medical experts in their community.

In the book club discussion we had on Thursday, I remarked that Anna is one of my favorite woman characters in literature. I'm not sure that Year of Wonders will ever become a classic, to be read fifty years from now (though I think it worthy!), but Anna will always stand out to me. She was dealt such a hard lot in life. She was the child of abusive, alcoholic parents, her husband died in a mining accident, leaving her with two young children, and perhaps most damning of all, she was born a woman in a poor rural community in the mid-17th century. She had no opportunity for formal education and no real standing in her community--yet she was not a victim of her circumstances. She rose above them, and got the better of them. Though the background of the story is factual, there was a village that quarantined itself, Anna is fictional, and herein lies the value of reading fiction. Though Anna never existed she still teaches us that we can rise above whatever our disadvantages seem to be and make our lives something extraordinary.

What I love about Anna is that she is very human. She fought the need to obtain knowledge of herbs--the very thing that became most valuable to her--for fear that people would think she was a witch. When she finally gave in to her life's calling, she was able to benefit many people. Along with the things she was able to do for others, she also learned that things are not always what they seem. She learned not to judge people for their lack of understanding, for their cruelty to others, and for giving in to their human weaknesses. Yet, she was still unwilling to stand up for her father when he was brought to trial for theft, unable to forget all of the past wrongs inflicted by his hand. Through her I was able to see that it is possible for someone to do much good, and still have human qualities that cause them to stumble. I have in my sidebar a quote from Les Miserables:

To be a saint is the exception, to be upright is the rule. Err, falter, sin, but be upright.

Anna is the embodiment of this idea. Though she errs, falters and sins, she still does her best to do right, and feels it stongly when she does not. And, really, isn't this all we can ask of ourselves?

A few little reading related miscellaneous items:

1. The last book I read was Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers. It's a Lord Peter Whimsey mystery. Sayers published her mystery novels during the 1920's and 30's. She was friends with Tolkien and CS Lewis, and though Tolkien couldn't stand the Peter Whimsely character, I find him to be quite entertaining! If you haven't read any of Sayers work, you should consider it.

2. I haven't posted about all of the books I've been reading lately so here's a list

• Excellent Women by Barbara Pymm--I was a little uncomfortable about the treatment of the main character by other characters in the book, but really ended up enjoying this one.
  
• Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See--gorgeous, also good for a reminder that everything is not what it seems to be
  
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro--I was nearly laughed out of book club for suggesting this one. It has a science fiction sounding premise (the main characters are all clones), but a very human element to it. For me it was about coming to terms with the past and living a good life despite circumstances. Also there is a lot to be said about the power of hope in our lives.
  
• The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason--very hard to get into, but once it grabbed me I couldn't put it down.
  
• Good Grief by Lolly Winston--when I first started reading this book I wanted to blow my brains out because the main character was so depressed. After a while, though she grew on me, and this became a book that I couldn't put down.
  
• Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock--very sad, book about child abuse, but the characters are great. Read this one with a box of Kleenex!
  
• and, of course, Les Miserables (which I posted about) Strong Poison and Year of Wonders

3. Finally, I haven't posted my page total for the year for quite some time. It is 9224.