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

When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition. As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love. As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders."

REVIEW: This novel is inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the English hill country, and the decision by a young pastor and his townspeople to quarantine from the outside world after an outbreak of the plague. This decision led to the deaths of two-thirds of the town's inhabitants but saved the surrounding towns. I don't know enough about the history to know how much license Brooks takes in portraying these events, but her storytelling is alive with research on seventeenth-century life and her characters are complex, thoughtful, and deeply imagined. This book is about much more than the ravages of the plague; it's about community, and survival, and the powerful ways we are changed (for better or worse) by unimaginable loss. Though the ending was a bit of a letdown (too whimsical and far-fetched for my taste), I found this book to be a moving account of resilience and humanity in the face of catastrophe. 4.5 stars.