Year of Wonders, by Geraldine Brooks

The plague comes to Anna Frith’s small English village in 1666.  Through her eyes, we see how the plague devastates the town, forever changing her and the few who manage to survive. 

Perhaps it was an odd choice to read this book during our current pandemic crisis, but I found it fascinating.  Brooks does an incredible job with language in the novel — it feels authentic for the time period.  That said, it does take a bit of getting used to.  Once I was used to the language, I was pulled into the story and really couldn’t put this book down.  It was interesting to me to see so many parallels in the social reaction to the plague to what we are seeing now with COVID.

I found the ending of this novel disappointing which kept me from giving it my highest rating. (I felt like things really went off the rails in the last 50 pages or so.) Still, it’s worth reading for everything that comes before that.  Highly recommended.