A touching story of new life

⭑⭑⭑⭑  I fell hard for The Pull of the Stars within a few pages. I knew this would be a special book and it was. Telling the story of nurse Julia Power in an understaffed Irish maternity/fever ward during the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic, it feels like the right novel for the here and now. What better reading in our current post lockdown state?

Nurse Julia is a no nonsense midwife with an entire arsenal of tricks at her disposal when delivering babies and coping with soon-to-be mothers ill with flu. Her problem becomes apparent when she is left in charge of the ward, for the first time, with no one to help her. Spanish flu is sweeping through the population so hospitals are short staffed and struggling under the strain. Bridie Sweeney comes to her rescue as a volunteer. A sparky young woman who has lived under the eye of nuns her entire life, Bridie is both innocent and worldly in ways Julia cannot imagine. Together they deal with the ins and outs of child birth and the numerous perils facing mothers and newborns.

Be warned, if you squeamish there may a few bits of the novel that go in to graphic detail regarding childbirth and other harrowing happenings. I would not pass this novel by because of them but just want to give fair warning.

I absorbed the atmosphere of this tiny ward with relish and enjoyed being at Julia's side come what may. This was eye opening and heartbreaking in its tenderness as it shed light on lesser known practices in early 1900s Ireland.  The view of life in Ireland under close supervision of Catholic nuns meting out judgement was more pervasive than I expected. There were a number of shocking revelations of children being taken away from unwed mothers and forced by the church to work to earn their keep, though the government paid for their care. Awful historical abuse allowed without question is hard to stomach. It is necessary sometimes to learn of difficult things and better understand where we come from and what was permissible in the past. I felt the sudden romance, though, was a step too far. It sprung from nowhere and felt awkward in its randomness. It came across as artificial and abrupt, as if this novel needed more drama and emotion? The story was hijacked from then on and never quite made it back on course for me.

The Pull of the Stars was a stunning story well worth the time to be transported to a different time and place. A touching story that is sure to stay with readers for quite a while.