Year of Wonders

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks follows the plague year 1666, in a small isolated mountain village in England.

When the recently widowed Anna Firth takes in a boarder, a tailor from London, little does she know that the cloth he works with carries the plague.

As the small town struggles with the reality of the disease, not only do the struggle with their responsibility to their neighbor but with their faith.

Held together by a young and passionate clergyman, the villagers try every possible cure to forestall the spread of the disease. In an attempt to be noble, they quarantine themselves and meet the pestilence head on, but as villager after villager succumbs to the disease, they begin to question their decision and mistrust one another.

Brooks spares no details as she vividly depicts the horrible ravages of the disease -- its high fever, bulging boils and tumors, and the horrible suffering of its victims.

Yeah, it was gross.

But.

Typical of Brooks' style, she weaves a story full of memorable characters and suspense, and as a reader, you keep turning the pages to see what happens.

Kudos.

BTW: It will so be a movie. Just sayin'.