The Pull of the Stars

The Pull of the Stars, published in 2020, is a work of historical fiction by Emma Donoghue, an Irish Canadian playwright, literary historian, novelist, and screenwriter. The novel was longlisted for the Giller Prize. Told from the first-person point of view of protagonist Julia Power, the story is set at an Ireland hospital during the influenza pandemic of 1918, which was also the last year of World War I. While most of the characters are fictional, Dr. Kathleen Lynn is based on a real doctor who lived and worked in Ireland at the time.

Plot Summary

The novel follows Julia Power, a nurse working in a Dublin hospital in 1918. Not only is Ireland involved in World War I, with many Irish men gone to fight for the British, but the 1918 influenza pandemic is ravaging the world. Julia lives with her younger brother, Tim, who fought in World War I before the British Army discharged him. Julia’s father and stepmother live on a farm in the countryside.

The novel takes place over just three days, beginning on the morning of October 31, 1918, the day before Julia’s 30th birthday.