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sohare01's review against another edition
5.0
I read this right after I read Brooks' "A Year of Wonder" - really great pairing. They both deal with small towns cutting themselves off during epidemics, but for slightly different reasons.
anovelobsession's review against another edition
3.0
As a glimpse into a fascinating part of history, this was a great book. It centers around the flu epidemic in 1918 during WWI. It also deals with other issues - a radical community and the anti-war movement.
The story line also deals with the decisions people make about how far they will go to protect their own family and community and more than once I wondered how I would face the same situation.
The only downfall to the book is I didn't connect with any one character - I read their story from a bystanders point of view. I like to feel connected with the characters or the story line, but I just didn't care much about them in this book.
The story line also deals with the decisions people make about how far they will go to protect their own family and community and more than once I wondered how I would face the same situation.
The only downfall to the book is I didn't connect with any one character - I read their story from a bystanders point of view. I like to feel connected with the characters or the story line, but I just didn't care much about them in this book.
hanburgerhelper's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
debs4jc's review against another edition
2.0
this novel is an exploration of what happens to a community of people during the spanish flu epidemic of 1918. this was interesting to me because my knowledge of this time period was almost non-existant. how many people today even know there was a spanish flu epidemic, or that during wwi people fought over the u.s.'s involvement in it, or of the union/management struggles of the time? these are all covered in this novel, which asks "what if a town quarantined itself, cutting itself off from teh outside world?" that's what the town does in this novel, which gives the author a chance to make a study of the characters who have to enforce this quarantine. this book was definately more character focused, i found it very slow reading and dry and unexciting. it's heavy on historical detail and like i said it's an interesting period in u.s. history so to learn about that this book would be slightly more interesting than a textbook. but maybe not by much.
elwoodradley's review
4.0
4.5. What an awesome read. Really good fictional story about a small isolated PNW mill town in 1918 that quarantines itself during the Spanish Flu pandemic. I really enjoyed this.
meme_too2's review against another edition
2.0
This book was not what i expected. It could have been an intriguing plot, but it turned ugly. Apparently, the idea for this plot was based on a true event.
elizasut's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting historical read, I found it difficult in ways that are hard to describe. So much tragedy... Not much reassurance.
bennought's review against another edition
5.0
Another beautiful and powerful novel from Mr. Mullen (though technically it is his first book, it's the third of his I've read). Diving into the paranoia and survivalism that affect people when there's an outbreak of some kind of infectious disease, and how such a situation could have played out in the Pacific Northwest right at the end of World War I. Compelling, complicated characters; an interesting and unique premise (once again); beautiful writing; chock-full of wonderful facts and incidents from the historical period; and a haunting story. As with Mullen's other novels, once I'd picked this one up, there was no way I was putting it down. But beyond just another gripping thriller, Mullen delves into the human psyche and explores how communities (and the individuals within those communities) react to tragedy--both of a small and large scale. If you haven't read any of his novels, yet, you should.
samwise206's review against another edition
4.0
Dense, but good. Interesting read during/after the Covid 19 quarantine.
danielzawadzki's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5