Though her novel is set during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, the parallels to the social upheaval taking place today are legion. The Pull of the Stars by Irish-Canadian author Emma Donoghue had its publication date moved up from 2021 to July 2020. The early publication took advantage of the appetite for all things pandemic, while also providing readers with a deeper understanding of today’s turmoil. In an inner-city Dublin hospital, three female healthcare providers — a nurse, a doctor and a young volunteer — battle to save lives in a maternity ward where pregnant mothers infected with the flu are quarantined together. Donoghue spoke with Canadian Geographic about why pandemic novels are so popular and what they tell us about society.
On what drew her to the idea of writing a pandemic novel
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ANIMAL XING
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WE DID THIS
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The COOLEST COUNTRY
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KEEPER of the SEA
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AN EMPTY LANDSCAPE
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NORTHERN EXPOSURE
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INTO THE ARCTIC
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Under the ice
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