Literary Fiction
An English nurse watches an Irish girl who claims to live without food, in a tense historical thriller of faith, duty, and dark secrets.
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An English nurse watches an Irish girl who claims to live without food, in a tense historical thriller of faith, duty, and dark secrets.
About
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Set in the Irish Midlands in the 1850s, Emma Donoghue's The Wonder - inspired by numerous European and North American cases of 'fasting girls' between the sixteenth century and the twentieth - is a psychological thriller about a child's murder threatening to happen in slow motion before our eyes. Pitting all the seductions of fundamentalism against sense and love, it is a searing examination of what nourishes us, body and soul. ------- In this masterpiece by Emma Donoghue, an English nurse bro...
What's Inside
will contain mild spoilers
Sexual content
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One clothed sex scene with some detail; incest and assault themes
Violence & gore
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Starvation's physical toll and force-feeding; distressing medical harm
Profanity
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Rare mild profanity
Substance use
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Recurring laudanum/opium use by a main character
LGBTQ+ Rep.
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No evidence found in available sources
Religious content
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Catholic faith, miracles, and clergy drive the central conflict
Magic & witchcraft
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No fantasy magic elements
Occult / demonology
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No occult or demonology content
Political content
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Colonial tensions and science-versus-faith social themes recur
Self-harm / suicide
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Prolonged self-starvation and eating-disorder themes throughout
Abuse & suffering
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Child sexual abuse, incest, and sustained starvation cruelty are central
Other
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No information found