by Geraldine brooks
The Plague is the 17th century bubonic plague that ravages a small village in England. Anna, a very young widow helps the dying while losing her own children to the disease. All the while, she is encountering the superstition, the accusations, the madness and violence befalling her small community as the population dwindles and more villagers cannot face the horrible consequences of the plague. She befriends the rector and his wife who urge the inhabitants not to leave their homes but to isolate their village and prevent the further spread of the illness. The author does not dwell only on the extreme suffering and the customs of the era but also on the emotional price paid by Anna who loses dear ones but questions religion and the ethical behavior of those around her. She discovers that the rector who preaches the bible is a selfish, self-righteous man who holds himself better than others. What I loved about the book is its unexpected ending. Anna finds her peace by escaping when the plague stops and disconnecting herself from her past by living among Moslems. Her benefactor is an Arab doctor who knows more about medicine than many of his counterparts in England.  Though her new sourrounding discriminates women, Anna finds solace in assisting in the healing of others who do not probe into her previous life.


 



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