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Excerpt from The Wonder by Emma Donoghue, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

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The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

The Wonder

by Emma Donoghue
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  • Critics' Consensus (8):
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  • First Published:
  • Sep 20, 2016, 304 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Sep 2017, 304 pages
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About this Book

Print Excerpt


Not knowing the appropriate response, Lib nodded.

"And ye too." It was the nun who murmured that, making the sign of the cross by touching her forehead, chest, left and right shoulders. Then she left the room—whether because she'd had all she wanted of her meagre portion or to surrender the second table to the newcomers, Lib couldn't tell.

They were a raucous lot, these farmers and their wives. Had they already been drinking elsewhere all Sunday afternoon? Spirit grocery; now she understood the driver's phrase. Not a haunted grocery, but one that served liquor.

From their chatter, which touched on some extraordinary wonder they could hardly believe although they'd seen it with their own eyes, Lib decided they must have been to a fair.

" 'Tis the other crowd are behind it, I'd say," said a bearded man. His wife elbowed him, but he persisted. "Waiting on her hand and foot!"

"Mrs. Wright?"

She turned her head.

The stranger in the doorway tapped his waistcoat. "Dr. McBrearty."

Excerpted from The Wonder by Emma Donoghue. Copyright © 2016 by Emma Donoghue. Excerpted by permission of Little Brown & Company. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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