I have this book in my tbr mountain and know it's set during the plague.  On another forum this book was mentioned and everyone is dogging it.  Did anyone here read it and/or enjoy it, or is it really that bad?

I thought it was great.  It's not a very "pretty" story considering the subject matter, but it is very well written.  I have it on my keeper shelf.   (Actually, I had a copy, traded it on PBS, and then ended up ordering another copy as a keeper so I can read it again.)  :)

I LOVED IT!   Although I thought the ending was completely out of character for Anna.

It's based on real life events, the Derbyshire village of Eyam (pronounced "Eem") in England is a real place.  The names of the people have been changed in the book though.  My husband and I visited Eyam in November 2005 and fell in love with the village and the Derbyshire countryside.  

Go ahead and Google Eyam - you'll get some more info on the plague village.  I got a small booklet from the church there that tells the story of the plague year.  That's a keeper and doesn't get loaned out. 

At one point I had my pics from Eyam online.  They're down at the moment, but I can get them back up in a few days to share with those who didn't see them first time around.

Marci, I totally agree about the ending...but other than that, I really enjoyed this book.  I think you should give it a try, Michelle.

I agree...loved it, but the ending was just...weird! I am a "plague junkie" (love reading anything about plague) so that book was like a little slice of heaven for me...when I grow up I wanna be Marci and make my own pilgramage to Eyam. LOL

Cheryl

I have the book on WL.

Another good one about that period is The Plague Tales. It switches between the 15th & 21st centuries to tie the plot together. I have to admit I enjoyed the sections on the 15th century better. But, it is a decent book.

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780385316514-The+Plague+Tales

"Year of Wonders" was a much better book, to me.  I really got into "Year of Wonders," but "March" was harder to read.  I'm not sure why.

Charlie I agree about The Plague Tales...the sequel, Burning Road is also excellent and I have the third in series The Physicians Tale on my TBR just waiting for me...I love those books where they connect things between the past and present like that!

Cheryl

One thing I wanted to mention for those Geraldine Brooks fans...she has a new book coming out in Jan. 2008 called People of the Book. Not sure what it's about (couldn't find a synopsis, but I didn't try very hard) but I notice there's only 3 of us on the wishlist for it so far. Just a little inty hinty. :)

Cheryl

Based on that title, I'm guessing there's an Islamic connection - see here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_of_the_Book

Edited to add:

From the Radcliffe Fellows Site...

During her fellowship year, she intends to complete a novel-in-progress, People of the Book, which traces the history of a Hebrew manuscript created in fourteenth-century Spain, and to commence research on a work of historical fiction based on Harvard´s Indian College in the 1660s.

Thanks, Marci...I figured from the title it was something to do with Jewish history, but wasn't sure what or when--could be almost anything! Anyway it certainly sounds interesting!

Cheryl