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Loading... Wickett's Remedy: A Novel (original 2005; edition 2006)by Myla Goldberg
Work InformationWickett's Remedy by Myla Goldberg (2005)
   None No current Talk conversations about this book.   ) Tess_W | Mar 21, 2021 |  [Wickett's Remedy] is a novel about the Spanish influenza epidemic that hit the United States during the First World War, and about a young woman who is determined to do what she can to help care for influenza patients despite her lack of medical training. Lydia is a fantastic character to follow as she works to adapt to whatever circumstances she finds herself in and the story is superbly researched. Goldberg also plays with the format of the novel, adding sidenotes where various characters comment on the events taking place, as well as articles, vignettes and even a secondary storyline taking place at the end of each chapter. Goldberg's writing is very good and the way she plays with structure fits well with the novel as a whole. I look forward to reading more by her. (  )1  RidgewayGirl | Jun 10, 2019 | The is the story of Lydia Kilkenny who wants to escape her South Boston neighbourhood. She does this by getting a job across the bridge and by marrying Henry Wickett, who is in medical school. After some time mourning Henry's untimely death, Lydia becomes compelled by helping those who are suffering from the Spanish Influenza and wants to become a nurse. She ends up working as a nurse's aide. The main narrative arc is this story of the devastating impact of the Spanish Influenza. In a parallel story line, Henry had developed "Wickett's Remedy" -- basically flavoured water; the real cure was in the long, personal letters Henry would write to each customer. As Henry says: "How much illness is caused by loneliness? By lack of sympathy?" Upon Henry's death, his business partner cheats Lydia out of her share of the profits he makes from her flavoured water. The author shows how perceptions matter, and how imperfect memory is, by having a sort of "Greek chorus" of voices from the dead who were present at key moments in the main narratives. It's a bit quirky, but it works. I wish the story about the flavoured water was as well developed at that of the Spanish Influenza -- I thought an opportunity to bring them together had been missed. In spite of that, I liked the book and the excellent writing. (  ) LynnB | Oct 24, 2018 | Meanwhile, Lydia and her family deal with the war and with the flu epidemic of 1918. Feeling at loose ends, she ends up working as a nurse on a island of experiments that are trying to understand the transmission of the flu, using human subjects. It is a little disjointed, in that each chapter ends with a newspaper article, current information about "QD Soda," and side conversations pertaining to the chapter, and there are notes in the margin of each page that act as a "chorus of the dead." These take some getting used to, but overall, it was a good book and I enjoyed it. ( ) tloeffler | Jul 14, 2014 | First of all there was the main storyline about the flu epidemic that the main character, Lydia, was experiencing. After each chapter from Lydia's point of view, there were newspaper articles regarding the epidemic, then disembodied voices. I assume these voices were people she overheard or something. Then there was the story of a stolen recipe told in letters and more articles. Throughout the main storyline there were marginal notes seemingly from heaven. Overall, it was interesting, but strangely done. (  ) Ginerbia | Sep 30, 2013 | no reviews | add a review
In a multidimensional, intricately wrought narrative, Myla Goldberg leads us back to Boston in the early part of the twentieth century and into two completely captivating worlds. One is that of Lydia, an Irish American shopgirl with bigger aspirations than your average young woman from South Boston. She seems to be well on her way to the life she has dreamed of when she marries Henry Wickett, a shy medical student and the scion of a Boston Brahmin family. However, soon after their wedding, Henry abruptly quits medical school to create a mail-order patent medicine called Wickett's Remedy, and just as Lydia begins to adjust to her husband's new vocation, the infamous Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918 begins its deadly sweep across the world, irrevocably changing their lives. In a world turned almost unrecognizable by swift and sudden tragedy, Lydia finds herself working as a nurse in an experimental ward dedicated to understanding the raging epidemic, through the use of human subjects. Meanwhile, a parallel narrative explores the world of QD Soda, the illegitimate offspring of Wickett's Remedy, stolen away by Henry Wickett's one-time business partner Quentin Driscoll, who goes about transforming it into a soft drink empire. Throughout the novel we hear from a chorus of other voices who offer a running commentary from the book's margins, playing off the ongoing narrative and cleverly illuminating the slippery interplay of perception and memory. Based on years of research and evoking actual events, Wickett's Remedy perfectly captures the texture of the times and brings a colorful cast of characters vividly to life, none more so than Lydia, a heroine as winning and appealing as Eliza, the beloved spelling champion of Bee Season. With dazzling dexterity, Goldberg has fashioned a novel that beautifully combines the intimate and the epic. Wickett's Remedy announces her arrival as a major novelist. Dreaming of a better life, Lydia, an Irish-American shopgirl from South Boston, gets her chance when she marries medical student Henry Wickett, the scion of a Boston family, but her life is turned upside down when Henry quits medical school. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.36)
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