The Pull of the Stars

I don't know what the odds are of me reading two 5-star reads in one week (I just finished The Underground Railroad) when I barely find a handful a year, but here it is: The Pull of the Stars is freaking amazing. I almost skipped it. It came in for me via la digital library and I knew absolutely nothing about it except that Donoghue wrote it.
And on the surface, it's not my kind of read. I've been actively avoiding all pandemic or flu or dystopian reads since March (hard to avoid them, but it's not where I want to go right now). Childbirth and maternity wards and, well, nursing have never really interested me. Also, I am embarrassed by how little I know of Irish history.
And then, I read the first few pages and was HOOKED. I could not wait to find a quiet moment to steal to get back to Julia and the rest of the gang in the emergency ward they have thrown together for pregnant women who are also sick with the influenza. I swear I was reading to keep pace with them, as the entire novel takes place over two and a half days (maybe 3, I lost track).
Just as when I read Room, I have had my heart wrenched out of my chest, stomped on and now handed back to me and I must find a way to live on.
Needs must.