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There are currently 44 member reviews
for On a Night of a Thousand Stars
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Laura D. (Newmarket, NH)
Enlightening Historical Fiction
On a Night of a Thousand Stars is enlightening historical fiction, illuminating a part of history not commonly known. The story is told in segments that alternate between the 1970's and 1998, which is especially effective because the reader learns about the past in parallel with the young protagonist of 1998. What begins as curiosity about a family member grows into a larger mystery about Argentina's "Dirty War." The reader experiences adventure and romance, as well as fear and suspense. As the story unfolds, the book gains momentum, propelling the reader along as the truth is discovered and revealed. This book is satisfying in every way historical fiction should be, educating while simultaneously engaging and entertaining the reader.
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Eileen C. (New York, NY)
Love in the Time of Terror
On a Night of a Thousand Stars starts off extraordinarily strong. The equanimity of a wealthy family from Argentina, currently living a life of privilege in the United States, is disrupted when an old family friend suggests that the family's past contains a secret. Andrea Yaryura Clark successfully uses this mystery to create an interesting story with great narrative drive. Unfortunately, the overall novel is uneven in spots, and a love triangle makes the middle a bit soggy. Nevertheless, it is, overall, an interesting look at both Argentina's Dirty War of the 1970s and its aftermath.
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Irene H. (Saugerties, NY)
On a Night of a Thousand Stars
Andrea Yayura Clark has written a book full of important and interesting information about Argentina's so called Dirty War. She includes multiple sympathetic characters caught up in the violent changes in government and abuses of Argentine citizens centered around fears of communism and socialism.
The book is weakened by the extensive explanations of the various key incidents within this twenty year period. Instead of the history being told through the eyes of central characters, the history becomes a character itself. This doesn't allow sufficient time to develop more deeply the emotions and choices of the human beings on both sides of the mini-wars. Paloma, a main character who ends up discovering that her mother is one of Argentina's desapararecidos or disappeared could have been a more fully developed narrator of the story through whose eyes the secondary characters could have been more than mentioned in passing. In addition, the relationship between Paloma, her father, and her birth mother who is disappeared, needs more dramatic emphasis and clarity in the context of a book which shifts back and forth in a twenty year time period. The history of this period in Argentine history is largely unknown and needs to be told. It could have been told with less detail and more clarity in order to inform and engage the reader.
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Esther L. (Newtown, PA)
Argentina's Dirty War
With thanks to BookBrowse for the opportunity to preview "On A Night Of A Thousand Stars" written by Andrea Yaryura Clark. She grew up in Buenos Aires amid the political violence of the 1970's before moving to Canada and then the United States. After graduating college she returned to Argentina where she began to be interested in the stories of the children of the Disappeared. Those stories gave birth to this amazing book.
The book was well written and researched, telling the story in two different time periods. First the late 1970's during Argentina's "Dirty War" and 1998 as the children reach adulthood. Not knowing much about these years in Argentina,I found it a sad, yet fascinating story. Well done!
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Karen S. (Allston, MA)
Such a promising stoy line, but.....
I love historical fiction and Argentina's Dirty War has generated several books I have loved and that taught me a lot about this era. This book is about a love story, the aftermath of the Dirty War, and some useful to know history about the Dirty War. The characters were easy to like and the storytelling moved along at a good pace.
So…. Why only a "good-average" review? Somehow, this just was not a book I felt I must recommend to friends who like historic fiction, or the ones that are students of political activism South America. A story about big events has to make tradeoffs unless it plans to be a very long book, but a bit more depth on some characters and the general state of Argentina could have illuminated the struggles of the main characters in a compelling way. For example, I found the treatment of the mothers of the disappeared on the plaza to be oddly cavalier-- they are little more than a prop in this story.
Overall, a fine read—and it would probably be a "good beach read" for people who like historical fiction.
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Laurie L. (Warwick, RI)
Be prepared to be deeply moved...
As a fan of historical fiction, this book provided me with a powerful account of the Dirty War in Argentina and is definitely worth reading if you are interested in learning about this period of time in our world's history. The author has written an informative, compelling narrative about the repression, violence and cover-up which defined the period of time from 1976- 1983.
I was particularly moved after learning of the emergence of the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, which to this day, 40 years later continues to fight for justice for approximately 30,000 people who "disappeared" at the hands of the brutal military dictatorship during this time.
The story of the protagonist- Paloma Larrea and her determination to find her true identity is written in a heartfelt and compelling manner which drew me in at the very onset of this novel. I was able to connect with several of the other characters whose struggles were quite palpable. These pivotal characters are perhaps representative of thousands of individuals who continue to struggle and strive for the truth about missing loved ones. This is story needs to be told and Andrea Yaryura Clark is adept at capturing readers with a deeply touching and emotionally charged account of the many faces of humanity and the lives of those impacted by this brutal period of time.
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Laura G. (Buffalo, NY)
On a Night of a Thousand Stars
The story line in the book is very compelling. The way the reader is transported from one time period to the other with connecting characters helped to keep your attention and the history I was not well educated in was very interesting
The 1998 main character, however, was hard for me to enjoy. Her carelessness made me frustrated and the way she disregarded most everyone's concern for her made her very unlikable. Although it wasn't a happy ending for all, it was wrapped up a little too quickly and left quite a number of questions unanswered.
