Reviews

Stardust by Boyd Gaines, Joseph Kanon

wolfsonarchitect's review against another edition

4.0

Quite a page-turner as the plot deepens! Fascinating to learn about Hollywood after WWII and on the brink of McCarthyism.

frederica49's review

challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Sped up towards the end, very tense. Had real feel for Hollywood  and WW2 in the 1940s. Kept reader guessing until the end.

kfrench1008's review against another edition

2.0

Good 1940s Hollywood atmosphere, but glacially paced, far too long, and very repetitive. Also, I never cared enough about the dead brother and who might have killed him. Disappointing.

mgreer56's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

rosemary_quintet's review against another edition

3.0

Honestly, more of a 2.5. The syntax was distracting - too many sentence fragments - and often I was left scratching my head over who did what when. Stream of consciousness mysteries are tricky to write, and Lanon just barely cleared the bar. Still, Ben was likable and Bunny interesting. I do have one question though - who killed Danny? I'm still not quite sure...

pkadams's review against another edition

3.0

When you want Hollywood in its golden age - Bogart, trench coats, Bergman, long dresses with sparkling jewels, LA sunsets, studio lots - read this book. I've admired Kanon since he wrote his Edgar-awarding winning Los Alamos. He does atmosphere better than anyone. He starts with an elegant, trans-continental train journey at the close of WWII with a movie studio head and an American GI pitching the government's idea for a movie documentary about the concentration camps. The GI is the son of a famous German director killed by the Nazis before the war. From there the scene moves to Hollywood complete with a brother who attempted suicide (or not) despite a successful directing career of his own complete with a movie star home (think pool, projection room, etc.) and gorgeous wife. Into this mix comes a McCarthy-era politician, gossip columnist to the stars, a child star grown too old for the screen, communists, immigrants wanting to return home, and the remote horrors of the war. Espionage, love, murder, FBI, and even Tijuana then get pulled into the wide-angle lens of Kanon. He is terrific and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

malaptica's review against another edition

3.0

It was nice! I fell more in love with a minor character's story arc than with the main character's, and when it was resolved early, had to push through the rest of the novel. There is a serious problem with the author writing almost as though it's a screenplay, everything is dialogue and you go to a dinner party, get a rush of names at the seating arrangement, and then are expected to recall who that person was and what their political affiliation was 50 pages later, without further mention. I kind of glossed over the final reveal because I didn't have my excel spreadsheet with character names handy (it was that bad) so I figured I didn't need to really understand the nuances there.

booksandcatsgalore's review

dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

readingwithsammi's review

2.0

Interesting plotline but didn't quite do it for me entertainment wise.

caitietatey's review

3.0

I wish I could give three and a half stars! This is a story about Hollywood in the post war period, a time and place have loved forever. However it focuses on the communist witch hunts of the time which I didn't know nearly as much about, but was nonetheless interested in. Firstly I think that his evocation of Hollywood was accurate and meticulously well researched. He got the atmosphere of the place spot on. Secondly, I think his characterization is brilliant. His people are real, and walk off the page in all their flawed humanity. He writes about loss and grieving very beautifully,whether that is for a person, a time, or a place. particularly thought that bunny, and leisl were very well drawn.

The down sides.... it was a bit long. the plot was so intricate it was difficult to follow at times,particularly who was on what side. Also, the dialogue was very much of its time- - the speech is very stylised and some people might find that grating. Also, the big baddie,when they were revealed, left me a little cold. I wasn't convinced. other than that, I would highly reccomend.