aidanhoman's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
4.0
Simplistic narrative was helped by a deeply emotional and historic story
linseyr's review
4.0
This book delves into the era of the Argentinian "Dirty War" and the thousands of people forcibly "disappeared" during that time.
We follow the Larrea family- Santiago and Lila, and their adult daughter Paloma- in the late 90's as Santiago returns to his native Argentina from America to accept a UN position. Highly regarded in elite society, the family has quite the surprise when their party is interrupted by an old friend. Grace has secrets to share, and Paloma wants to get to the bottom of them.
At the same time we see what life was like in the late 70's for a young Santiago in Argentina. Political discourse abounds, people disappear left and right, and everyone's lives seem to hang in the balance.
I didn't know a whole lot about this era in history in South America and it was interesting to hear about the people who disappeared. This book was beautifully written, tugged at the heartstrings, and made me want to know more about Argentina's Dirty War and the innocent people who are affected to this day.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the eARC. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
We follow the Larrea family- Santiago and Lila, and their adult daughter Paloma- in the late 90's as Santiago returns to his native Argentina from America to accept a UN position. Highly regarded in elite society, the family has quite the surprise when their party is interrupted by an old friend. Grace has secrets to share, and Paloma wants to get to the bottom of them.
At the same time we see what life was like in the late 70's for a young Santiago in Argentina. Political discourse abounds, people disappear left and right, and everyone's lives seem to hang in the balance.
I didn't know a whole lot about this era in history in South America and it was interesting to hear about the people who disappeared. This book was beautifully written, tugged at the heartstrings, and made me want to know more about Argentina's Dirty War and the innocent people who are affected to this day.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the eARC. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
reader_mama's review
5.0
A beautifully tragic story about “the disappeared” in Argentina. Told in alternate timelines, the present day story takes place in 1998, where 20 something Paloma starts looking into her family’s past life in Argentina. Her father, Santiago, is the subject of the past timeline 1970s-80s) and his life in Argentina during political unrest.
I was hooked on this story. I’ve never read about Argentina, and I certainly didn’t know anything about the people who were captured, tortured, beaten and killed during the military dictatorship that lasted almost a decade. The mystery of Paloma’s family was so intriguing. I did guess some of the twists, but that didn’t take away anything from the story. This book was so emotional, especially as a mother, thinking about losing a child, and I felt all the emotions as I was reading. Highly recommend this beautiful, yet heartbreaking book.
I was hooked on this story. I’ve never read about Argentina, and I certainly didn’t know anything about the people who were captured, tortured, beaten and killed during the military dictatorship that lasted almost a decade. The mystery of Paloma’s family was so intriguing. I did guess some of the twists, but that didn’t take away anything from the story. This book was so emotional, especially as a mother, thinking about losing a child, and I felt all the emotions as I was reading. Highly recommend this beautiful, yet heartbreaking book.
whatmadsreads's review
5.0
Wow wow...this book! Not gonna lie, it started out a little slow and I kept putting it down for other things, but yesterday I decided to read a good chunk and ended up finishing it because I was hooked!
This is a dual-timeline story, taking place in Argentina in the 1970s and 1998. In 1998 Paloma travels with her family to Argentina as her father is becoming ambassador to the UN, but Paloma has seen people speaking to her father and the things they are saying make her wonder. As she starts digging, she realizes she maybe doesn’t know her father at all.
Flashing back to the 1970s we see Paloma’s father, Santiago, as a college student living in the years leading up to the military dictatorship, and what really happened to him and those he loved as danger gets closer and closer. As Paloma is learning more, she realizes her father, and herself, may still be in danger.
This is a beautiful and heartbreaking story. I didn’t know anything about Argentina’s history before picking this one up and definitely want to learn more! @andreaclarkbooks grew up in Argentina in the 1970s and I believe did a wonderful job honoring these stories! An easy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!
Thank you to Grand Central Pub for the gifted copy! Pub date: March 1, 2022.
This is a dual-timeline story, taking place in Argentina in the 1970s and 1998. In 1998 Paloma travels with her family to Argentina as her father is becoming ambassador to the UN, but Paloma has seen people speaking to her father and the things they are saying make her wonder. As she starts digging, she realizes she maybe doesn’t know her father at all.
Flashing back to the 1970s we see Paloma’s father, Santiago, as a college student living in the years leading up to the military dictatorship, and what really happened to him and those he loved as danger gets closer and closer. As Paloma is learning more, she realizes her father, and herself, may still be in danger.
This is a beautiful and heartbreaking story. I didn’t know anything about Argentina’s history before picking this one up and definitely want to learn more! @andreaclarkbooks grew up in Argentina in the 1970s and I believe did a wonderful job honoring these stories! An easy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!
Thank you to Grand Central Pub for the gifted copy! Pub date: March 1, 2022.
sbnich's review
3.0
The history was compelling. I don't know much about contemporary South American history, so the concept was really interesting.
The fictional part of the plot was mediocre, but taken together it is worth a read.
The fictional part of the plot was mediocre, but taken together it is worth a read.
stephreadsallthebooks's review
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
lisanewsphoto's review
4.0
Wow. This book, that ending.
I didn’t know much about Argentina’s “Dirty War” or even about Argentina itself. The author describes the city of Buenos Aires like a love story. The food, the people, the smaller towns outside the city. It made me want to sit in a cafe drinking mate with old friends.
Despite the beautiful descriptions of the city, I had trouble getting into this book. The main characters didn’t come across as all that interesting. It was until halfway through the book that things started happening and I started to become invested in the story.
Overall and interesting and compelling story. Thanks to NetGalley for the copy to review.
I didn’t know much about Argentina’s “Dirty War” or even about Argentina itself. The author describes the city of Buenos Aires like a love story. The food, the people, the smaller towns outside the city. It made me want to sit in a cafe drinking mate with old friends.
Despite the beautiful descriptions of the city, I had trouble getting into this book. The main characters didn’t come across as all that interesting. It was until halfway through the book that things started happening and I started to become invested in the story.
Overall and interesting and compelling story. Thanks to NetGalley for the copy to review.
leslico's review
4.0
This is a fascinating but heartbreaking historical fiction story. I didn't know much about Argentina's history and this was a great way to learn more about it. It follows dual timelines: in the years leading up to Argentina's military dictatorship in 1976, when Santiago was a young student, and in 1998 in New York, when he is appointed as Argentina's UN ambassador, and his daughter Paloma wants to learn more about his history. This book raises a lot of hard questions and makes you think about them from different perspectives!
literarily_occupied's review
4.0
⭐⭐⭐⭐️ / 4 stars
Prior to this book I knew nothing of Argentina's history. Learning of the events that took place during the "Dirty War" and the innocent lives that were disappeared during its dark days via these fictional characters and storyline was eye opening and I am grateful to have been made aware.
Through a dual timeline and alternating third person and first person POVs, we follow individuals on their nightmarish journeys during the war and then twenty years later see how those events have impacted the next generation.
There is love and loss, finding one's true self, and the navigation of a morally rocky path.
I had received an early finished copy for review from Grand Central Publishing but wasn't able to get to it before its release in March. So to be sure that I got it read this month I purchased the audiobook and listened while working at the library.
Prior to this book I knew nothing of Argentina's history. Learning of the events that took place during the "Dirty War" and the innocent lives that were disappeared during its dark days via these fictional characters and storyline was eye opening and I am grateful to have been made aware.
Through a dual timeline and alternating third person and first person POVs, we follow individuals on their nightmarish journeys during the war and then twenty years later see how those events have impacted the next generation.
There is love and loss, finding one's true self, and the navigation of a morally rocky path.
I had received an early finished copy for review from Grand Central Publishing but wasn't able to get to it before its release in March. So to be sure that I got it read this month I purchased the audiobook and listened while working at the library.
cassidee_omnilegent's review
5.0
There’s so much to still learn about world history and Argentina’s Dirty War is one of those subjects for me.
On a Night of a Thousand Stars takes place during two periods of time using dual storylines. In one, Santiago and Valentina are trying to exist in a world where people are “disappeared” for their social and political beliefs. Twenty years later, Santiago’s daughter, Paloma, is putting together pieces of her dad’s history after a cryptic comment is made by one of his old friends during his UN ambassadorial appointment.
This historical fiction was heartbreaking and eye opening to the terrors that have always existed within our world. People all over the world are wary of the government they live under but many of us have the luxury of publicly disagreeing with our government. Others aren’t given that option. Clark makes us care deeply about these characters and their fates; be warned that given the nature of this book, some of them aren’t happy fates.
It was poignant, yet there were very hopeful moments. I found myself wanting to get back to this book and find out what was going to happen next. I was lucky enough to be gifted and audio copy of this via Hachette Audio. Thank you to them and Grand Central Publishing for this fascinating novel. The audio narrator, Paula Christensen did a phenomenal job and kept my attention entirely.
On a Night of a Thousand Stars takes place during two periods of time using dual storylines. In one, Santiago and Valentina are trying to exist in a world where people are “disappeared” for their social and political beliefs. Twenty years later, Santiago’s daughter, Paloma, is putting together pieces of her dad’s history after a cryptic comment is made by one of his old friends during his UN ambassadorial appointment.
This historical fiction was heartbreaking and eye opening to the terrors that have always existed within our world. People all over the world are wary of the government they live under but many of us have the luxury of publicly disagreeing with our government. Others aren’t given that option. Clark makes us care deeply about these characters and their fates; be warned that given the nature of this book, some of them aren’t happy fates.
It was poignant, yet there were very hopeful moments. I found myself wanting to get back to this book and find out what was going to happen next. I was lucky enough to be gifted and audio copy of this via Hachette Audio. Thank you to them and Grand Central Publishing for this fascinating novel. The audio narrator, Paula Christensen did a phenomenal job and kept my attention entirely.