The Stars Are Fire by Anita Shreve
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was the July pick for my book club. Genre: historical fiction.
It’s a tad hard to summarize The Stars are Fire because it’s kind of just an ongoing series of events. I didn’t really feel like it had a hook that drew me in and kept me wanting more. It was kind of just a story about a woman’s life from Point A to Point B.
Grace has a husband and two kids. Her husband is kind of a jerk. One day a fire takes over her home and her husband goes missing. Alone with two children she finds herself trying to start over. But as an isolated and sheltered housewife she will need to learn a whole set of life skills she hasn’t previously had to use.
The story was good and interesting so please don’t interpret my previous statements as overtly negative. I enjoyed the characters and appreciated their lives as told by the author. But, I did find myself losing interest along the way due to the lack of overall direction.
In addition, other than being set in the 1940’s it didn’t feel all that “historical.” Removing some of the references to the past, this story could have taken place in present day.
All in all, this one was just okay for me. I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it.
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