Crossing 2,023 pages with Night Came with Many Stars by Simon Van Booy

I am excited to report that I have read 2,036 pages so far in winter reading with a little less than a week to go! We wrap our reading adventure next Wednesday, March 1st. As usual, I am delighted by the discoveries — Simon Van Booy is at the top of the list, with Night Came with Many Stars being the second novel of his I read during the last several weeks, both acquired easily from the library. I plan to continue working backwards through his bibliography as I find these books around. I am traveling currently and am on the hunt for Gertie Milk as well as The Sadness of Beautiful Things. But back to Night Came…

Joan Frank talks about details in her Late Work and details are key to this literary novel. I loved every minute of it. Again, his set up keeps the pages turning– each chapter labeled in reference to the character who is the main thread in the set of pages. A story that spans from the 1930s-2010s, you ebb and flow through space and time and several people in a family. A terrible father- never named, I don’t think, is the daddy of Carol. Carol is the root of the novel– her father betting her at a poker table and losing, giving her away as a child less than 13 years old to some guy. She gives birth to Rusty, a high needs individual, and moves into an abortion clinic where she was dropped off by a Native American who found her on the side of the road when she ran away, pregnant. I could go on, but I think the discovery and connection between characters is more fun if I say less 🙂

I’m jazzed to have found an author new to me who makes reading easy and joyous, despite the seriousness of the content he addresses.