theliteratureladies's review against another edition
3.0
I have had Lorna Landvik’s novel Oh My Stars on my “to-read” list for years, and I only just got around to reading it. It was not what I expected at all, but I determined this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. (Some spoilers forthcoming).
Oh My Stars is the story of Violet Mathers’ life, growing up in the Great Depression. Her tragic childhood – abandoned by her mother, raised by an abusive father, bullied by schoolmates, and left maimed by a horrific factory accident – leads her to take decisive action. She boards a bus heading West with intentions to end her life upon reaching San Francisco. But her plans quickly go awry when her bus crashes in North Dakota, and she encounters Austin Sykes and Kjel Hedstrom (pronounced “Shell.” Thank you, Audiobook, for clearing that up for me). Upon meeting these two unique men – musicians – the course of her life is altered forever.
This book felt lengthy. It covers decades of life, spans the American country, and introduces numerous supporting characters (and provides thorough backstory for them). The summary seemed to only cover the first 10% of the book. Everything that happened afterwards was often unexpected and kept me guessing as to where this novel was going and how it would conclude. I definitely did not predict a number of things that occurred and, as a whole, remained invested despite the long feel of the novel.
I appreciated Landvik’s writing style and the way she captured American culture in the 30s and 40s, especially as to racism. Music plays a very large part in Oh My Stars, and I thought Landvik also nailed that on the proverbial head. She expressed the way music can move a person, unite people together, and change individuals. I always applaud authors who can make the arts truly come alive in books and make the reader understand how the arts touch you, whether that be music, painting, dancing, or something else.
This book is primarily about Violet, but the supporting characters play a huge role. Austin, Kjel, the Hedstroms, Dallas, and others all get well fleshed out by Landvik and have a huge impact on the novel and Violet’s character. Some chapters are told from Violet’s point-of-view in 1st person (“I” narration), while others are told in third person (sometimes as Violet and other times by the other characters).
I had mixed feelings about a lot of the characters. Violet was an often depressing sort of character for the majority of the novel (which is understandable due to her life, but I just felt sad a lot of the time). I didn’t like Austin for a long time, but he, like many of the characters, underwent a huge amount of growth. I appreciated his character a lot by the end. Kjel and the Hedstroms were delightful, as were a number of other supporting characters.
I would not say Oh My Stars is a light read. Landvik addresses bigotry, death, abuse, broken relationships, interracial relationships, and more while taking the reader through the Great Depression and into the second World War. It’s absolutely a story of love, hope, fighting for one’s dreams, and finding who you are.
As a whole, I liked but did not love the book. I thought it had a lot of things going for it, and I did want to finish it, but I wasn’t obsessed with it. It was long, there was a smattering of bad language here and there, and it was often quite sad. But I think it is worth a read for sure!
www.theliteratureladies.com
Oh My Stars is the story of Violet Mathers’ life, growing up in the Great Depression. Her tragic childhood – abandoned by her mother, raised by an abusive father, bullied by schoolmates, and left maimed by a horrific factory accident – leads her to take decisive action. She boards a bus heading West with intentions to end her life upon reaching San Francisco. But her plans quickly go awry when her bus crashes in North Dakota, and she encounters Austin Sykes and Kjel Hedstrom (pronounced “Shell.” Thank you, Audiobook, for clearing that up for me). Upon meeting these two unique men – musicians – the course of her life is altered forever.
This book felt lengthy. It covers decades of life, spans the American country, and introduces numerous supporting characters (and provides thorough backstory for them). The summary seemed to only cover the first 10% of the book. Everything that happened afterwards was often unexpected and kept me guessing as to where this novel was going and how it would conclude. I definitely did not predict a number of things that occurred and, as a whole, remained invested despite the long feel of the novel.
I appreciated Landvik’s writing style and the way she captured American culture in the 30s and 40s, especially as to racism. Music plays a very large part in Oh My Stars, and I thought Landvik also nailed that on the proverbial head. She expressed the way music can move a person, unite people together, and change individuals. I always applaud authors who can make the arts truly come alive in books and make the reader understand how the arts touch you, whether that be music, painting, dancing, or something else.
This book is primarily about Violet, but the supporting characters play a huge role. Austin, Kjel, the Hedstroms, Dallas, and others all get well fleshed out by Landvik and have a huge impact on the novel and Violet’s character. Some chapters are told from Violet’s point-of-view in 1st person (“I” narration), while others are told in third person (sometimes as Violet and other times by the other characters).
I had mixed feelings about a lot of the characters. Violet was an often depressing sort of character for the majority of the novel (which is understandable due to her life, but I just felt sad a lot of the time). I didn’t like Austin for a long time, but he, like many of the characters, underwent a huge amount of growth. I appreciated his character a lot by the end. Kjel and the Hedstroms were delightful, as were a number of other supporting characters.
I would not say Oh My Stars is a light read. Landvik addresses bigotry, death, abuse, broken relationships, interracial relationships, and more while taking the reader through the Great Depression and into the second World War. It’s absolutely a story of love, hope, fighting for one’s dreams, and finding who you are.
As a whole, I liked but did not love the book. I thought it had a lot of things going for it, and I did want to finish it, but I wasn’t obsessed with it. It was long, there was a smattering of bad language here and there, and it was often quite sad. But I think it is worth a read for sure!
www.theliteratureladies.com
tbsims's review against another edition
2.0
I would have given the first 2/3 a 3 star - it was fun and interesting. But at the end, everyone needed to be paired up with another, and the burning bright star in the middle had to die, and the lead needed to be an extremely successful fashion designer and her daughter was up for governor of NY.
In romances it is similar. I'm just happy if I can have a positive impact on each day. But I don't need to be the most successful, richest, smartest, person on the planet. And most of us won't be.
In romances it is similar. I'm just happy if I can have a positive impact on each day. But I don't need to be the most successful, richest, smartest, person on the planet. And most of us won't be.
photopoppy's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't expect to enjoy this book at all, but it has a subtle charm. Violet is an intriguing character, and I really felt for her situation most of the way through. She had very little hopes for her life, and what she did have, she lost, but managed to pick up and find her path through anyway. I felt the end was a little unrealistic, but don't mind it so much.
aschoonover's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
gr8reader's review against another edition
4.0
A good pick for after reading several WWII books consecutively. Although this story had it share of sadness, there were plenty of laughing or at least chuckling outlaid moments in it. Well written, vivd descriptions of scenes (but not overboard)
missy_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
jengiuffre's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this was going to be a completely different style of book and wasn't all that interested at first. What a nice surprise. Read the other good reviews- all of them say it so well, I don't think I need to repeat.
sbunyan's review against another edition
4.0
This might be my favorite Landvik book so far. As usual, she delves into the lives of eccentric people and makes you feel you actually know them. I loved this story of Violet, the one armed, strong chin woman. You meet her in a diner where she tells you the story of her life. She tells you about the sad times and the glad times. I was captivated. It was sad and happy. But, overall, uplifting.