The Stars Can Wait by Jay Basu October 6, 2006

Fifteen-year-old Gracian Sofka is a stargazer. The year is 1940 in German-occupied Poland. Gracian sneaks out after curfew to watch the constellations, but his brother, Pawel, catches him and stops his dangerous activity. Stargazing is what helps Gracian deal with the harsh realities of his life. But as Pawel tells him, "The stars can wait, boy, that's all they ever do." Pawel then gives Gracian a telescope which moves him to a whole new level of astronomy which he can do from his bedroom window. He is also able to watches Pawel's furtive movements night after night at the edge of the forest.
This is Jay Basu's first novel, and he has a fantastic way with words. I marveled at his analogies and the beauty of expressions in this book. Here's a few examples:
~~"The dreaminess had him and he imagined himself rising up into the expanse until he was nothing but another pinprick dancing above the world. Then a meteor shower on the nothern rim of the trees sent out five or six trails reaching out and dying back, as if a golden hand had risen through the distance and tried to grasp hold of the night, and Gracian was lost completely to the wonder."
~~"There were days when the boy felt the stories humming in the frozen air, spoken not through voices but through secret glances exchanged in the street, looks of fear and suspicion and distrust shot between those who had lived together for many years as neighbors. "
~~"He became nothing but the act of listening, and such was the force of this transformation that Gracian felt that the very walls and the benches and the lockers all about him listened too."
~~"If only there was a way of reconciling the two. To see truly and with both eyes together. Than what secret might be unveiled? What story might at last be told? But even in the urgent beating of his mind and of his heart, he knew this to be impossible. It was the fate of man to see with eyes unlike the stars. Eyes weighted to earth, their scope always stopping short of forever."
As beautifully as the story is told, and, in spite of Basu's lyrical use of the language, I didn't really enjoy this book, at least not the actual story. Maybe, my attention kept getting caught by the wonderful prose and I would stop and think, "Wow, that was a great analogy," or "I can't believe how well he described those feelings." The fact is, it's hard to read a story about that era without being depressed and it ends tragically anyway. And as I finished the last sentence, my thought was, "I don't get it." I guess I'm not much of a deep thinker. If I were to read the book again, it may become clearer, but I don't see me reading it again. Even so, I look forward to Basu's next book, hoping it will strike a different chord in me.
Rating: 3.5

2 Comments:
booklogged said...
First off, I'm surprised: This is not The Sea by some B author! What made you change your mind?Until your last paragraph I was so thinking I wanted to read this book. It was sad that the storyline wasn't any better. Oh well, I guess I don't need to add yet another book to the growing TBR list. Seems like I add 3 and take away one.
Framed said...
This is the book I actually picked. The Sea is by John Banville and I also own it. I wish I had read it instead, but I will get to it eventually. Jenclair has an interesting review of it. (I think it's Jenclair)