Customer Reviews

Starlight

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Scott Ely's book "Starlight" is a wonderfully imagined novel of Vietnam. There have ben so many good novels of this almost forgotten war but I feel this book will last. It has great characters, great action, and humor that makes it a cut above many of the war novel genre. It is a short novel but what a wonderful novel. I've read my hardcover at least three times and keep going back to it to re-read passages that have the ring of authenticity and poetry. It is a classic and deserves to be read more. Highly recommended.

Okay, I picked up Starlight because it was written by my Fiction Writing professor and I wanted to read something he had written, but had only read a short story that I didn't care much for. I started reading it Friday morning before class and finished it during supper. While it's not a novel that I'm likely to read again (at least any time soon) it was captivating and I simply needed to find out what happened.
The characters are definitely unlike most I've encountered in my readings, particularly the pair of soldiers who were constantly hyped up on speed, the one of which never speaks except to play Hendrix songs on his M-16.
I liked the novel and plan on getting my very own copy over the summer and would recommend it to others. However, there are, admittedly, a few scenes that might be too graphic for the faint of heart or stomach. :)