Customer Reviews

The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

"Beautiful" is a pretty good description of this book. It's part of the "Fairy Tales" series, all of which I love. The main character is a painter, but his creational experience (with a "big canvas") applies to any sort of artist (the creative types). The writing style rings as true, every single page. The minor characters are intriguing and fleshed out enough to be human; I found a couple of them humorous. It gives a very good insight into the craft of a painter (speaking as a musician) as well as the mind of a creator; the juxtaposition of the modern story, the fairy tale, and the incidents in the past of the narrator is fascinating.

When I say I'm not sure I got it all, I wasn't kidding. While it resonated on all those levels, I don't think I fully understood the relationship of the Hungarian fairy tale to the painter's story; I'm not sure I caught all the symbolism within the painting, either. I'll just have to go reread it . . . darn!

Steven Brust once again refuses to be pigeonholed. The author of the Taltos series heads in a completely new direction in this book. He spins a double storyline of a Hungarian folktale which symbolically connects to the painting the main characters is creating, as well as the story of the group of artist as they struggle to be discovered.

Brust touches on the dynamics of friendships in crisis, lives at a point of decision and the creative process itself in this brilliant story.

This will strike a chord in any writer or artist.

Buy it. Now.

First off: If you have little or no interest in art, this book might not be for you. Second, if you're looking for another book lik "Jhereg" or "The Phoenix Guards" this is not it. There is a Hungarian faerie tale(which I understand from the text is liberally adapted by the narrator) dispersed between the chapters, but chances are it will not fulfill your fantasy needs. That said, let's see what we have:

The story is centered around Greg, a young painter who shares a studio with four fellow artists. They're almost broke, and they're reaching a point where their artistic ambitions must come to fruitition or be set aside for mundane pursuits.

The fact that all their efforts might have been for nothing creates tension within the group, and the fact that Greg is a rather arrogant does not help. He's intelligent and he knows it, but he has trouble seeing things from more than one side, and this makes him rather insensitive. He takes art seriously to the point of pretentiousness, but he is not the most talented artist in the group. He is, all in all, human. The other characters are of course less thoroughly described, but I did not find them boring or one-dimensional.

There are several sections where Greg is allowed to think aloud, expressing his thoughts about life, art and hungarian faerie tales. When you flip the last page, you have really gotten to know Greg.

I consider this one of the strong points of the book. Even with his biased opinions and ill-considered remarks, Greg is a likable character. He lives off his girlfriend and feels rather guilty about this, but he can't let go of his artistic ambitions. Like a man who gambles with household money, he must either take the loss and admit failure, or go on, raise the stakes and hope for his luck to improve. The same goes for the rest of the group; they must take their shot at the stars or take a nine to five job.

To sum it up, I loved this book. It made me wish I had taken more art classes, it made me want to tell stories of my own. It made me want to recommend it to everyone, but I realize(particularly after reading some of the other reviews) that it's not everyone's cup of tea. Fortunately.

This book is as finely structured as a fugue, as passion-inducing as wine, as stunning as the night sky over the ocean. Am I exaggerating? Perhaps a little, but this Steven Brust fan was floored to find that he could produce a novel that was impossible to put down-- in which almost nothing "exciting" occurs. Having read and re-read the Vlad Taltos series, I picked this volume up when it was reissued in '96 or '97 with, I must admit, only slight curiosity for the contents; I was more interested in having a complete collection of Brust's work and decided to read it "whenever". While unexpectedly stuck at my parents' house for a couple of long summer days, I dragged it out of the bottom of my backpack and idly began to flip through it... The book did not leave my side for the duration of my stay. It is not a long book, but I went over certain passages dozens of times. I was surprised to find no similarity whatever with any other of the author's works. I'd known him to be an excellent wordsmith, but this is WRITING, kids, with each word lovingly chosen and each sentence perfectly balanced. The harmony he crafts between the story of the artists and the Hungarian legend of Csuzckari the Gypsy transcends the limitations one normally encounters in meldings of fiction and folklore. In short, this is Brust giving us a glimpse into the universal soul of creativity, and anyone who has ever attempted to paint, sing, sculpt, write, brew, or cook will benefit from reading this. It is a truly worthy book.

Returning once again to Steven Brust, I am now choosing to review not one of his Vlad Toltos or Dragaera books going on to a much deeper book by this very creative writer. There are two editions of this book that I know of. The current Orb edition and a much older Ace edition.

Quoting from the back's of the books:



Once Upon A Time

there was a kingdom, that
lived in darkness, for the Sun, the
Moon, and the Stars were hidden in a box ...
which was hidden in a sow's belly ...
which was hidden I a troll's cave ...
which was surely hidden at the end of the world.
And ...

Once Upon A Time

there was a struggling young painter
who also lived in darkness, and - like
the hero of that Hungarian folktale - was
beginning his most perilous quest.
shooting for the Moon. And the Sun.
And the Stars ...

Once Upon A Time

there was a studio of artists who feared
they were doomed to obscurity, for though
they worked and they worked,
no one was interested in the paintings
that stood in racks along their studio walls.

The Sun, the Moon
& The Stars

is a tale of two quests, of two young men
who are reaching for the moon. And the sun.
And the stars.



This is a story that I read every few years. Each time I read it I get more from it. The story is of a artist telling his friends a fairy tale he was told in his youth. In telling them the story he is living a fairy tale in that he is attacking the biggest canvas he has ever painted. One he bought after selling a painting that has sat blank for a long time. Now before giving up on being artists living in community he tries to tackle that canvas.

As both a write and a painter this story draws me in. Each time I read it, I hope to become better at both my crafts. This story is a modern day fairy tale told with compassion, conviction and daring. It dares us to learn to dream again, to hope to wish, and maybe if we are lucky the magic of the story will rub off on us.

All books are unique, but this one is a little more unique than most. It's one of my favorites, but what it is -- and what it isn't -- takes a little explaining.

It's written by an author best known for his swashbuckling fantasy stories, but this book bears little resemblance to Brust's other fictions. There is a hint of Vlad's cockiness and introspection, a bit of the philosophical debate found in Freedom and Necessity. But it is not speculative fiction of any sort -- science fiction, high fantasy, urban fantasy, historical fantasy, etc. If that's what you're looking for, look elsewhere.

It was first published in a series of modern retellings of classic fairy tales, but the fairy tale element is minimal here, so again, if that's what you're looking for, you'll be disappointed.

On the surface this is a story about painters and the visual arts, young artists struggling to make a living post-college, but that, too, is deceptive. Some knowledge of and interest in painting will certainly add to your enjoyment of this book -- particularly some of the clever section headings, which are titles of well-known paintings. On the other hand, the book does not require such knowledge, which may make the very broad level of treatment given to art history and visual theory frustrating for people who come to the novel expecting these to be the focus.

What the book is, as the main character Greg says explicitly, is an attempt to understand something of the process of artistic creation. And while it's ostensibly about painting, the book is written by a writer, so it's no great leap to understand much of the content as about writing. It's a metafiction, a writing about writing. But because the story is about a somewhat similar artistic pursuit, painting, it's an easier to understand metafiction than, say, Borges or the like. When we see how Greg's painting develops -- from his moods, from past works and influences, from the story he tells, from his surroundings and situation -- it's easy to understand how these things may be true for any artistic pursuit.

Two more things need to be said. First, in addition to the above, the story itself is quite entertaining. There are a number of fully realized characters that have different, often conflicting, opinions, and the way the story plays out has a level of drama that is not at all in keeping with the dry and intellectual tone one might expect when words like "metafiction" are tossed around. Yes, some of the characters aren't perfect, but we're talking about artists here: people with both the arrogance to believe their work is good enough to be thrust on society, and yet the sensitivity to need support and acclaim for their work. They are not perfect, yet they are thoroughly real.

Second, this book can be quite inspirational. The central story revolves around Greg's attempt to paint on the biggest canvas he yet has attempted: to conquer what he thinks of as The Monster. While on a literal level this book is about painting and as mentioned can more properly be understood to be about writing, really as a reader it has applicability to any large creative project we may choose to undertake. It's a book that can be appreciated on many levels: intellectually for the metafiction, inter-relationships and references; as entertainment for the drama; and as inspiration for the inner artist in us all. For all these reasons it's among my most beloved and most often re-read books.

Although it has been a year since I've read this book I felt I needed to add my review to dispell some of the negative remarks from some of the other reviewers. Those that did not rate this book highly must not have "got" the book at all. There were times when I first started reading this book that I thought "what in the world is he talking about" but as the book progressed it all made since and the folk-lore tied in nicely to the story of the artist.
Not an artist myself but a friend of several, I can clearly see what Brust is doing. It's a great story of a man and his struggle with life and his own art (artists are so tuff on themselves). And yes, the main character is very self centered (and a bit self rightous but aren't we all!). Despite that this is a great read, although I would suggest "To Reign in Hell" and "Freedom and Necessity" because I beleive they are better written books, I loved them both. "Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille" may not be better written but is a very humorous book if you would like a light read.
Everything considered, I would highly suggest this book. It is well worth the short amount of time it takes to read.

Yes. Categorically, yes. Steven Brust has one great gift and that is his ability to tell a tale in such a way that it almost feels like he is in fact, right there telling it to you. This comes through very well in his Taltos series, but it reaches a pinnacle in The sun, the Moon and the Stars. I read another review that talked about the artistic process and how Brust might not get it...well, I say poppycock. He does get it. He also explains it like I might explain it to you over a cup of coffee. There is no high blown rhetoric or agonizing pathos, yet you know it's there. You feel it behind the quiet words and simple explanations. You get it in the little examples he provides. My favorite is his analogy of the use of light in comparison to getting off a good front kick. That passage resonates with reality and simple humanity and the folksy way of relaying things that is the hallmark and strength of Brust. Bar none, this is my favorite work by my favorite author, eclipsing Vlad, Khaavren and even to Reign in Hell as the book I go back to at least once a year. Sit down, grab a mug of coffee and let him tell you a tale.

As his characters paint their respective canvases, and the three gypsy brothers strive to put the sun, the moon and the stars in the sky, woven together with art philosophy, the joy of creating, and the history of the characters, Steven Brust works his magic by painting with words. The voice remains consistent throughout the piece, the mixing of different story telling genres works well, and most of all Steven Brust allows you to care about his subjects

Brust works art into a tale told about people, their emotions and their lives. While it can be easy to get caught up in the descriptions of art and the metaphors behind it, the real story here is one of people -- their progression, their advancement and their eventual change. A departure from Brust's "Vlad Taltos" series, "The Sun, The Moon and The Stars" was Brust's first book and reflects some of the deeper material he would later delve into with "To Reign In Hell" and "Cowboy Feng's" ... Overall, not his best work but a damn good read and worth picking up..