Customer Reviews

The Stars At Noon

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

 

 

This is easily some of Johnson's best work. Granted, it's short, and there may not be enough space to develop such an ambitious story in such a setting, but I think he selects all the right details. One sentence is enough to bring some strange corner of a horrifyingly corrupt city into focus(...).

It's not up to the mythic level of Jesus' Son, true, but it's a different kind of book. It's less personal, and gives a better sense of society in general, a convincing world. I recommend it very highly.

Stars at Noon presents the story of a female journalist caught in a murky labyrinth of a world in Nicaragua of the 1980's. She attempts to escape and in the process, becomes mixed up with "the Englishman" and other shadowy characters.

The mood is dark and the action somewhat confusing and hard to follow. The atmosphere is steamy and jungle-like, reminiscent of Conrad's classic story, "The Heart of Darkness."

Although there is no clear ending or moral to the book, I found the protagonist sympathetic and the language of the book poetic and evocative. The book, in spite of its murky and confusing qualities, was very entertaining and a good read.

This book moved quickly and was a good "setting" novel. In other words, it really
gave the reader a good sense of place, an unusual place at an unusual time. The
story line confused me a couple times but I enjoyed it anyway.

Wow, where to start? The story is a disjointed mess, seemingly without purpose. The story starts with an introduction to an American woman in Nicaragua who has to sleep with a plethora of government officials in order to keep her press pass and make money in order to live. But the big question of the book is, is our heroine indeed a journalist or part of an orginazation called Eyes for Peace? That question is never answered. She then gets herself in a big mess with an English business man she meets and then sleeps with for $50. They end up on the run from the Costa Rican OIJ(police), with disastrous results.

While there were some moments of poetic writing and insight on the whole the characters lacked motivation for just about everything they were doing. If you're new to Denis Johnson start with Jesus's Son. If I had read this book first I would never have gone on to read anything else of his.