Starlight
Book - 2018
The final novel from Richard Wagamese, the beloved author of Indian Horse and Medicine Walk, centres on an abused woman on the run who finds refuge and then redemption on a farm run by an Indigenous man with wounds of his own. A radiant novel about the redemptive power of love, mercy, and compassion--and the land's ability to heal us. Franklin Starlight had long settled into a quiet and predictable life working his remote farm. But his contemplative existence is turned upside down by the sudden arrival of Emmy, a woman who has committed a desperate act so she and her child can escape a harrowing life of violence. After Emmy has a run-in with the law, Starlight agrees to take in her and her daughter to help them get back on their feet. Over time, he introduces them to the land and patiently teaches them the skills that have allowed him not only to survive but to find communion with the world, and, gradually, this accidental family changes Starlight and Emmy in ways they never imagined. But Emmy's abusive ex isn't content to just let her go. He wants revenge and is hunting her down. Starlight was unfinished at the time of Richard Wagamese's death, yet every page radiates with his masterful storytelling, intense humanism, and insights that are as hard-earned as they are beautiful. With astonishing scenes set in the rugged backcountry of the B.C. Interior, and characters whose scars cut deep even as their journey toward healing and forgiveness lifts us, Starlight is a last gift to readers from a writer who believed in the power of stories to save us.
Publisher:
Toronto : McClelland & Stewart, [2018]
ISBN:
9780771070846
Branch Call Number:
WAG
Characteristics:
239 pages ; 22 cm


Comment
Add a CommentBook Club June, 2020. I really enjoyed this book!
A nearly complete but unfinished novel. Wagamese did not have a chance to edit or adjust his book which is a little awkward in places but nevertheless contains good messages about the redemptive power of nature.
Sadly Richard Wagamese passed away before he finished this novel. That said, it is still a most satisfying read and I highly recommend it.
“Starlight is a last gift to readers from a writer who believed in the power of stories to save us."-- Provided by publisher.
What a gift this last book was. I was unsure about starting a book that I knew wasn't entirely finished but Wagamese's earlier titles had been such food for the soul and he said this was his best book yet. I had to read it! And yes, even without a fully fleshed out ending (there are some explanations and the closing from an earlier novella that was the seed for the book) it was still very much food for this soul.
Few writer's have Richard's gift for transporting readers to another place and time in such a deep way but with this book he did it again. As I savoured the pages I felt like I was living in another place and time, becoming one with the land.
I really felt Richard's presence on the paper. Having heard him speak I knew he was grounded and one with the land but in this book he goes even deeper. I felt like I was part of that too.
Yes, at the very end it is unfinished but that may be just what this book needed in these difficult times; for us to do the work of figuring out how to find that place where love conquers evil.