Starry Night

The Troubles #1

by Catherine Sefton

Winner of the Other Award. This is the first of three novels concerning the effects of living in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Kathleen discovers that she is not her mother's child, but her sister Rose's and that Rose is pregnant again. Nothing is as clear as she once thought.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

A pen name for Martin Waddell

Reviews

[Levi ∆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was quite short, so I didn't expect it to be as real and comprehensive as it was in the way it approached the issues that it did. It was raw and emotional, and the perspective made it heartbreaking. I was very pleasantly surprised.

[Sula · Rating 4 out of 5]

For such a short and light book I was pleasantly surprised by how well various issues were presented and the varying relationships between the characters.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

For such a short book, Starry Night gets a lot done. There's depth to be found here. The problem is accessibility. I don't know much about the Troubles; I've got some vague memories from geography class when I was 12, and all my other knowledge comes from watching Derry Girls. Hardly comprehensive. As a result I'm left in the dark on a lot of things. Even with the glossary in this edition, I don't completely understand all the issues discussed, so a lot of the nuance is lost on me. A good read overall, but probably more enjoyable when you actually know something about the Troubles.

[TMM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emotional and surprising.

[Dr. Been · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book I ever read!