The Stars Can Wait: A Novel

by Jay Basu

In this powerful debut set in 1940s German-occupied Poland, a young Catholic boy unearths the secrets of his brother's mysterious life.

Fifteen-year-old Gracian Sofka is a stargazer. Every night for the past year he has broken curfew to view the constellations from a clearing in the forest-that is, until his older brother, Pawel, discovers his secret pastime. And now that the German troops have stepped up patrols of the area, the gruff, mysterious Pawel forbids his brother to continue his risky activity.

Life in the previously quiet village of Malenkowice grows increasingly precarious. Men are accosted on the street by German soldiers, Gracian's widowed mother risks imprisonment to smuggle food, and Gracian's co-workers at the coal mines grow restless. As tension builds in the town, it also grows within Gracian's own household. After a run-in with his sister's husband, Pawel is forced to leave the house, becoming even more distant and elusive in Gracian's eyes.

Then one day Pawel presents Gracian with a telescope, allowing the boy to slowly discover the truth about his brother's shadowy past. But while he succeeds in unlocking Pawel's secrets, Gracian is blind to the inevitable tragedy hurtling toward them all-and to his unwitting role as its catalyst.

Haunting and lyrical, The Stars Can Wait possesses the intense, concentrated power of a fable and introduces a stunning new voice to American readers.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Young Adult

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Roadtotherisingsun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very nice. Good story.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fifteen year old Gracian is in love with the stars. He sneaks out of the house at night whenever he can to gaze at the sky. Being in Germany-occupied Poland during World War II, this is pretty dangerous. His brother Pawel forbids him from going out again, so instead Gracian focuses his attention on his brother, who has a mysterious past. While the family struggles to survive during war time, Gracian wants to understand who his brother really is.

Where this short book lacks in plot, it makes up for in writing style. There's not a whole heck of a lot happening in this book, the first half of the book is spent describing the family dynamics and how life is for them in WWII Poland. The second half of the book is about Pawel. But really, most of the book should have been about Pawel since it's the story of how Gracian learns about his brother.

The writing style is very fluid and quite graceful. It's unfortunate that it couldn't be married with a good story line.

[Maggie Nowakowska · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for stories of Poland in WW2....

[Kelly Dziczek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, quick read about a young boy in Germany occupied Poland. Not a ton of historical details. Was a little slow moving in the beginning, but overall a good story.

[East Chapel Hill High School Library]

This daunting debut set in 1940 German occupied Poland (Upper Silesia) in a mining village during WWII, is woven around two brothers and their family. Fifteen year old Gracian is the main character with a passion for astronomy. Pawel is senior by twelve years and is a shady character. This family faces typical war time problems; tension, scarcity of food and jobs and family unrest. Gracian grew up having a good relationship with his brother but not aware of his mysterious character. Pawel presented Gracian a telescope which led to uncover Pawel's shadowy past and a tragic ending to all of his family.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Die Geschichte hat mich durch die schöne Sprache und den fein gezeichneten Beziehungen der Figuren unter einander in den Bann gezogen. Ich habe das Buch kaum aus der Hand legen wollen. Die Auflösung zum Ende mit dem Begraben des Teleskops fand ich dennoch etwas enttäuschend, aber nach etwas Nachdenken kann ich mir vorstellen, dass die Einstellung von mir (das Sternegucken und dafür symbolisch das Teleskop in Erinnerung halten und durch die damit verbundene Leidenschaft die Erinnerung an seinen Bruder wahren) eine heutige Sicht ist. Vielleicht war das früher anders.

[Cheryl Moritz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't dislike this book, but I wanted more somehow. I'm not entirely sure what I wanted or needed from it, but I didn't get whatever that was. It was good, but just somehow left me feeling slightly unfulfilled.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Gracian's coming of age story as he navigates family secrets, working in a coal mine, and the dangers of being noticed by the German guards at the onset of WWII.

[Gabriella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of those books that I was supposed to read in 10th grade English and didn't, so I figured that it's time now. I absolutely loved reading it. The story is one that has stayed with me for over a month since I finished it. I'm also impartial, because I love astronomy and really felt a connection to the author's descriptions of the main characters love of the sky.

I've read a lot of War books, and this is really atypical because the War is just giving the book a setting, but the story is more about the family it surrounds.

Maybe it's good I didn't read it back then, because I'm sure I enjoyed it a lot more now than I would have 7 years ago!

[Kylie Hood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haunting. The writing was gripping and eloquently done. Almost like "shadow of the wind" with the writing style and yet it was slightly lacking in plot. However, for a first novel it gripped me and the writing was so strong I could overlook the gaps in plot development. Nice last read for the year. Sad because you see the dreams that rise above us slowly wither and die as we face a cold reality of the world we live in. We cannot live forever as star gazers...sometimes we must fix our gaze on the next hurdle...the next mountain to climb.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This sad tale is very moving though the ending leaves the reader with a feeling that hope is just out of reach.

[Mine]

i want to read this book. just to understand what is the article beyond.

[Kimberly Sioco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is by far, the saddest, and the most hopeless tragedy for contemporary literature that I've read.

[Mikko Peralta · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sad. Tragic. Boring.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a sad story. I couldn't put the book down. I felt that I needed to know what happened next. Very sad ending.

[Jasmine Rockwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't remember much about the book. In fact, I had to have help figuring out what the title was because I couldn't remember! So it must not have made that much of an impact on me.