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Stardust Nation
We are stardust, Tom. Nikos Gazidis is suffering from a strange psychiatric condition: he seems to have unwittingly crashed into the consciousness of his boss. Committed to an institution for the rich and unstable, Nikos is afflicted by the disturbing memories and violent emotions of a man who suffered from an abusive father and a neglectful mother. That man, Tom, feels nothing. But when Nikos s sister begins preventing Tom from sharing his memories with his colleague, things begin to change. Adapted from the acclaimed short story by one of the UK s most gifted writers, Stardust Nation is a funny and philosophical graphic novel about memory, empathy and how we are all connected.
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2016
About the author
Deborah Levy
65 books3,875 followersDeborah Levy trained at Dartington College of Arts leaving in 1981 to write a number of plays, highly acclaimed for their "intellectual rigour, poetic fantasy and visual imagination", including PAX, HERESIES for the Royal Shakespeare Company, CLAM, CALL BLUE JANE, SHINY NYLON, HONEY BABY MIDDLE ENGLAND, PUSHING THE PRINCE INTO DENMARK and MACBETH-FALSE MEMORIES, some of which are published in LEVY: PLAYS 1 (Methuen)
Deborah wrote and published her first novel BEAUTIFUL MUTANTS (Vintage), when she was 27 years old. The experience of not having to give her words to a director, actors and designer to interpret, was so exhilarating, she wrote a few more. These include, SWALLOWING GEOGRAPHY, THE UNLOVED (Vintage) and BILLY and GIRL (Bloomsbury). She has always written across a number of art forms (see Bookworks and Collaborations with visual artists) and was Fellow in Creative Arts at Trinity College, Cambridge from 1989-1991.
Deborah wrote and published her first novel BEAUTIFUL MUTANTS (Vintage), when she was 27 years old. The experience of not having to give her words to a director, actors and designer to interpret, was so exhilarating, she wrote a few more. These include, SWALLOWING GEOGRAPHY, THE UNLOVED (Vintage) and BILLY and GIRL (Bloomsbury). She has always written across a number of art forms (see Bookworks and Collaborations with visual artists) and was Fellow in Creative Arts at Trinity College, Cambridge from 1989-1991.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 4, 2018
"We are stardust. We are golden. We are billion year old carbon. And we've got to get ourselves back to the garden"--Joni Mitchell, "Woodstock"
In keeping with Jenna's joking suggestion that I use Joni quotes or songs in as many reviews as possible, I decided to do this, but not just randomly. But Eureka, I think that Deborah Levy's title and central concept are clearly based on Joni's "Woodstock," which is both a call for unity/getting together and (imo) a melancholy acknowledgement that it won't ever really be quite possible in the way it was hippie-romanticized (though I still believe!).
Oh! The story: Sawdust Nation is a graphic novel adapted for SelfMade Hero Press by Andrezej Klimowski of a short story by the same name from Levy's Black Vodka about this hard-drinking ad exec Tom Banbury, who drinks to forget, and his colleague Nikos Gazidis. Tom says “it is our job to crash into the unconscious of the consumer and broadcast a number of messages that end with ‘buy this product.'” He's into persuasion, to get people to buy things. Nick, one day, finds he has absorbed traumatic memories from Tom’s past and is repeating them back as if they were his own.
This is interesting, right? It's a kind of metaphor for empathy, for connection, vs. the rhetorical principle of persuasion, which is to win, to conquer. The two become inextricably connected.
As Tom says, “Don’t be frightened. We are all of us breathing in atoms that were once forged in the furnace of a star. There are tiny shards of your life inside them and their life is inside you too.”
Joni's "billion-year old carbon," yep. We are all fundamentally interconnected, like it or not. Cool idea, though, right? The story as adapted leaves too much out, though, requiring you to read Levy's original story (which I did, and liked a lot) to understand some of what Levy intended in riffing off Woodstock, the celebration and song. It's not so simple, finally, to get back to the garden, for either Levy or Mitchell, but it is important to try, even if it is hard and uncomfortable.
Joni in 1970, "Woodstock":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aOGn...
In keeping with Jenna's joking suggestion that I use Joni quotes or songs in as many reviews as possible, I decided to do this, but not just randomly. But Eureka, I think that Deborah Levy's title and central concept are clearly based on Joni's "Woodstock," which is both a call for unity/getting together and (imo) a melancholy acknowledgement that it won't ever really be quite possible in the way it was hippie-romanticized (though I still believe!).
Oh! The story: Sawdust Nation is a graphic novel adapted for SelfMade Hero Press by Andrezej Klimowski of a short story by the same name from Levy's Black Vodka about this hard-drinking ad exec Tom Banbury, who drinks to forget, and his colleague Nikos Gazidis. Tom says “it is our job to crash into the unconscious of the consumer and broadcast a number of messages that end with ‘buy this product.'” He's into persuasion, to get people to buy things. Nick, one day, finds he has absorbed traumatic memories from Tom’s past and is repeating them back as if they were his own.
This is interesting, right? It's a kind of metaphor for empathy, for connection, vs. the rhetorical principle of persuasion, which is to win, to conquer. The two become inextricably connected.
As Tom says, “Don’t be frightened. We are all of us breathing in atoms that were once forged in the furnace of a star. There are tiny shards of your life inside them and their life is inside you too.”
Joni's "billion-year old carbon," yep. We are all fundamentally interconnected, like it or not. Cool idea, though, right? The story as adapted leaves too much out, though, requiring you to read Levy's original story (which I did, and liked a lot) to understand some of what Levy intended in riffing off Woodstock, the celebration and song. It's not so simple, finally, to get back to the garden, for either Levy or Mitchell, but it is important to try, even if it is hard and uncomfortable.
Joni in 1970, "Woodstock":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aOGn...
July 12, 2023
This book feels really deep and I'm sure it is but I'm not sure I understood a thing. I was convinced that Tom is the unreliable narrator here but??? Maybe I need to read the original story first.
May 17, 2023
The contrast between the super simple (beautiful) drawings and the complex story of Nikos who suffers from the trauma of his boss' childhood works really well. It all seems so simple on the surface, yet just below the clear, almost naïve, drawing style it is perhaps not all that clear. Does the main character get admitted as well as Nikos? It Nikos' sister really a devil-creature protecting him? Is it a nurse or the dutch tutor injecting him?
September 3, 2019
The plot was confined since it's adapted from a short story that must be too brief and vague because this book is as quick a read as you'll see by number of pages.
The art is intentionally messy but that doesn't make me like it any better.
It's one of those "you fill it in" endings that I HATE.
The art is intentionally messy but that doesn't make me like it any better.
It's one of those "you fill it in" endings that I HATE.
October 13, 2019
Pretty bad. Maybe I'm dumb, but I'm confused what happened in the end. Everything was so vague and messy and unexplained. Interesting concept about empathy and absorption but in my opinion it was not fleshed out well.
August 20, 2025
i don’t want to talk about it.
okay yes i do. i LOVE miss Levy, this graphic novel adaptation was just….not for me. not my taste in art style and felt like there was barely any words nevermind a bloody plot.
okay yes i do. i LOVE miss Levy, this graphic novel adaptation was just….not for me. not my taste in art style and felt like there was barely any words nevermind a bloody plot.
February 17, 2018
Some good panels, but overall: weird.
July 9, 2018
Simplistic art. Interesting concept. It would not have taken taken much to make this much better than it is.
June 27, 2020
Deceptively simple story and a clever treatment resulting in some beautiful individual panels and a thoughtful, meditative story in this format. I loved it.
January 25, 2021
I don't understand why this is even a graphic novel
March 6, 2021
Unsettling. Would be interested to read the short story it's based on to flesh it out a bit more.
October 5, 2023
Well that was weird. Buying copies to show my friends
September 24, 2024
Stardust Nation, Deborah Levy.
Freudian, memory, identity, unique graphics. ***
Freudian, memory, identity, unique graphics. ***
March 26, 2025
Other reviews say it's weird like that's a negative? That's what I enjoyed most
April 16, 2026
I love this art. The story seemed far away, but I thoroughly enjoyed this graphic novel.
March 6, 2024
How… does one review a graphic novel? This is maybe the first I’ve ever read so it feels very unfamiliar.
Adapted from a short story from the collection Black Vodka, Nikos is convinced that he has lived the life of his boss Tom. Nikos is institutionalised and keeps recounting the stories of Tom’s traumatic upbringing as his own. Tom continually visits Nikos, which does not help matters, but he will not stay away.
You know maybe I need to read the source material to get a better grasp on this. Right now though I would sum this up as “great gowns beautiful gowns”.
Adapted from a short story from the collection Black Vodka, Nikos is convinced that he has lived the life of his boss Tom. Nikos is institutionalised and keeps recounting the stories of Tom’s traumatic upbringing as his own. Tom continually visits Nikos, which does not help matters, but he will not stay away.
You know maybe I need to read the source material to get a better grasp on this. Right now though I would sum this up as “great gowns beautiful gowns”.
October 29, 2025
Really uncanny and modern. Psychologically puzzling with a mystical touch. Will revisit.
Reread:
love it more and more. 4 stars.
Reread:
love it more and more. 4 stars.
March 11, 2017
I guess 2 and a half stars. It makes sense that it's a short story adaptation cos it seems to be missing a lot. the plot seems flimsy. I liked the art a lot but the two main characters looked too alike.
October 26, 2018
This is the book that sends shivers down my spine.
The drawing style is almost psychotic, and it reflects the plot perfectly. It's not a long book, but you'll definitely feel it's magical and tragical realism.
The drawing style is almost psychotic, and it reflects the plot perfectly. It's not a long book, but you'll definitely feel it's magical and tragical realism.
September 16, 2016
Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.
This book is the first book that I’ve read by Self Made Hero, an interesting little press that sends me press releases about their books. I’m yet to see a release that I don’t want to read.
In this short graphic novel, which features a sort of sparse but intriguing minimalist look. we meet heavy-drinking advertising boss Tom Banbury, in a story with a twist that’s hard to describe but has interesting vibes.
This book is the first book that I’ve read by Self Made Hero, an interesting little press that sends me press releases about their books. I’m yet to see a release that I don’t want to read.
In this short graphic novel, which features a sort of sparse but intriguing minimalist look. we meet heavy-drinking advertising boss Tom Banbury, in a story with a twist that’s hard to describe but has interesting vibes.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews