What do you think?
Rate this book
Star-Shot
Part fable, part mystery, Star-Shot is a stylish debut novel set in and around National Museum Cardiff in a time that is almost, but not quite, our own. As their paths cross in a circumscribed world of benches, parks and galleries, a handful of characters reveal their stories of obsession, loss and recovery, creating a fragile network of relationships which will help to resist the inexorable channels of silence eating into the city. Beautifully illustrated with woodcut-style motifs by Clive Hicks-Jenkins, this is a subtle urban novel with a supernatural twist.
- GenresMystery
216 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 15, 2015
2 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Mary-Ann Constantine
19 books4 followersMary-Ann Constantine studies Romantic period literature, with an emphasis on Wales and Brittany, at Aberystwyth University and has published widely in these fields since 1996.
Her short stories have appeared over a number of years in the New Welsh Review and Planet and her first collection, The Breathing, was published by Planet in 2008. Her second collection, All the Souls was published by Seren in spring 2013.
Star-Shot is her debut novel.
Her short stories have appeared over a number of years in the New Welsh Review and Planet and her first collection, The Breathing, was published by Planet in 2008. Her second collection, All the Souls was published by Seren in spring 2013.
Star-Shot is her debut novel.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 19, 2017
Star-shot is… weird. Fascinating, though. The first section, for example, features a woman in love with a building. And right across Cardiff, in the places I know so well, a strange silence is descending — you can lean into it, and the world goes silent and cold; lean back out, and you’re back to reality.
The novel follows various characters whose lives intertwine, as they eventually come together to solve the problem as best they can, and help each other along the way. Connection and communication is a big theme, obviously.
It’s hard to describe exactly what goes on; each storyline blurs into the next, and you can’t always tell which character a section is following at first. That’s very intentional, though; same as the way the speech blurs into the narration, because there’s no speech marks. (Worry not, though, there’s other punctuation.)
There’s some really gorgeous bits here, crisp writing, etc. Not quite my thing, in the end, but still a worthwhile read.
Reviewed for The Bibliophibian.
The novel follows various characters whose lives intertwine, as they eventually come together to solve the problem as best they can, and help each other along the way. Connection and communication is a big theme, obviously.
It’s hard to describe exactly what goes on; each storyline blurs into the next, and you can’t always tell which character a section is following at first. That’s very intentional, though; same as the way the speech blurs into the narration, because there’s no speech marks. (Worry not, though, there’s other punctuation.)
There’s some really gorgeous bits here, crisp writing, etc. Not quite my thing, in the end, but still a worthwhile read.
Reviewed for The Bibliophibian.
July 19, 2017
I need to leave this a couple of days before I review.
November 25, 2016
Its more like a 3.5 really. There are a lot of interesting themes in this book, themes of dislocation and isolation in modern life, and the relationships between people which really ring true. While the use of multiple narratives is a little disconcerting in the beginning, (particularly as few of them are given names until we get to know them a little better - quite appropriate when you think about it) the way the characters stories intersect, becoming closer and closer intertwined as the book progresses is deeply satisfying in the end. Each of the characters are dealing with very real life issues - illness, loss, difficult colleagues, homelessness, displacement which helps them to take shape as authentic individuals in an extraordinary yet ordinary situation.
I'll admit to being a little irritated that it doesn't tie up neatly with a full explanation at the end, but when does life ever do that? It kind of leaves you hanging, but hopeful.
I'll admit to being a little irritated that it doesn't tie up neatly with a full explanation at the end, but when does life ever do that? It kind of leaves you hanging, but hopeful.
January 7, 2017
This was my FIRST BOOK OF 2017. I received it as part of the Ninja Book Share last fall. I saved it to read now.
This book is written by a Welsh author and is set in Cardiff. It had been seen as part mystery and part fable about a group of people who rally arounhd each other for comfort and understanding, each in a different place than the others. We have a scientist, a widower, a caregiver, a child, a mother, an immigre with no papers, a former model, and others who are profoundly affected by "the silence" that threatens them all... or do they threaten it?
With woodcut illustrations that will haunt you with their beauty, this is a book that isn't easy to wrap one's head around. I set it aside twice. However, it was really worth taking the time to accept where it was, and it will stay with me a long while
This book is written by a Welsh author and is set in Cardiff. It had been seen as part mystery and part fable about a group of people who rally arounhd each other for comfort and understanding, each in a different place than the others. We have a scientist, a widower, a caregiver, a child, a mother, an immigre with no papers, a former model, and others who are profoundly affected by "the silence" that threatens them all... or do they threaten it?
With woodcut illustrations that will haunt you with their beauty, this is a book that isn't easy to wrap one's head around. I set it aside twice. However, it was really worth taking the time to accept where it was, and it will stay with me a long while
July 3, 2017
This book contains many elements that I really enjoy including professors, dancers, park benches, descriptions of nature, descriptions of art and drawings, beautiful museums, hospitals, parents, toddlers, and vulnerable populations. While I enjoy all of these subjects there was something that held me back from loving this book.
For the first 40 pages I was really confused, but thankfully things became clearer after that point. The book is written in multiple perspectives--there's the red-headed woman, Lina, Luke, Dan, the professor, and Theo --and each short chapter switches between these 6 characters. I think that's the main reason why the first 40 pages are difficult because the author dives right into the story without a lot of explication for the reader.
I couldn't understand the reason why, but I didn't really care about the characters. Especially the red-headed character who is suffering from some mental illness, I kept thinking, "I should really empathize with this woman because I can relate to her struggles. So why do I feel disconnected from her?"
Overall, this book didn't pull me in, it didn't have any magnetism for me. But perhaps it does have magnetism for a reader other than me.
For the first 40 pages I was really confused, but thankfully things became clearer after that point. The book is written in multiple perspectives--there's the red-headed woman, Lina, Luke, Dan, the professor, and Theo --and each short chapter switches between these 6 characters. I think that's the main reason why the first 40 pages are difficult because the author dives right into the story without a lot of explication for the reader.
I couldn't understand the reason why, but I didn't really care about the characters. Especially the red-headed character who is suffering from some mental illness, I kept thinking, "I should really empathize with this woman because I can relate to her struggles. So why do I feel disconnected from her?"
Overall, this book didn't pull me in, it didn't have any magnetism for me. But perhaps it does have magnetism for a reader other than me.
October 30, 2020
Imaginative, interesting, enigmatic - a curious fable about a group of disparate characters drawn together by the sinister emergence of pockets of silence in the city in which they live. I found the multiple narrative voices confusing initially until I'd identified which character was which. Perhaps it requires a few reads to make it more comprehensible.
April 12, 2016
‘Star-Shot’ is the debut novel by Mary-Ann Constantine. Published by Seren Books in 2015, it is a gloriously mysterious and magical exploration through Cardiff.
The novel follows the inter-twined lives of Myra, Theo, Luke, Dan and Teddy (along with a variety of other characters). It isn’t always obvious who is speaking, because the voices aren’t very distinct, but I didn’t find that a problem. Because of the way the novel is constructed (instead of chapters there are simple numbered sections) it feels like this flow is entirely purposeful. In some ways it was almost a game to figure out who was speaking in each section. It was also very interesting that there weren’t any quotation marks, which also furthers my thought that this vagueness is entirely purposeful. This is not to say that the characters don’t have personality – they have entirely individual wants, beliefs, and backgrounds. It is the writing style that complicates them in very interesting ways.
Magic intertwines with the mundane in ‘Star-Shot’. I’ll admit, I haven’t actually read all that much magical realism. However, I was swept away by the simple acceptance of the sentience of buildings, an undefinable wave of silence that sweeps over the city, and how this has entirely physical and medical implications for various inhabitants of the city. In short…it was just charming. There wasn’t much explanation or concrete world-building, but once again, I didn’t mind this. It fit entirely with the fog and silence that infused the novel: too many explanations and details would have ruined its delightful ambiguity. I will definitely be foraying more into magical realism after this taster, I think.
I would love to read more from Mary-Ann Constantine, and indeed from Seren Books! Everything about this novel was beautifully structured and written. Cardiff is transformed into a place of sheer mystery, and, perhaps, the ultimate site of hope.
The novel follows the inter-twined lives of Myra, Theo, Luke, Dan and Teddy (along with a variety of other characters). It isn’t always obvious who is speaking, because the voices aren’t very distinct, but I didn’t find that a problem. Because of the way the novel is constructed (instead of chapters there are simple numbered sections) it feels like this flow is entirely purposeful. In some ways it was almost a game to figure out who was speaking in each section. It was also very interesting that there weren’t any quotation marks, which also furthers my thought that this vagueness is entirely purposeful. This is not to say that the characters don’t have personality – they have entirely individual wants, beliefs, and backgrounds. It is the writing style that complicates them in very interesting ways.
Magic intertwines with the mundane in ‘Star-Shot’. I’ll admit, I haven’t actually read all that much magical realism. However, I was swept away by the simple acceptance of the sentience of buildings, an undefinable wave of silence that sweeps over the city, and how this has entirely physical and medical implications for various inhabitants of the city. In short…it was just charming. There wasn’t much explanation or concrete world-building, but once again, I didn’t mind this. It fit entirely with the fog and silence that infused the novel: too many explanations and details would have ruined its delightful ambiguity. I will definitely be foraying more into magical realism after this taster, I think.
I would love to read more from Mary-Ann Constantine, and indeed from Seren Books! Everything about this novel was beautifully structured and written. Cardiff is transformed into a place of sheer mystery, and, perhaps, the ultimate site of hope.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews