Stella Maris

by Jeffrey Matucha

Punk extraordinaire Skye Wright is trying to live a steady life in Berkeley, California, as she faces her thirtieth birthday and an uncertain future. A chance song on the radio sets her on a journey through her wild past, her jigsaw present, and forces her to think about an uncertain future. While trying to find a missing friend embroiled in chaos, she finds herself going to fever dream raves, drinking in wild biker bars, taking part in an elaborate artist wedding, and working on a set of a pornographic film production.

This is the adventures of a woman who could not lead a boring life, even if she tried.

257 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 13, 2021

About the author

I am a native of the San Francisco Bay Area. I was born and raised in this region, unlike most other citizens of the Bay Area who are from another state or another country. I am a veteran of the punk/metal/new wave/oh-my-God-what-did-we-do-last-night club scenes of the San Francisco Bay Area in the Eighties and the early Nineties. I run marathons, I write novels, I meow back at cats and say hi to strange dogs that I meet. I am also a web applications engineer and a dedicated worker bee for the Oakland Athletics.

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stella Maris, by Jeffrey Matucha, is not in my genre wheelhouse, and it took me by surprise. It follows the life Skye Wright, a crust punker facing her 30th birthday while still navigating the world of Punk/Metal/New Wave/My-God-what-did-we-do-last-night? and all that goes with it. Matucha does an excellent job of painting a vivid picture of this world while making you care about Skye even when she’s making bad choices. The plot includes fallout from her wild past, the struggles of the present, including the emotional toll of losing people, her addictions, her closest friend has gone missing, and, in general, wondering what life is all about.

Matucha does a great job of creating a deeply layered female protagonist. She loves cats, is friends with the older lady in the apartment next door, but is also a former gang member of the Crusties who still flies into a hot-headed rage. Her drinking doesn’t help anything. This book offers a look into the world of addiction and the heartbreak it brings as it follows Skye into biker bars, raves, and hanging out with people traveling the same path to nowhere. The plot feels like a mindless (but not boring) wandering through life consistent with those living with addictions, but Matucha fits the pieces together to form a complete picture by the end of the book.

The one thing I didn’t love about the book is the language, but it fits the culture. Many of the characters can’t formulate a sentence without using the F-bomb. On the plus side, while sex is often talked about and even put into practice, it takes place “off-camera.” Overall, I give the book a solid 4-stars and think anyone who has someone they care about living with addiction or those who have come out of that trap would probably enjoy reading this character-driven story of love, loss, struggle, and hope.

[Ginnine Josete · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not the kind of book I would normally read as I know NOTHING about the punk scene but I like to read Indie and self published authors and wanted to give this one a try. I really liked it! I entered into a world that was unknown to me and got really immersed in it. I love the way the author broke everything up into small scenes. The use of natural language was excellent and this writer is so good with dialogue it was like being there. Even if this is not your thing, I highly recommend giving it a try.