Stardust

by Joseph Kanon

Hollywood, 1945. Ben Collier has just arrived from war-torn Europe to find his brother has died in mysterious circumstances. Why would a man with a beautiful wife, a successful movie career, and a heroic past choose to kill himself?

Ben enters the uneasy world beneath the glossy shine of the movie business, where politics and the dream factories collide and Communist witch hunts are rendering the biggest star makers vulnerable. Even here, where the devastation of Europe seems no more real than a painted movie set, the war casts long and dangerous shadows. When Ben learns troubling facts about his own family’s past and embarks on a love affair that never should have happened, he is caught in a web of deception that shakes his moral foundation to its core.

Rich with atmosphere and period detail, Stardust flawlessly blends fact and fiction into a haunting thriller evoking both the glory days of the movies and the emergence of a dark strain of American political life.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Espionage, Historical, Crime

506 pages, Hardcover

First published September 29, 2009

Reviews

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm conflicted about this book. The topic, post WW II witch hunting for communists in the movie industry, is something I am interested in. The characters are interesting and believable. The plot, though, is often confusing.

Ben Collier returns from Europe to hear that his very successful and heroic brother, Daniel, has committed suicide. The rest of the story involves Ben trying to find out the truth, while producing a documentary about the Death Camps. As a result he becomes an insider in the movie industry and is eventually recruited to expose possible communist influence by a publicity hungry congressman, Ken Minot.

There are numerous sub-plots, some of which contribute to the plot confusion. Kanon's writing style does not help clarify things, either. He introduces characters willy-nilly, some of whom disappear never to be seen again while others become an integral part of the story. Towards the end of the book, I often had to go back to figure out "who was who in the zoo". The fact that many of the characters were emigre Germans didn't help.

In the conclusion, we do find out what really happened, but it comes across as essentially meaningless. It is disappointing to navigate through 500+ pages only to be let down at the end. Nevertheless, the total story was inherently interesting because of its focus on Hollywood, the post-war political climate, and the travails of German Jews before and during the war.

[James Thane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beginning with Los Alamos, Jospeh Kanon has written a number of very entertaining books set in a recent historical context. Stardust: A Novel is set in Hollywood in the months immediately following World War II, and Kanon creates a vivid portrayal of the time and place that sounds very much like the truth.

Ben Collier, still in the Army, arrives home from Europe to discover that his brother, Danny, a successful movie director, is near death after an apparent suicide attempt. Racing to Daniel's bedside, Ben has a chance meeting on the train with Sol Lasner, head of Continental Pictures. Ben wants to make a documentary about the European death camps and pitches the project to Lasner. The older man takes a shine to Ben and ultimately agrees to let him make the film.

Shortly after Ben arrives in L.A., his brother dies. Ben refuses to believe that Danny would have committed suicide and so, while making his documentary, he also investigates the circumstances of his brother's death, determined to find the truth.

Kanon immerses Ben--and the reader--in the Hollywood of the mid-1940s. The world is changing, and the motion picture industry is under threat on a number of fronts. The public's taste in movies is changing; television is on the horizon, and the industry is also threatened by unscrupulous politicians who hope to make names for themselves by searching for Communists within the movie business. Ben Collier has a ringside seat for all of it, but his search for the truth about his brother's death unsettles any number of people and ultimately places Ben in danger of losing his own life.

The story occasionally loses momentum, and Kanon clearly appears to be more interested in recreating the time and place than he is in Ben's investigation, but he does the former extremely well. As a result, this book will appeal much more to readers who enjoy historical mysteries than to those looking simply for a good crime novel.

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 4 out of 5]

In November 1945, Ben Collier is on a train from New York to California to see his brother who is likely dying. On the trip west, Ben meets Sol Lashner, head of Continental Studios, a small film company in Hollywood. Ben's brother Danny was a writer for Continental. Danny Kohler, who didn't change his German name, has supposedly fallen from a fifth floor balcony, but Ben isn't buying that it was either suicide or an accident.

At the same time in Hollywood, a pipsqueak (my description) of a Congressman is trying to make a name for himself and reveal all the Communists working in the film industry. Of course I knew about Senator McCarthy and remember watching some of the news and committee hearings on this subject. Apparently before McCarthy there was a real Congressman who also held hearings. The man in Stardust was fictionalized.

The author says he altered the timeline of the real events somewhat. I did find myself looking things up occasionally. The big Hollywood names I recognized and they didn't have speaking parts, but there were some minor real persons who did.

At the beginning of this novel, I thought the writing style had definitely been influenced by Raymond Chandler. Some of that noir cadence was lost as the novel progressed and then resurfaced for a page or two in places. Most noir I've read is shorter than this, so perhaps it is really to hard to maintain that style on a longer piece. This is not typical noir, but the subject is dark and I believe fits that sub-genre.

This was my first Joseph Kanon. I'm glad I had learned of him and will look forward to the others I have acquired. This one is a strong 4-stars.

[Madeline Ashby · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mother (who very much needs a Goodreads account) referred this to us. It's compulsively readable, sexy, and intelligent. I carried it with me everywhere until I finished it.

As a mystery novel, Stardust is almost perfect. It does everything that a good Elizabeth George or James Ellroy novel does, but in shorter time and with more grace. It revolves around the protagonist's search for his brother's killer, and his simultaneous attempts to find financing for a documentary on the Holocaust and to reconcile his politicized childhood in Germany. Like any good mystery novel there are several other puzzles to solve surrounding the primary one, and these are clouded by memory, nostalgia, hurt, and arousal. The story is set in Hollywood, and all the characters are too used to playing a part to be genuine with each other or with themselves.

That said, don't expect a jaded, cynical story. There are wonderful moments of true emotion, here. That's what sets the story apart from the majority of mysteries you could read this year. This isn't a story about Sam Spade or Mike Hammer or any of the other noir anti-heroes who have had all feeling beaten out of them by life. Ben Collier has survived the war and bears the scars of it, but still confronts his future with a relatively open heart and mind. It's refreshing, and it keeps you rooting for him throughout, even when he makes the occasional misstep. It also makes the end all the more satisfying -- not only has the mystery been solved, but Ben has grown and is better prepared to face post-war life.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that is good but would be better if it were shorter, like about a hundred pages shorter. A tougher editor would have forced cuts that would have produced a stronger, tighter, leaner, more propulsive book. I like long books, but they need to earn their length, and this one doesn't.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stardust is the second book by author Joseph Kanon that I've read. The book is set just after the 2nd World War. Ben Collier has returned from a tour of duty in Germany, traveling by train from New York to California. In California he will work with Continental Studios to put a documentary on German concentration camps. On the train he meets the CEO of the studio Sol Lasner and help him when he has a heart attack. Another reason for Ben's trip to California is that Ben's brother Daniel is in the hospital on death's bed after 'falling' from a balcony.

Now this isn't a simple story. While in California, Ben will develop feelings for Daniel's wife, Liesl. (After Daniel's death in hospital that is). The main part of the story is Ben trying to find out if Daniel was murdered and if so, who did it. He is in California during the beginning's of the Communist witch hunts. Was Daniel involved? Was he one who provided names to the politicians, specifically California Congressman Minot? What about the circle of German ex-pats who reside in California, including Liesl, her family and the others?

Throw in the friction at the studios, including labor problems and also Ben's dealings with and ex-FBI agent working with Minot, Polly the gossip reporter who might also be doing so... er... and so many other things. It can be a confusing story, peopled with so many characters and so many ongoing stories but it's well-written and there are sympathetic characters. Kanon can spin an interesting story and it's well worth making the effort to get into it. Lots of tension, some romancing and even action sequences. Kanon is worth trying. (4 stars)

[Al · Rating 2 out of 5]

Immediately post WW II, Ben Collier is on leave from the army and learns of the death of his brother, a film industry executive, in a fall from a hotel balcony in LA. Ben's journey to LA and his relentless search for the facts of his brother's death drive the plot. Along the way, the author explores the film industry of the time, the witch hunt for Communists in the industry, and the plight of German refugees adrift in post-war America. Ben encounters movie executives and stars, reporters, bad guys, and his brother's widow (not necessarily in that order).
I've read Canon's whole kanon; oops, I mean Kanon's whole canon. Maybe I would have liked this book more if I had read it earlier in the list. The good things about the book are that Kanon has a good feel for dialogue, his writing is clean, and his general evocation of the period seems very realistic. The bad things are that the book is w-a-y too long, Ben is way too clever and lucky, and the major premise of the book is very forced. Add to all that a truly impossible finale, and it just doesn't come up to his other work. One has the feeling that Kanon just wanted to write an homage to this period and the Communist witch-hunt, and the story was sort of an afterthought.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm torn on this. The atmosphere is incredible - noirish story of Ben, leaving the army in 1946 and heading to Hollywood because his director brother has apparently killed himself. Ben doesn't believe it and starts investigating. You've got elements of Hollywood, Communism, love, betrayal, murder, and more. It got pretty convoluted and complicated and I'm not sure that's a good thing. I loved the look at golden age Hollywood and all the back scene back stabbing and manipulations, but it just went places I wasn't totally sold on.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stardust was a pick for my mystery book club. I had never read Kanon before so I was unfamiliar with his previous books. The book started off well capturing my interest. I liked the introduction of Ben and his meetings of Sol, Paulette, Fay, and Liesl. It was also interesting seeing Ben's brief reunion with Danny and meeting Liesl's family. Then the book lost me for a bit and I struggled to keep at it. I did keep at it, and overall the story was good. I wasn't able to figure out what really happened to Danny before the end because the book had many twists and turns. The character development of Ben was good, and as a reader I cared about Ben and what happened to him. Although the character that did grab my attention was Sol even though he wasn't a major part of the story and plot. I liked the relationship being built between Ben and Sol,and I liked reading about Sol bringing Ben into his world. Sol hadn't had any kids, and since Ben's father wasn't part of his life it was this relationship that stood out in the story for me. Overall the book had a good mystery, but I'm not sure if I will seek out another book by this author.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

First-class period fiction the way it should be written. Kanon’s story of Hollywood during the period immediately following World War II captures the glamour of the studio system and personalities of the heyday of the 1930’s but foreshadows the eminent achromatization of a changing world. Ben Collier, still in uniform, returns from Europe to find his brother on his death bed and becomes involved in the mystery of his death. Was it attempted suicide, an accident or murder? Was his beautiful but seemingly cold widow, Liesl somehow involved? Should he have the feelings that he does about his brother’s wife? Kanon sweeps the reader along in a breathless mystery with fictional characters that seem real and a “stream of conscience” style that captures the flavor of events that are complex enough that you don’t figure it all out until Ben does.

[Sammi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting plotline but didn't quite do it for me entertainment wise.

[Mal Warwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben Collier, born Reuben Kohler, is a German-American Jew raised in the film industry by his famous director father. He leaves Germany in the days immediately following the end of the Second World War in Europe to visit his brother Danny, who lies in a coma in a Hollywood hospital. There, he finds himself embroiled in complex ways with Danny’s widow, Liesl. She and Danny were close to the star-studded German emigré community in postwar Hollywood.

Also involved in their lives, and now in Ben’s, are Sol Lasner, head of one of the early Hollywood studios, and Lasner’s right-hand man, “Bunny” Jenkins, a former child star in England. On the scene, too, is a Right-Wing Congressman who stands in for Richard Nixon—not to mention assorted Communists, fellow-travelers, and the FBI in the era of J. Edgar Hoover.

As the plot unfolds in all its complexity, the euphoria of victory in Europe and (later) in the Pacific gives way to the hysteria of the Red Scare, the Hollywood Blacklist, and the notorious House Un-American Activities Committee.

GERMAN EMIGRÉS IN POSTWAR HOLLYWOOD
This brilliant novel, structurally a murder mystery, is better viewed as a compelling portrait of Hollywood in the days preceding the Blacklist. Kanon skillfully paints a canvas peopled by both real and imagined icons of the times. He stages the tale with movie stars such as Paulette Goddard in the foreground and Greer Garson, Cary Grant, and Marlene Dietrich in the background. And he rounds out the cast with writer Ben Hecht; German emigres such as Bertolt Brecht, Thomas Mann, and Lion Feuchtwanger, who were among the German emigrés who flocked to Hollywood in the Nazi years; and a smattering of well-known studio heads and politicians. Even FDR gets into the act late in the game, however indirectly.

A SUSPENSEFUL TALE PEOPLED WITH NUANCED CHARACTERS
In the hands of a hack writer, this story could well have become unreadable. But Kanon infuses the tale with suspense that grows slowly and then at an accelerating rate as his self-doubting hero, Ben Collier, becomes enmeshed in the mystery. Kanon’s nuanced portraits of his characters bring them to life and make them difficult to ignore or forget. The talented and promising Jewish actress forced to the sidelines by the Red Scare. The aging, once-powerful studio head who is losing control of the company he founded. The closeted gay film executive caring for his gravely wounded lover. The brilliant German actress groomed for stardom on the fast track. The death camp survivor with eyes that never come to life. Every one of these and many other credible characters emerges from the pages of Stardust as multidimensional and profoundly human.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A former publishing executive, Joseph Kanon (1946-) is the author of eight other novels. He’s best known for spy thrillers. Among them are Los Alamos and The Good German, which later was adapted to film in a production starring George Clooney. Both books, like Stardust, are set in the years immediately following World War II and reflect Kanon’s considerable historical knowledge of the era. Kanon was educated at Harvard University and at Trinity College, Cambridge. Prior to turning full-time to writing, he was the editor in chief, CEO, and president of the publishing houses Houghton Mifflin and E. P. Dutton in New York.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

World War II has just ended. Ben Collier, born Rueben Kohler, is still in the army. He has seen the liberation of the concentration camps and he is desperate that the world see what happened in Germany and to not forget, and to that end, he wants to make a documentary about the camps and their liberation.

His brother Daniel has made a life for himself in Hollywood. He is a director at a movie studio. Not an MGM perhaps, but still a Hollywood studio. He has a Hollywood home and a beautiful wife who he helped escape from the Nazis. And now he is dead by suicide. Or is it murder? If suicide, why? Ben wants to find out.

This novel mixes Hollywood on the cusp of change, the US on the cusp of change, anit-Semitism, the rise of the Red scare, German immigrants, the life of gay men in this era, and spies.

The writing itself is good in that I cared about the characters--some I liked, some I felt sorry for but didn't much like, and some I hated. However, there is a little too much in the book, it was a little too long, or perhaps not long enough because I got confused in places. Nevertheless, it is a great look at this era in the US.

3.75 rounded up to 4 because I can't stop thinking about it.

[Christine Zibas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best mysteries take their readers into another world, and capture their imaginations with puzzling human behavior. Joseph Kanon is surely one of the best, as demonstrated in his recent book, Stardust. While using a particular historical milieu can be tricky (not all readers are interested in the same events or historical era), Kanon wisely uses the nearly universal lure of Hollywood's glamour to lure his readers into this mystery.

The Hollywood of Kanon's Stardust is that of 1945, just after the end of World War II, when life in the United States is a mixture of the memories and impact of the recent war and a new hope for the country. It's also a time of government probes questioning loyalty within the country, with a perceived Red Menace (American Communists), which is thought to be a danger to the country. Of course, in Hollywood, it's the era of the studio movie, with big name stars dominating the screens and dreams of movie makers (while the impending worry of television's popularity lies just beyond the immediate horizon).

Against this backdrop is the story of Ben Collier, a GI who makes news reels about the war, taking the train out to California with the disturbing news of his brother's recent suicide attempt. While on the train heading west, Ben is befriended by a studio head, who will later agree to help Ben make a documentary about the concentration camps and those who died in them. Overshadowing it all, however is the mystery of his brother, Daniel.

A war hero and successful movie maker, it seems unfathomable that Daniel would take his own life, as asserted by the studio (which positions it as an accident for the press). There is also some speculation that Daniel's actions may have been the result of an affair, having occurred at a rented apartment no one knew about. Only Ben thinks foul play was involved, and is determined to pursue the question to its stunning end.

It's a richly layered story, with reverberations of World War II and the family history (with links to Germany and Daniel's role in helping people escape from Nazi Germany to freedom). There's also the component of McCarthyism and the years of blacklisting and trials that affected so many working in Hollywood. Then there's the working world of motion pictures, and Kanon takes his readers deep into the studios with this story. Most of all, it is a tale of knowing another person. The revelations about Ben's brother and the suicide/murder end up to be quite stunning.

In all, Kanon has created a unique world for his readers, with a good use of the historical time frame, capitalizing on what people know generally, and then taking that one step further. He has created interesting characters and relationships, and keeps readers on edge as they try to ferret out who the good guys and bad guys really are. He provides extraordinary insight into relationships of all types (family, love, professional, friendship) in his novel. Stardust provides readers with a fascinating story that, at the end of the day, is so much more than the average mystery.

[Timothy Hallinan · Rating 4 out of 5]

STARDUST is the first novel about early Hollywood I've read after a long stretch of reading nonfiction -- or as nonfiction as anything written about Hollywood ever is. I'd been concentrating on the first-generation and first-and-a-half-generation moguls -- Goldwyn, Mayer, Zuker, Laemmle, Cohn, Thalberg, etc., and Joseph Kanon's portrait of Sol Lasner, the founder of a smaller Gower Gulch studio was fascinating, if a little starry-eyed. Most of the the real moguls were less courageous outside the walls of their little kingdoms, as their behavior during the Communist witch-hunt made amply clear. In the book's best scene, Lasner takes on a Congressional panel in a way that made me long for the power to rewrite history.

Also interesting is the depiction of Hollywood's German emigre community, a group that's always fascinated me, and the totally fictional "Bunny" Jenkins, the former child star who helps Lasner run the studio. Bunny, for me, was the novel's primary accomplishment, and clearly the character who most interested Kanon. Of less interest, to me, anyway, was the murder mystery that drives the book forward -- the novel's central character, Ben, trying to learn who murdered his brother, Danny, and learning that Danny was not at all who Ben thought he was.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

When you want Hollywood in its golden age - Bogart, trench coats, Bergman, long dresses with sparkling jewels, LA sunsets, studio lots - read this book. I've admired Kanon since he wrote his Edgar-awarding winning Los Alamos. He does atmosphere better than anyone. He starts with an elegant, trans-continental train journey at the close of WWII with a movie studio head and an American GI pitching the government's idea for a movie documentary about the concentration camps. The GI is the son of a famous German director killed by the Nazis before the war. From there the scene moves to Hollywood complete with a brother who attempted suicide (or not) despite a successful directing career of his own complete with a movie star home (think pool, projection room, etc.) and gorgeous wife. Into this mix comes a McCarthy-era politician, gossip columnist to the stars, a child star grown too old for the screen, communists, immigrants wanting to return home, and the remote horrors of the war. Espionage, love, murder, FBI, and even Tijuana then get pulled into the wide-angle lens of Kanon. He is terrific and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable mystery set in post-World War II Hollywood. You get some noir, some love story, some Hollywood glitter, as well as the good-for-your-brain "history" of the German emigre experience and the horrors of the early HUAC (or at least a fictional version of the HUAC). I occasionally felt like Ben (our gumshoe hero) gets his clues handed to him a little too easily, but there are still plenty of twists and turns. And a slimy senator gets his comeuppance from a studio head—which does read exactly like a scene from a movie, but it stirs up the righteous indignation like few things can. Recommended.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this book; it had an interesting narrative, included real events, and made them interesting. The author's clearly done his research on this time period.

I had some trouble with the writing style. There were so many misplaced modifiers, that I had trouble following who was saying what and had to re-read passages to figure things out.

Also, it was a bit long with no real purpose for being so.

It's worth reading, but I thought the ending could have been more clearly explained and more compelling.

[Charlie Boswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kanon has moved a bit from his usual WWII milieu to the years immediately after when some in government worried about Communists under every bed. This is a first rate mystery with major insights into the movie industry of the period (many historical characters), lingering hostilities due to the war, family secrets, and a host of really interesting folk. Kanon continues to write really good dialogue and create a believable historical background. Highly recommended.

[Steph (loves water) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Kanon did a fantastic job with atmosphere, authentic Hollywood post WW2, very noir. Points for that. However, the book was entirely too long. I could have lived without the multiple kaffeeklatsches with the Germans. That would've cut the book down about two hundred pages (I exaggerate). I did like the ending very much. Four stars for atmosphere, two for the story, rounded up to three stars. I wanted to give it four but really did not care in the end about the Germans.

[Sharon McNeil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kanon at his best!!

[Dianeparente62gmail.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joseph Kanon has masterfully interwoven a murder mystery with a period piece featuring post World War II Hollywood. Labor unrest and Communist witch hunts are beginning to surface as Ben Collier returns from the front lines to find that his successful filmmaker brother Danny has died from a fall off a hotel balcony in Los Angeles.


He makes his way to Los Angeles on the famed train "The Chief" where he meets studio head Sol Lasner, beginning a friendship with significant repercussions for both of them. He is tasked to make a film from footage shot by troops who discovered the Nazi concentration camps, forming an interesting juxtaposition as he becomes familiar with the large German Jewish emigre group that has settled in LA. His brother's wife Liesel is a member of this group who play a significant role in the story as Ben comes to the realization that his brother did not commit suicide but was rather murdered.


Eric's pursuit of this realization leads him into dangerous situations as his brothers' friends and enemies become involved. As this pursuit comes to a climax, there is a tense confrontation involving Eric and his brother's murderer.There is also a love story that develops between Ben and Liesel adding another dimension to the complex novel. We are privy to the behind the scenes aspects of movemmaking, the glamour of Hollywood parties, the backbiting and rivalries in the film industry and the press that covers it. The author introduces us to a host of interesting characters who carry the winding plot to its resolution without ever letting the reader's interest abate.


Although somewhat long, this is a rich novel, the work of a skilled writer who provides insight into an interesting period of history. The book is enhanced with the addition of "A Conversation with Joseph Kanon" in which he adds observations about different aspects of his novel.

The following reflection forms an interesting summary of the novel in the author's own words: " Stardust is about seeing, about the dust that gets in the way of our seeing things clearly, sometimes because we'd rather not see. And, of course, it's complicated here by being set in a community whose business is illusion."

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stardust presents a Hollywood-centric perspective of European refugees within the film colony, even as it forms a continuity with events in some of Joseph Kanon’s other books. Instead of international spies, the spying in Stardust is predominantly taking place on behalf of our own government—the historical California State Senator Jack B. Tenney who led anti-Communist investigations in the ‘40s and ‘50s (before having to resign his chairmanship in shame toward the end of the McCarthy Era), the ahistorical Congressman Minot (used by Kanon to set up the idea of a trial hearing prior to the actual McCarthy debacle), and a fictional FBI agent. The goal, in case you haven’t figured it out by now, was rooting out “fellow travelers” in the film industry lest they insidiously place Communist propaganda in mainstream motion pictures. The problem, as you’ll discover merely from reading the book cover, is that the protagonist’s brother Danny is murdered while acting as a double-agent between the two factions.

But when Danny ends up dying, protagonist Ben Collier believes it is murder. Although it looks like Ben is going to have it made in terms of a Hollywood producing career and a romantic relationship, he decides to put everything on the pass line to find the who and why of his brother’s killer. But there are so many twists and turns within the plot that when I was on page 300, my brother (who had read it before me) told me there were at least 25 twists yet to come. He was right.

So, between Hollywood parties and the industry’s impending fear of the impact of television and the possible (and historical) separation of studios and theater chains. Kanon weaves an incredible warp and woof between history, fiction, fact, fear, and emotion. There are intense sex scenes, there is intense betrayal, and there is intense action. These three expressions of intensity are interspersed at a reasonable pace to keep the reader wondering.

Don’t believe my rating of Stardust unless you love period pieces about the mid-20th century, golden age Hollywood, and the red-baiting during the Cold War. For me, though, Stardust was an excellent romp.

[Jak60 · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's quite a lot of themes in Stadust, which makes it a complex and multilayered novel. There's the resurgent Hollywood cinema industry of the immediate post war, there's quite a bit of American politics with the harbingers of the red witch hunt and the McCarthysm to come, there's mystery and a touch of espionage, set against the backdrop of the LA of 1945 (almost an Ellroy-lite). All underpinned by a slow paced storytelling.
So no surprise reactions to the novel are rather polarising: one needs to like the bundle as a whole - in its multifaceted contents and its style - otherwise one theme would be a detraction or a distraction from the others.
The book is far from flawless, the main weakness being that Kanon takes the intricacies of the plot to such a level of complexity that at times it makes is rather difficult for the reader to keep all the pieces together. Despite this, I found it a highly atmospheric and immersive reading experience and worth the effort.

Having gone through the complete body of work of Joseph Kanon, I thought I'd be in position to offer an overall view of it. Kanon is a sort of hit and miss type of author, so here is my personal assessment of his novels.
1. Istanbul Passage: a rather exceptional and atmospheric book, with highly satisfying plot and engaging characters (5 stars)
2. The Defectors, Leaving Berlin and Stardust: very good reads, probably one notch down compared to the previous one yet both highly enjoyable (4 stars)
3. The Good German and The Prodigal Spy: two rather average books, the former somewhat stronger than the latter but overall nothing special (3 and 2 stars)
4. Los Alamos: the worst of Kanon's novels, slow and rather boring (DNF)
There's then a new novel coming up in February 2022 (The Berlin Exchange), which I am very much looking forward to.

[Hans Ostrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily the best by Kanon I have read so far. Technically an espionage novel, but it holds up as "just" a novel. It's about immediate -post- WW2 Hollywood, the rapidly changing film business, the life of exiles (like Brecht and Mann), the culture of Hollywood betrayals merging with that of political ones, the plight of women and gay men in the industry, and a budding Red Scare led by a California state senator. It often embeds movie conventions in the plot and dialogue, riffng on them, winking at the reader. Those with old "communist leanings" are, of course, harmless, while actual Communists are true believers as deranged as the senator--shades of our current broad political hysteria. Kanon's dialogue is terrific, with 40s patter, but he does let it flow, so you can't be in hurry as a reader. I wish he'd included some Black characters--an obvious hole he leaves in the landscape. His portrait of studio life--profit obsessed but impulsive, cutthroat with spasms of sentimentality, both exploitative and fearful of audiences--is great. How anticommunism merged with anti-Semitism is dramatized well. It's an often perceptive, often funny book, with some tenderness, on occasion, that's held back (mostly) from schmaltz. If you have any interest in film history and\or LA in the 40s, you'll likely enjoy this one.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a random pickup from the library when I was between books. The topic caught my eye - postwar Hollywood. I loved the historical setting and richness of detail in the novel - it felt like we had a backstage pass to the inner workings of Hollywood just after the end of WWII. I also liked the complex cast of characters , and being in Hollywood, how everyone seemingly has something to hide. However, what this novel needs more than anything is a List of Primary Characters, or something to that effect. The author has the bad habit of referring to both major and minor characters interchangeably by their first or last names, even after being absent for 100 pages, making it a real struggle to know exactly who did what when with whom. Additionally, the dialogues, while sounding period-authentic, seemed better written for a script than a novel, as there's rarely a description of who is talking or what gestures/actions they're making at the same time. As a result, some of the dialogues feel a bit flat, and can take a couple reads and some good imagination to set the scene the way the author likely intended. That said, I did enjoy the book and will keep an eye out for other works by Kanon in the future.

[David Miraldi · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fan of Joseph Kanon, I was captivated by this book set in Hollywood in 1945. Ben Collier, returns to Los Angeles to be with his brother who is dying in a hospital after a fall from an apartment window. The police conclude that he attempted suicide and, indeed, Ben's brother, Danny, dies soon after Ben sees him in the hospital.

Ben does not believe that Danny committed suicide and is determined to find his killer, regardless of where it leads. As Ben digs deeper, he finds that his brother was a communist who was now cooperating with a congressman's investigation into Communist infiltration into the film industry.

Kanon develops his characters through their dialogues. It is a fast-paced narrative that forces the reader to pay close attention to the details.

Although a side shoot from the main story, the testimony of Saul Lassner, a movie executive, at a congressional hearing is one of the highlights of the book. I listened to the audio version and the exchange between Lassner and the congressman conducting the hearing was a pure joy to listen to.

The story builds to a great scene where Ben and Danny's murderer meet in a battle to the finish. Sharp, concise prose and great dialogue make this a wonderful book to read (or listen to.)

[Bob George · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ben Collier, a soldier, returns from Europe to go to Hollywood to try and solve questions around why his successful brother Daniel immersed in the movie industry and with a lovely wife would commit suicide. There's layers of intrigue; why do people do what they do; Hollywood as fantasy, no one being quiet what they seem; everyone having secrets, who are the communists; the reds under the beds?

It's a long book; it has taken me ages to read. I found it quite hard work; there are so many half said things; too many short sentences - it is a master class in how to write the minimum sentence with as few as words as possible; but convey ideas with multitudes of these micro thoughts.

Just to add to my dis-satisfaction; the story is about who had been behind Daniel Collier's death; who is the real communist; and when right at the end this person is identified; I could not place the character at all; a very well hidden and unimportant to the run of the story character; hardly worth finding. I had to go back to the start of teh book to work out their relevance. Oh well

I am not sure I'd recommend this; there are other excellent books by Joseph Kanon

[Mike Sennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of Joseph Kanon's novels are set in Europe during the aftermath of WW II, where every character seems to have a shadowy past and is now trying to deal with Germany's defeat and the new rivalry between the United States and Russia. "Stardust" follows the same pattern, except that it's set in Hollywood where the movie studios are looking to put the war years behind them and start making entertainment for the whole country again. Ben Collier, a filmmaker for the Army during the war, arrives there after his brother, a director, falls from a balcony and is seriously injured. After his brother's death, Collier begins to suspect that the fall may have been murder, not suicide or an accident. As he digs deeper, he discovers possible involvement with Russian espionage, and also has to deal with complications from a red-baiting congressman and the FBI. The story eventually pays off with some thrills, but not enough to make its 500 pages all seem necessary. So, I'm giving it 3.5 stars rounded to 4 because it is well-executed, just too slow to get moving and build up the tension that Kanon always delivers.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating look at pre-McCarthy Hollywood. I liked this book because of its detail and plot. The mix of real and made-up characters helped flesh out the period long gone except for the venality of the place which remains.
The dialogue is good, however, in trying to keep things moving at a brisk pace, Kannon often drops the conventional, “he said” following a line of dialogue.

Generally, I like that idea although I also think it’s true that readers mostly gloss over it, he gets into trouble frequently (enough, anyway, for me to notice it and have to re-read many passages!) because either he got lost, or lost track or was too close the text. He figured we always knew who was talking to whom, or he didn’t much care, thinking the context would be enough. It often isn’t
I blame the editor who should have caught most of the incidences.

The plot is inventive, the settings and atmosphere first-rate, and the book and takes you back to a vanished time. Too many characters, some drop in and out but I kept reading!