We Are Made of Stars

by Jameson Currier

Overview

From the author of Dancing on the Moon and Where the Rainbow Ends:

After a decade of mistakes, a struggling writer leaves Manhattan to start over in a small college town. Populated with egotists and narcissists, Jameson Currier's resilient and unflinching We Are Made of Stars, a "memoir in the form of a novel pretending to be a memoir," reveals a gay man's journey through grief during the early years of the AIDS epidemic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781937627331
Publisher:	Chelsea Station Editions
Publication date:	10/16/2024
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.48(d)

About the Author

Jameson Currier is the author of eight novels, five collections of short fiction, three illustrated tales, and a memoir.

Editorial Reviews

2024-10-15
In Currier’s novel, an unnamed narrator navigates a life of almosts in his relationships with friends and lovers.

At one point, the speaker offers readers a quick framework for his musings, saying that this “story is a memoir in the form of a novel pretending to be a memoir.” After a life spent in Manhattan, where he faced the deaths of many friends from complications from AIDS, the gay storyteller and wanderer moves to a smaller college town and begins to work at an architecture firm. Conversationally, he reveals details of his personal relationships, both in the city and in his new space. Some involve the tragedies of friends, while others limn narcissistic lovers and companions. Readers catch glimpses of his past aspirations to be a writer. Set during an era of epidemic, the novel effectively describes how a missed phone call from a friend could be a missed chance to say goodbye. In lighter moments, though, it describes a narrator who can’t help telling stories but also expresses frustration about how he spends little time writing. As readers hear tales of friends gone too soon and failed attempts at love with cheaters or people soon to die, they effectively catch glimpses of how they shape the narrator’s outlook and sense of self. The book is filled with compelling characters and its well-paced storyline gives the impression that the novel is just a start; there could easily be another engaging 200 pages about what happens next. The revelations are hopeful, as when the narrator discovers his role in finding love: “My expectations changed when I realized I was not as honest and truthful and trusting as I wanted another man to be.” Overall, it’s a relatable work that gives a voice to a period of suffering.

A short but engaging novel with complex characterization and a straightforward storyline that ends on an optimistic note.

Kirkus Reviews