A novel that will wholly transport you to another time and place.
There is more to Holden Thompson than meets the eye, though he is quite fetching to behold. Recuperating from mental and physical battlefield wounds collected toward the end of the First World War, he decides to spend some time catching up with his brother in Paris. Favored for his charismatic personality, Holden works hard to keep his internal turmoil cloaked in good humor, all-night revelries, and an endless stream of romantic trysts. No matter how powerful the drug or enticing the woman, however, his haunted past is never further than a simple glance in the mirror. Not the first soldier to suffer from shell shock, Holden is perilously close to ending it all. Yet, beneath the suffocating grief is a man who once dreamed of enjoying an ordinary life, a man who loved to express his feelings through the written word, a man who was a loyal brother, son, and lover. Will Holden ever be able to come to terms with the man he is now, flaws and all?
Hold on to your cloche hats and brush up on your French vocabulary because Stars on Fire is a novel that will wholly transport you to another time and place. The timeline jumps around relentlessly, as does the overall intensity of the scenes. For instance, Holden’s mental state is often sorrowful, but those moments of contemplation are sandwiched between fiery acts on the frontlines and worse. While the broader themes are easy to grasp, DeBohun writes with an elegant restraint that offers deeper meaning after a second read. From innocence lost at Princeton to the desperation felt in the trenches on the Western Front, Holden’s internal battles aren’t fully evidenced in any single revelation. Instead, the question marks of his life slowly come together in a wildly colorful, complex puzzle with a million different pieces. Holden may seem like a selfish man, but his sincerity is borne out in his genuine relationships, particularly the heartwarming bond he shares with his brother, Dane. The way these two men manage to connect, despite a void filled with heartbreak and secrets, is reassuring. With a courageous protagonist you’re sure to fall in love with, Stars on Fire is a touching story about learning how to let people into our lives, even when it hurts.
