On
a Night of a Thousand Stars by Andrea Yaryura Clark is about a young
woman’s quest to find out the truth about her father’s past. In 1998 New
York City, Santiago Larrea was a wealthy Argentinian diplomat and
celebrated polo player. He was married to Lila, and they have one
daughter, Paloma, who is a fashion student in NY and a budding jewelry
designer.
Santiago and his family are well known for their love
of throwing huge parties. The family was holding court at their latest
party and everything seemed well until a guest showed up. The woman had
an unflappable demeanor and made cryptic comments to Santiago. Paloma
noticed that her father’s behavior had changed after the interaction,
causing her to wonder who this guest was and what her relationship to
her father was. Paloma realizes that she doesn't know much of her
father’s past.
Shortly after the party, Paloma and her family
travel to Buenos Aires for Santiago’s UN ambassadorial appointment. When
they arrive, a cryptic and ominous note arrives for Santiago. Paloma is
wary when he refuses to share what the message says with the family.
Paloma is determined to find out what her father is hiding.
I
thought the book was an interesting read. It was a bit slow moving at
times. The book was told from alternating narrators. Paloma narrated the
present as she was searching for the truth. And the other narrator was
Santiago from the 1970s in his youth, describing his experience with the
military dictatorship under Juan Peron. At times, it did get confusing
when the narration switched back and forth as some of the characters
were in both storylines, and the past had quite a few different
characters. There were times that I wanted to read more about a specific
timeline but it would switch perspectives. I did find the characters to
be dull and bland though I was interested in Santiago’s narration. It
was interesting to learn about Argentina’s past and political landscape.
The book is a straightforward read but did have unexpected twists. If
you like reading slow burn political historical fiction books, then you
might enjoy it.
