An Astonishment of Stars, Kirti Bhadresa
An Astonishment of Stars, Kirti Bhadresa
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An Astonishment of Stars
Stories

Author: Kirti Bhadresa

Narrator: Roveena Gnanabakthan

Unabridged: 8 hr 28 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: ECW Press

Published: 10/01/2024


Synopsis

A beautifully written short story collection that charts the lives of racialized women as they navigate their relationships, aspirations, and the burdens of memory and expectations “Sharply observed and gracefully told, this is a collection shining with all the unexpected delights and defeats that make up a life.” — Anuja Varghese, author of Chrysalis The wife who uses the name of her white husband in public. The mother who cleans the small-town hospital while her daughter moves to the city to forget their shared past. The well-behaved teen girl who anxiously watches her older sister slip further and further away from their hovering parents. Each of these characters is both familiar and singular, reminding us of women we have been, of our mothers and daughters, neighbors and adversaries. Kirti Bhadresa is a keen observer of humanity, especially of the BIPOC women whose domestic and professional work is the backbone of late-stage capitalism but whose lives receive so little attention in mainstream culture. An Astonishment of Stars is a collection that sees those who are unseen and cuts to the heart of contemporary womanhood, community collisions, and relationships both chosen and forced upon us.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Rosh ~catching up slowly~ on October 16, 2024

In a Nutshell: An OwnVoices short story collection focussing mainly on BIPOC woman characters and their emotions and conflicts. Partly literary, mostly true to life, entirely character-oriented. A good read when in the right mood for something deliberate and realistic. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thi......more

Goodreads review by Ashley on September 12, 2024

I was going to begin my review by calling this collection unique but would be remiss not to mention how annoying of an adjective that is for me to use here. It's only society's default to eurocentrism that causes this to feel "unique" to me; Let me be clear I only mean the book itself, not the exper......more

Goodreads review by Lois on September 13, 2024

This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Kirti Bhadresa, ECW Press Audio, and NetGalley. This audiobook is narrated by Roveena Gnanabakthan. Roveena did a great job. She used different voices and accents to bring these stories to life. I would recommend that readers consume......more

Goodreads review by Tina on October 13, 2024

You know I love indie CanLit and short stories so I was really excited to read AN ASTONISHMENT OF STARS by Kirti Bhadresa. I really enjoyed all fourteen stories! I liked how these stories focused on female points of view, women’s lives and family life. I liked how the first two stories were about te......more

Goodreads review by Jaime on November 07, 2024

Love love love this book! I normally find myself disappointed with short stories; maybe there’s just not enough time to work through the stories… That was not the case with this collection. I felt like I knew the characters and wasn’t left feeling like things ended too abruptly. I’m look forward to s......more