Stardust: A Novel

Ben Collier, nee Kohler is a soldier with the Signal Corps tapped to make a movie about the horrors of the concentration camps. On his way back to the states to do this job and see his estranged brother, he learns that his brother has 'fallen' from a hotel balcony in a suicide that is hushed up as an accident. Ben becomes sure that his brother was murdered, the question is by whom and why. Searching for answers, Ben Collier tours a post-war Hollywood and America on the verge of replacing a hot war with a cold one. The plot and characters in this book are intricate and clever, but the real magic is in the atmosphere and the dialogue. Stardust invokes not only silver screen Hollywood but the pictures that made it a legend. Think Double Indemnity and Out of the Past to get some idea of the flavor of Stardust. The book is dialogue driven and there isn't so much as a wrong grace note. The characters have the cynical patter and the heartbreaking melodrama of the noir films that inspired them without ever falling into parody. Other reviewers comment that the book could have been shortened and tightened, but the reader would have been the loser as depth would have been lost. More importantly time in a magical, lost, probably illusory world would have been shortened for the reader. Stardust is a great way to spend time in a Hollywood that never was, but a Hollywood we all know just the same. Highest possible recommendation to those who love noir, Silver Age Hollywood or literary mysteries. Stunning.

Stardust takes place in 1945. WWII has ended, Europe is in ruins and lives have been shattered. In Joseph Kanon's book, Ben Collier is on the Chief, a train that runs from the east coast to the west coast, to attend to his brother's affairs. Once there, Ben learns his brother, Daniel, is lingering in a coma and not expected to live .Ben also learns that Daniel was either pushed or fell from the balcony of the apartment he rents for reasons that are unknown but are suspect. Movies have a cast of characters and so does Stardust. There's Daniel who seems to be greater and far more interesting in death than he was in life. Lisel is Daniel's widow who came to the States early on in the war and has never acclimated to Hollywood or the life that plays out there.. Then there are those who came during and after the war to a new country with barely their lives. Other characters also came from Europe very little except for what could be smuggled out of Europe. Hollywood is a character in Kanon's story. It's the backdrop on which Stardust plays out. Stardust is a good read. The only way to improve Kanon's book would be to use a good editor. So, my question is: where have all the good editors gone? Writers have fabulous ideas around which to base a novel. But it is the editor who takes the novel in its most raw and rough form and makes it shine like a diamond. A good editor would have tightened up Stardust and made a good book better.

Joseph Kanon is a very productive writer and I genuinely like, in almost all of his books the interweaving of history, geography, timeframe and real and fictional people to create a very visual and alive atmosphere. But, I've noticed in the last few of his books the I've read, most recently Stardust and Alibi (I don't know the chronology of his books so I can't say this is a recent trend) that I just don't care for the characters. I found myself hoping that somebody would knock some sense into Ben and even better, just knock him. He is stubborn, self-righteous and egotistical, everything he does he can justify but he can't seem to find or understand others' perspectives. I think Mr. Kanon gives a very unrealistic view of studio life and studio politics. In the real world, I think Ben would have been kicked out on his ear and where was the Army in all of this while Ben is playing detective. Interesting plot, good atmosphere, many interesting (minor) characters, but in the end, I could not stomach Ben.

Mr. Kanon’s book made you want to keep reading and his character and background of the development is top notch. His work is very detailed and could have been a little shorter without missing out on a great story. I enjoy his work very much!

This novel features Ben Collier, an ARMY soldier on the verge of mustering out at the end of World War II, whose background is making films for the military. Sent to Hollywood to oversee the production of a film depicting the impact of the holocaust he becomes embroiled in a murder mystery when his brother is killed. And as we all know, a mystery must be solved. This is probably not the author's best work but its certainly good enough. Sometimes we get spoiled when we have read a book by an author that we loved, only to be disappointed by a later book that seems not to measure up. But how many of us can afford to require something approaching perfection in every book we read? If you like historical mysteries from the recent past this one is well worth reading.

This beautifully written novel set during the heyday of the studio system—-and the rise of McCarthyism—- is flawless. Ostensibly a (very smart) murder mystery, Kanon reveals much about the America of those days on the way to who dunnit… this is a fully realized work of fiction that transcends genre…it’s thoroughly enjoyable, completely satisfying.I’m betting you will read it more than once.

Maybe you have to had lived in Los Angeles, but the book caught the feel of the city regardless of the time frame. Interesting that LAPD was the same in the 1940s as in the 1990s. Still I found it hard to believe that the local cops and DA were so quick to turn things over to the feds. Remember the OJ arrest and trial, that was LAPD and LA courts all the way. I can't forget the image of an LAPD cop pushing an Orange County Deputy out of the way at the end of the white Bronco chase. The book, while a little lose on the local authorities, showed that LA is a factory town and the factory turns out dreams.

A great read with so many great characters. I have read this book seven times and will continue to do so.

Alles war ganz super und schnell! Service war sehr gut! Ich wurde diese Firma nochmals benutzen. Ich danke Ihnen nochmal.

Another superb piece of writing by Joseph Kanon. The wonderful, complicated story is wonderfully realized by Kanon. And the dialogue is (as in all his books I have read) second to none. Would that there were more like him. I cannot wait to read another Kanon book!

JK's only weak book. flimsy story but good atmosphere.

Some of his books are hard work. They are all very good but one or two catch you in the heart and this is one. I was totally absorbed, Hollywood the birth, and wonderful characters exiled from a Germany that went wrong. Spies and tragedy, a lost love. It's all right here, queue up !

I've read and enjoyed all this author's novels, but found this one a long haul. He has touched on the same subject in 'the prodigal spy'. I like the way that as you read his stories you get a history lesson but in an interesting way. There is certainly mystery here. it is a good whodunnit, with a slight twist. There is some action, especially at the end. The end reminded me of a certain Woody Allen film. But I digress. I kept imagining Ingrid Bergman as the character, Liesl. As another reviewer has written, worth sticking with to the end, Oh yes, the paperback by Simon and Schuster has a classier cover that matches the style of the previous books, rather than that one showing here.