Stardust
A Novel
Read by: Boyd Gaines
THE ACCLAIMED, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF
THE GOOD GERMAN AND LOS ALAMOS RETURNS
WITH HIS MOST ABSORBING AND ACCOMPLISHED
NOVEL YET -- A MESMERIZING TALE OF HOLLYWOOD,
POSTWAR POLITICAL INTRIGUE, AND ONE MAN'S
DETERMINATION TO LEARN THE TRUTH
ABOUT HIS BROTHER'S DEATH.
Hollywood, 1945. Ben Collier has just arrived from wartorn Europe to find that his brother, Daniel, has died in mysterious circumstances. Why would a man with a beautiful wife, a successful career in the movies, and a heroic past choose to kill himself?
Determined to uncover the truth, Ben enters the maze of the studio system and the uneasy world beneath the glossy shine of the movie business. For this is the moment when politics and the dream factories are beginning to collide as Communist witch hunts render the biggest stars and star makers vulnerable. Even here, where the devastation of Europe seems no more real than a painted movie set, the war casts long and dangerous shadows. When Ben learns troubling facts about his own family's past, he is caught in the middle of a web of deception that shakes his moral foundation to its core.
Rich with atmosphere and period detail, Stardust flawlessly blends fact and fiction into a haunting thriller evoking both the glory days of the movies and the emergence of a dark strain of American political life. It brilliantly proves why Joseph Kanon has been hailed as the "heir apparent to Graham Greene" (The Boston Globe).
THE GOOD GERMAN AND LOS ALAMOS RETURNS
WITH HIS MOST ABSORBING AND ACCOMPLISHED
NOVEL YET -- A MESMERIZING TALE OF HOLLYWOOD,
POSTWAR POLITICAL INTRIGUE, AND ONE MAN'S
DETERMINATION TO LEARN THE TRUTH
ABOUT HIS BROTHER'S DEATH.
Hollywood, 1945. Ben Collier has just arrived from wartorn Europe to find that his brother, Daniel, has died in mysterious circumstances. Why would a man with a beautiful wife, a successful career in the movies, and a heroic past choose to kill himself?
Determined to uncover the truth, Ben enters the maze of the studio system and the uneasy world beneath the glossy shine of the movie business. For this is the moment when politics and the dream factories are beginning to collide as Communist witch hunts render the biggest stars and star makers vulnerable. Even here, where the devastation of Europe seems no more real than a painted movie set, the war casts long and dangerous shadows. When Ben learns troubling facts about his own family's past, he is caught in the middle of a web of deception that shakes his moral foundation to its core.
Rich with atmosphere and period detail, Stardust flawlessly blends fact and fiction into a haunting thriller evoking both the glory days of the movies and the emergence of a dark strain of American political life. It brilliantly proves why Joseph Kanon has been hailed as the "heir apparent to Graham Greene" (The Boston Globe).
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Book details:
- Simon & Schuster Audio |
- ISBN 9780743597944 |
- September 2009
$17.95 List Price
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- Book Cover Image (jpg): Stardust
Abridged Audio Download 9780743597944(0.8 MB)
- Author Photo (jpg): Joseph Kanon
Robin Straus(0.1 MB)
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Book Reviews
Reading Group Guide
This reading group guide for Stardust includes an introduction, discussion questions, ideas for enhancing your book club, and a Q&A with author Joseph Kanon. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.
Introduction
In post-WWII Hollywood, Ben Collier has returned from the front lines to find that his brother Danny has died from a fall off a hotel balcony. But the information surrounding Danny’s accident is blurred, and Ben makes his way to Los Angeles wondering why Danny, a war hero and burgeoning filmmaker, would leave behind a life of promise and respect. Or was it not his choice after all?
Joseph Kanon’s most intricate novel to date, Stardust follows Ben on an informative and mysterious trek through the hush-hush world of 1940s Hollywood. As he attempts to piece together the specifics of his brother’s death, Ben is hurled into a stream of secret deals, political maneuvering, and the beginning murmurs of the Hollywood Communist witch hunts.
With a lush depiction of the era, Kanon weaves a tale of intrigue, suspense, and romance that looks behind the film lens and into the hearts of émigrés and American moviemakers of the time. Lights, camera, action…
Questions see more
Introduction
In post-WWII Hollywood, Ben Collier has returned from the front lines to find that his brother Danny has died from a fall off a hotel balcony. But the information surrounding Danny’s accident is blurred, and Ben makes his way to Los Angeles wondering why Danny, a war hero and burgeoning filmmaker, would leave behind a life of promise and respect. Or was it not his choice after all?
Joseph Kanon’s most intricate novel to date, Stardust follows Ben on an informative and mysterious trek through the hush-hush world of 1940s Hollywood. As he attempts to piece together the specifics of his brother’s death, Ben is hurled into a stream of secret deals, political maneuvering, and the beginning murmurs of the Hollywood Communist witch hunts.
With a lush depiction of the era, Kanon weaves a tale of intrigue, suspense, and romance that looks behind the film lens and into the hearts of émigrés and American moviemakers of the time. Lights, camera, action…
Questions see more
Video
Introducing author Joe Kanon
Follow author Joseph Kanon on a tour of Hollywood as he takes us to the Hollywood of decades past and talks about the role it plays in his new book, STARDUST
Introducing author Joe Kanon
Novelist Joseph Kanon: Stardust
