4 out of 4 stars
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What if the stars suddenly went out? What if the planets and the galaxies disappeared into a bible black sky? Night after night, a constant reminder of the starless sky pierces your soul. It shouldn’t affect you in the least, but perhaps it might. Starless and Bible Black by Gerard DiLeo describes our predominantly religious world and the aftermath of the disappearance of the stars.
The stars disappeared one night, all at once. Mysteriously, only the moon, sun and the earth are left. DiLeo’s encompassing short stories follow its effect on lovers, philosophers, zoologists, stock brokers, and men of religion. Why are we left? Are we the next to disappear? Theories begin to develop from all corners of the globe: Is God to blame? Or are there other phenomena at play? Readers follow along as the world slowly changes as something that has virtually no physical effect on our world alters the psychology of humanity.
The author writes such expressive sentences throughout the book. One of my favorites occurs right at the beginning, “They were our legacy, the stars. Our progenitors. We were in the continuum of stellar ontogeny, perhaps mere side effects: perhaps crowning achievements.” The author leaves a lot for the readers to interpret. Many of the chapters are ended openly. The writing is eloquent, but repetitive. However, I believe the author uses repetition to further instill the unique perspective of the characters onto the readers.
DiLeo really covers all the bases in this book by examining a variety of characters and personalities. The author also includes a bit of a glossary at the end of the book to explain a few references that occur within each chapter. I appreciated this because readers will find a deeper connection between the plotline or a character and their own thoughts or knowledge. Because Starless and Bible Black is essentially a collection of short stories, we don’t get to see a true conclusion. Instead, we get to envision this new world along with the author and the characters.
I don’t have any complaints about the book. I really enjoyed it. I noticed one error, but I believe that this book was still professionally edited. I give this book 4 out of 4 stars. This book falls under the category of fiction, but it encompasses so many different aspects of religion to astronomy that I think anyone could enjoy it. I found this book to hold a deeper meaning and I think that other readers would enjoy adding their own interpretations to the stories.
Since reading Starless and Bible Black, I have found myself looking up at the stars and wondering, “What if?” I grew up under the starry sky, but I know others don't know the world that exists between cloud cover and light pollution from the cities. I would certainly miss the beautiful twinkling lights at night, but would our world be affected like DiLeo imagines? Or would humanity carry on without the hopes, aspirations and encouragement of our stars?
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STARLESS and Bible Black
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