The Stars at Noon
First edition cover
AuthorDenis Johnson
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Set inNicaragua in 1984
PublisherAlfred A. Knopf
Publication date
September 18, 1986[1]
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback)
Pages181[2]
ISBN978-0-394-53840-2 (hardcover)
813/.54
LC ClassPS3560.O3745 S7 1986

The Stars at Noon is a 1986 novel by Denis Johnson. It was published by Alfred A. Knopf on September 12, 1986. The novel follows an unnamed American woman during the Nicaraguan Revolution in 1984. It was adapted into the 2022 film Stars at Noon, starring Margaret Qualley and Joe Alwyn.

Plot

The novel follows an unnamed American woman, supposedly a journalist, living in Managua, Nicaragua in 1984, during Sandinista rule. She originally traveled to Nicaragua as an observer for an anti-war group. She is disgusted with the corruption of both the Sandinistas and "the stupid CIA." She hustles as a prostitute at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Managua, hoping to leave Nicaragua one day. At the hotel, she eventually meets an unnamed English oil businessman with whom she falls in love. When the Englishman has a falling out with the Nicaraguans, the two flee together towards the southern border with Costa Rica. An American who is most likely a CIA agent tracks them and pressures her to sell out the Englishman.[3][2][1]

Background

Denis Johnson visited Nicaragua and Costa Rica two years prior to the novel's publication. He initially planned to write a magazine article, but the prospect of his words being judged seriously in nonfiction turned him off. He instead turned to fiction, using the Central American atmosphere as both the novel's setting and as a spiritual allegory for hell. The novel's female narrator and other characters remain mostly nameless. In a telephone interview with Jane Perlez of The New York Times, Johnson explained: "I thought it was appropriate that the people in hell wouldn't have any names. She refers to a couple of people with names, then withdraws them." Johnson also said he did not feel uncomfortable writing in a woman's voice because he had previous experience from completing a number of dramatic monologues in the female voice.[4][3]

Reception

Publishers Weekly gave the novel a mixed review, writing, "Short as it is, the book could be trimmed by half without loss of substance. Johnson's previous novels Angels and Fiskadoro displayed an unmistakable gift. Unfortunately, this is inferior work by a manifestly superior writer."[2] Kirkus Reviews also gave the novel a mixed review, saying it would have been better as a non-fiction book but concluded, "Johnson delivers an evocative and potently depressing travelogue, and does so with more savvy and unromantic political velleity than is found in books by, say, Graham Greene or Joan Didion."[1] Caryn James of The New York Times Book Review gave the novel a mixed review, writing, "language slides off its moorings, as style mirrors substance almost too well. Just as often as it is debased, the language is inflated by the empty abstractions of the narrator."[3]

People gave the novel a positive review, calling Johnson "an original, exciting writer, worth every minute spent in his nightmarish creation."[5]

John Blades of the Chicago Tribune called the novel "intensely mystical and poetic; it has the texture and illogic of a nightmare."[6]

Legacy and influence

Writing for The Guardian in 2012, Scottish novelist Alan Warner cited The Stars at Noon as evidence that Johnson is "one of America's greatest fiction writers."[7] Writing for The Daily Beast in 2017, Jeremy Kryt called the novel "excellent" and compared its "shiftless gringo's point of view" to that of Oliver Stone's film Salvador (1986), writing, "Yet one could argue that Johnson's lost and nameless heroine is the more sympathetic character—and a more tragic figure—than Stone's protagonist."[8]

The novel inspired "The Sprawl" by Sonic Youth, a song from the band's fifth studio album Daydream Nation (1989). The lyrics for the song's first verse were taken directly from The Stars at Noon by the band's vocalist and guitarist Kim Gordon.[9][10][11]

Film adaptation

The novel was adapted by Claire Denis, Léa Mysius and Andrew Litvack into the 2022 film Stars at Noon. The film was directed by Claire Denis and stars Joe Alwyn and Margaret Qualley.[12] Claire Denis read Johnson's novel a decade earlier and assessed it as a love story between two people who develop a relationship solely due to the context of the revolution. She added, "It's also about the fear and the terror of love, the fear of failure."[13] Whereas the novel is set in 1984 during the Nicaraguan Revolution, the film is set in present-day Nicaragua during the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Stars at Noon by Denis Johnson". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "Fiction Book Review: The Stars at Noon by Denis Johnson". Publishers Weekly. September 1, 1986. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 James, Caryn (September 28, 1986). "Nameless Lovers Chased Through Hell". The New York Times Book Review. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  4. ↑ Perlez, Jane (September 28, 1986). "Writing In A Female Voice". The New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Picks and Pans Review: The Stars at Noon". People. November 10, 1986. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  6. ↑ Blades, John (October 12, 1986). "Novelist Turns Nicaragua Into A Tropical Inferno". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  7. ↑ Warner, Alan (September 13, 2012). "Train Dreams by Denis Johnson – review". The Guardian. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  8. ↑ Kryt, Jeremy (June 11, 2017). "Here's Why Denis Johnson Was the Last Truly Great Gonzo War Correspondent". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  9. ↑ Barker, Emily (April 22, 2015). "40 Bone-Chilling Tracks That Predict A Dark Dystopian Future". NME. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  10. ↑ Lorentzen, Christian (January 11, 2018). "Denis Johnson Left Us With One Final — and Terrific — Book". Vulture. New York. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  11. ↑ Teodoro, José (November 17, 2014). "Denis Johnson's The Laughing Monsters, reviewed: Manic, weird, urgent". National Post. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  12. ↑ Kroll, Justin (November 3, 2021). "Joe Alwyn To Co-Star Opposite Margaret Qualley In A24's 'The Stars At Noon' From Claire Denis". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  13. ↑ de la Fuente, Anna Marie (December 5, 2021). "High Life Director Claire Denis Talks in Panama About Shooting The Stars at Noon". Variety. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  14. ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (May 25, 2022). "Stars at Noon review – languid tale of sex, lies and intrigue in the Nicaraguan heat". The Guardian. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
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