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An Astonishment of Stars
- Stories
- Narrated by: Roveena Gnanabakthan
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
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An Astonishment of Stars
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Summary
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.
Critic reviews
“Perfect for readers of incisive stories, this collection gently unravels the everyday dilemmas in modern BIPOC families.”—Booklist
“To be a contemporary racialized woman is to be noticed but also invisible, and Bhadresa deftly explores these paradoxical spaces. A gorgeously observed collection by a wonderfully gifted writer.”—Lindsay Wong, author of The Woo-Woo and Tell Me Pleasant Things about Immortality: Stories
“Each of these stories is a small miracle, and I can’t wait to see where Bhadresa’s own star catapults from here.”—Amy Jones, author of Pebble & Dove and Every Little Piece of Me