Synopses & Reviews
In this moving, emotional narrative of love and resilience, a young couple confronts
the start of Argentina's Dirty War in the 1970s, and a daughter searches for truth twenty years later.
New York, 1998
. Santiago Larrea, a wealthy Argentine diplomat, is holding court
alongside his wife, Lila, and their daughter, Paloma, a college student
and budding jewelry designer, at their annual summer polo match and
soiree. All seems perfect in the Larreas' world — until an unexpected
party guest from Santiago's university days shakes his usually
unflappable demeanor. The woman's cryptic comments spark Paloma's
curiosity about her father's past, of which she knows little.
When the family travels to Buenos Aires for Santiago's UN
ambassadorial appointment, Paloma is determined to learn more about his
life in the years leading up to the military dictatorship of 1976. With
the help of a local university student, Franco Bonetti, an activist
member of H.I.J.O.S. — a group whose members are the children of the
d
esaparecidos, or the "disappeared," men and women who were
forcibly disappeared by the state during Argentina's "Dirty War" — Paloma
unleashes a chain of events that not only leads her to question her
family and her identity, but also puts her life in danger.
In compelling fashion,
On a Night of a Thousand Stars speaks to relationships, morality,
and identity during a brutal period in Argentinian history, and the
understanding — and redemption — people crave in the face of tragedy.
Includes a Reading Group Guide.Review
"This novel sheds light on a dark chapter in Argentina's history, the
effects of the country's worst dictatorship, and the consequences for
those left behind and those who survived." Greer Hendricks, New York Times bestselling co-author of The Wife Between Us
Review
"In Andrea Clark's debut novel, she has accomplished the remarkable feat
of rendering the political and the human story, telling a painful
narrative of lives lost, Argentinian history, and the family. Brava and
welcome." Roxana Robinson, Author of Dawson's Fall
Review
"Andrea Yaryura Clark's deep understanding of the complexity and
savagery of Argentine history brings an authority to this gripping
novel, a chilling reminder of the precariousness of human rights and the
extraordinary bravery of those fighting to preserve freedom for all." Lisa Gornick, Author of The Peacock Feast
Review
"In luminescent prose and exquisite detail, Andrea Yaryura Clark
chronicles a family's history through the political turmoil of
Argentina's Dirty War and beyond. Both heart-rending and hopeful,
On a Night of a Thousand Stars explores the strength and
endurance of love and familial bonds in the face of chaos and tragedy. A
deeply moving, timely and important debut." Cristina Alger, New York Times bestselling author of Girls Like Us
Review
"With suspense and heartbreak, Andrea Yaryura Clark's debut novel
explores the human toll of Argentina's Dirty War, whose atrocities can
still upend the most cloistered and prosperous lives.
On a Night of a Thousand Stars turns one woman's genealogical quest into a searing indictment of the complicity inherent in cultural silence." Jennifer Egan, New York Times bestselling author of Manhattan Beach
About the Author
Andrea
Yaryura
Clark grew up in Argentina amid the political violence of the
1970s until her family moved to North America. After completing her
university studies, she returned to Buenos Aires to reconnect with her
roots. She followed with interest the stories then emerging about the
children of the "disappeared" — the youngest victims of Argentina's
military dictatorship in the 1970s — who were coming of age and grappling
with the fates of their families. She conducted numerous interviews
documenting their stories, which inspired her debut novel of historical
fiction. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, two sons and a spirited
terrier.