Synopses & Reviews
I am convinced that at birth the cake is already baked. Nurture is the nuts or frosting, but if you’re a spice cake, you’re a spice cake, and nothing is going to change you into an angel food.
Tall, slender Violet Mathers is growing up in the Great Depression, which could just as well define her state of mind. Abandoned by her mother as a child, mistreated by her father, and teased by her schoolmates (“Hey, Olive Oyl, where’s Popeye?”), the lonely girl finds solace in artistic pursuits. Only when she’s hired by the town’s sole feminist to work the night shift in the local thread factory does Violet come into her name, and bloom. Accepted by her co-workers, the teenager enters the happiest phase of her life, until a terrible accident causes her to retreat once again into her lonely shell.
Realizing that she has only one clear choice, Violet boards a bus heading west to California. But when the bus crashes in North Dakota, it seems that Fate is having another cruel laugh at Violet’s expense. This time though, Violet laughs back. She and her fellow passengers are rescued by two men: Austin Sykes, whom Violet is certain is the blackest man to ever set foot on the North Dakota prairie, and Kjel Hedstrom, who inspires feelings Violet never before has felt. Kjel and Austin are musicians whose sound is like no other, and with pluck, verve, and wit, Violet becomes part of their quest to make a new kind of music together.
Oh My Stars is Lorna Landvik’s most ambitious novel yet, with a cast of characters whose travails and triumphs you’ll long remember. It is a tale of love and hope, bigotry and betrayal, loss and discovery–as Violet, who’s always considered herself a minor character in her own life story, emerges as a heroine you’ll laugh with, cry with, and, most important, cheer for all the way.
Synopsis
Only in one of Landvik's insightful highly entertaining novels might a dreary bus accident in rainy North Dakota during the Great Depression prove the beginning of a marvelous life-transforming journey.
About the Author
Lorna Landvik is an actor and comedian who has written and produced plays in which she also performs. The author of five previous novels, she is married and the mother of two daughters.
Reading Group Guide
I am convinced that at birth the cake is already baked. Nurture is the nuts or frosting, but if you’re a spice cake, you’re a spice cake, and nothing is going to change you into an angel food.
Tall, slender Violet Mathers is growing up in the Great Depression, which could just as well define her state of mind. Abandoned by her mother as a child, mistreated by her father, and teased by her schoolmates (“Hey, Olive Oyl, where’s Popeye?”), the lonely girl finds solace in artistic pursuits. Only when she’s hired by the town’s sole feminist to work the night shift in the local thread factory does Violet come into her name, and bloom. Accepted by her co-workers, the teenager enters the happiest phase of her life, until a terrible accident causes her to retreat once again into her lonely shell.
Realizing that she has only one clear choice, Violet boards a bus heading west to California. But when the bus crashes in North Dakota, it seems that Fate is having another cruel laugh at Violet’s expense. This time though, Violet laughs back. She and her fellow passengers are rescued by two men: Austin Sykes, whom Violet is certain is the blackest man to ever set foot on the North Dakota prairie, and Kjel Hedstrom, who inspires feelings Violet never before has felt. Kjel and Austin are musicians whose sound is like no other, and with pluck, verve, and wit, Violet becomes part of their quest to make a new kind of music together.
Oh My Stars is Lorna Landvik’s most ambitious novel yet, with a cast of characters whose travails and triumphs you’ll long remember. It is a tale of love and hope, bigotry and betrayal, loss and discovery–as Violet, who’s always considered herself a minor character in her own life story, emerges as a heroine you’ll laugh with, cry with, and, most important, cheer for all the way.
1. Discuss the novel’s structure. Does having Violet add commentary in the present change your perspective on the events that took place? Does the foreshadowing–for example, in the Prologue she reveals that she has a daughter–enhance the narrative or detract from it?
2. It “consoled” Violet “to think of her suicide, to think that there was going to be an ending to this life that sadistically had teased her with a taste of something wonderful, only to snatch it away, leaving her with her usual helping of pain and disappointment.” At what point does Violet stop entertaining thoughts of suicide? Why?
3. When Violet leaves the Hedstrom’s house the morning after the bus crash, why does Kjel go searching for her and bring her back to his house? Does he want to “save” her? Why does Violet decide to go with him?
4. Leona is displeased when Kjel brings Violet back with him that morning, and yet as the years pass she and Violet become like mother and daughter. Why do the two women forge such a close relationship?
5. Violet’s mother left when she was a child, abandoning her to the cruelty of her father. How does Violet’s upbringing impact her? Does she ever get over her mother having left her? How would you describe Violet as a mother?
6. After the fight at the gas station, Violet feels as if she is “part of the team” with Kjel and Austin. How does this incident alter the trio’s dynamic? How about for Violet in particular?
7. What makes Violet such an adept manager for the Pearltones? Would they have achieved the level of success they did without, as Austin says, Violet’s “genius for show business”?
8. Violet happily takes on the role as the Pearltone’s manager, but why is she so reluctant to give her own dream of designing clothing a chance?
9. At the beginning of chapter five, Violet (in the present) asks the reader, “What are your thoughts on nature vs. nurture? Do you believe that we come of the chute with our personalities already in place, or do you believe that our upbringing is the bigger determiner of our natures?” How does this apply to Austin and Dallas, and even to Violet, who endured an abusive childhood?
10. Austin says to Kjel, “I was saved by my music…and by my need to help rather than hurt our poor mother, and certainly by books–what a comfort it is to read about someone whose problems outweigh your own by tons.” For you, is there any truth to Austin’s statement about books?
11. Austin is plagued by guilt because Dallas is indirectly responsible for what happens to Kjel. Is Austin at fault? Do you think he would kick his brother out of the band if he had the chance to do it over again? Do you have any empathy at all for Dallas?
12. When they first meet, Violet and Austin do not get along. Why do they dislike one another so intensely? What turning points can you identify in their feelings toward one another?
13. Birdie asks Violet if she would have gotten together with Austin had Kjel lived. Do you believe they would have become romantically involved had Kjel not died?
14. Do you think Violet truly loved Kjel, or was it the idea of him? On some level, was she aware of her feelings for Austin before Kjel’s death?
15. Given the time period in which the book is set, race is a crucial part of the story. How does the author deal with the issue of race? Is it effectively portrayed? Could the cruelty and insensitivity shown toward Violet because of her amputation also be considered a form of prejudice?
16. How does being a child of mixed race affect Austin and Violet’s daughter, Miri? How about when she’s an adult?
17. Violet suffered from a condition known as tinnitus, although she did not know that for many years. How did the buzzing sound in her ears affect Violet's perception of herself and also the world around her?
18. How do you interpret Violet’s dream of Kjel near the end of the story? Is there any connection between the dream and the buzzing in her head disappearing?
19. Which character resonated with you the most? If you could use only one word to describe Oh My Stars, what would it be?
Author Q&A
A Conversation with Lorna LandvikQ: Where did you get the idea for Oh My Stars? As you write more and more books, does it get harder to come up with new ideas?
A: Oh My Stars came to me the way most of books have -- by the appearance of the main characters in my head. I have no idea who they are or what they want, but my curiosity is piqued and makes me want to write to find their answers. And no; it's a shortage more of time than ideas that's a problem for me.
Q: Why did you decide to have Violet lose her arm? What does it add to the story?
A: I don't remember deciding that Violet would lose her arm, I was only writing what happened to her. Her amputation was just one more thing that handicapped her and she was able to survive and then flourish only by her sheer force of will.
Q: Violet tells her story while she's sitting in a diner. Is there a particular diner that you frequent? What makes diners so conducive to storytelling?
A: While there are coffee shops (not the latte kind, but the egg-salad sandwich kind) that I frequent here, none of them have a counter. However, whenever I travel by car, I seek out diners and truckstops. Counters are like train cars or buses; sometimes you choose to look out the window and other times you open yourself up the person next to you. It's a great opportunity for storytelling and for listening. You know that when you pay your bill and walk out, you're not going to see the person with whom you just had a deep and revealing conversation.
Q: The title Oh My Stars comes from something that the character Kjel says every morning when he wakes up. Does it represent the book in a less literal way as well?
A: There are many meanings of Oh My Stars; it is the exclamation of wonder Kjel uses and also it is how Violet eventually regards Kjel and Austin and all the people she's loved in her life. It was my mother's favorite phrase; whenever she used it, you knew it was in response to some big news.
Q: Oh My Stars is certain to make more than a few readers reach for a box of tissues. Did you shed any tears while you were writing the story?
A: Yes. I think I've cried at some point in all of my books, which can be embarrassing if I'm writing in a public place.
Q: Readers might cry a little (or a lot), but they'll also laugh out loud. How important is humor in the story.
A: It's very important in that it's such a survival mechanism, particularly for Violet and Austin. Violet's humor changes; earlier on when she's so mistreated/misunderstood, she uses humor more as a weapon than a feather, but as her life opens up, so does her sense of humor. If life is a salad, then humor is the dressing, and everyone knows a salad is always better with lots of dressing.
Q: Was it difficult to convey the atmosphere of racial prejudice prevalent in the 1930s, particularly in the South? Why would the townspeople of Pearl be accepting of an interracial relationship when so many other pales in the country would not be?
A: It wasn't so much difficult as painful; it's hard imagining that people could treat people so badly. Violet thinks the townspeople of Pearl were more accepting because she and Austin were sponsored by the Hedstrom family who were beloved figures in the community. Also their acceptance came with time and knowledge; the more they got to know Violet and Austin, the more accepting they became.
Q: What part does music play in the story? Are you a music buff?
A: Music plays a huge part in this story; it's not only what brings the main characters together, its what brings anyone who listens to them together. Yes, I'm a big fan of music. My mother sang and played the piano every day of her life and as a teenager, I was a flutist in a city-wide orchestra. Now I pound away on the piano, playing 'easy adult' books and having a grand old time. I also like to sing -- I don't have a great range but I can harmonize with anyone.
Q: Did you have Elvis in mind when you created the character of Kjel?
A: No, but the more Kjel revealed himself to me, the more I recognized that he had Elvis-like qualities; the great good looks, the sex-appeal, the mischief and the unique, no-one-could-sing-this-song-the-way-I-sing-it musicianship.
Q: What can you tell us about tinnitus, the condition that causes the buzzing sound in Violet's ears?
A: I've read about the disorder and I know it's somewhat of a mystery -- it can come on in response to a blast to the ear, or it can come on for no discernible reason. People might have it for days or a weeks and people can suffer for years from it. I have had very brief, passing moments of it and can imagine how I'd be driven crazy if it were a long-lasting condition.
Q: Is Oh My Stars different from your other books in any way? Any similarities?
A: Oh My Stars is the first book that's set in a time period I wasn't alive in and it is the first book in which the action doesn't take place in Minnesota. I'd like to think that all my books are different from one another (I'd be in trouble if they weren't'); I guess the big similarity in all of them is I try to write about people whose stories will mean something to the reader; people who'll bring the reader to laughter and to tears.
Q: Violet says, "Since that long-ago party on a July day swarming with flies and so much more, I have made it a point to greet each new year of mine -- and of those I love -- with fanfare up the ying yang>" What is the most memorable birthday you've had?
A: I think it may have been my 18th. My best friend and I had worked in a plastic spoon and fork factory the summer after we graduated high school, and spent our earnings on a trip to Europe. I remember we were staying at a Swedish youth hostel and I thought, "man, I'm eighteen!" I felt so adventurous, so cosmopolitan, yet also so young and so far from home. If I recall, we continued the celebration by taking a tour through the Tuborg beer factory in Copenhagen.