---
product_id: 16789325
title: "Stardust: A Novel"
price: "B/.48"
currency: PAB
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.com.pa/products/16789325-stardust-a-novel
store_origin: PA
region: Panama
---

# Stardust: A Novel

**Price:** B/.48
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- **What is this?** Stardust: A Novel
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## Description

desertcart.com: Stardust: A Novel: 9781439156322: Kanon, Joseph: Books

Review: Atmospheric Neo-Noir with the Glamour of Silver Age Hollywood - Ben Collier, nee Kohler is a soldier with the Signal Corps tapped to make a movie about the horrors of the concentration camps. On his way back to the states to do this job and see his estranged brother, he learns that his brother has 'fallen' from a hotel balcony in a suicide that is hushed up as an accident. Ben becomes sure that his brother was murdered, the question is by whom and why. Searching for answers, Ben Collier tours a post-war Hollywood and America on the verge of replacing a hot war with a cold one. The plot and characters in this book are intricate and clever, but the real magic is in the atmosphere and the dialogue. Stardust invokes not only silver screen Hollywood but the pictures that made it a legend. Think Double Indemnity and Out of the Past to get some idea of the flavor of Stardust. The book is dialogue driven and there isn't so much as a wrong grace note. The characters have the cynical patter and the heartbreaking melodrama of the noir films that inspired them without ever falling into parody. Other reviewers comment that the book could have been shortened and tightened, but the reader would have been the loser as depth would have been lost. More importantly time in a magical, lost, probably illusory world would have been shortened for the reader. Stardust is a great way to spend time in a Hollywood that never was, but a Hollywood we all know just the same. Highest possible recommendation to those who love noir, Silver Age Hollywood or literary mysteries. Stunning.
Review: Joseph Kanon's book, Stardust, is not about a ballroom. It's about the glitter, the glam, and the ugliness of Hollywood. - Stardust takes place in 1945. WWII has ended, Europe is in ruins and lives have been shattered. In Joseph Kanon's book, Ben Collier is on the Chief, a train that runs from the east coast to the west coast, to attend to his brother's affairs. Once there, Ben learns his brother, Daniel, is lingering in a coma and not expected to live .Ben also learns that Daniel was either pushed or fell from the balcony of the apartment he rents for reasons that are unknown but are suspect. Movies have a cast of characters and so does Stardust. There's Daniel who seems to be greater and far more interesting in death than he was in life. Lisel is Daniel's widow who came to the States early on in the war and has never acclimated to Hollywood or the life that plays out there.. Then there are those who came during and after the war to a new country with barely their lives. Other characters also came from Europe very little except for what could be smuggled out of Europe. Hollywood is a character in Kanon's story. It's the backdrop on which Stardust plays out. Stardust is a good read. The only way to improve Kanon's book would be to use a good editor. So, my question is: where have all the good editors gone? Writers have fabulous ideas around which to base a novel. But it is the editor who takes the novel in its most raw and rough form and makes it shine like a diamond. A good editor would have tightened up Stardust and made a good book better.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,054,162 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #3,168 in Espionage Thrillers (Books) #5,183 in Historical Thrillers (Books) #25,227 in Suspense Thrillers |
| Customer Reviews | 4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars (634) |
| Dimensions  | 5.33 x 1.32 x 8.25 inches |
| Edition  | Reprint |
| ISBN-10  | 1439156328 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-1439156322 |
| Item Weight  | 1 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 528 pages |
| Publication date  | July 6, 2010 |
| Publisher  | Atria |

## Images

![Stardust: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71v9RYoGFFL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Atmospheric Neo-Noir with the Glamour of Silver Age Hollywood
*by A***N on January 6, 2012*

Ben Collier, nee Kohler is a soldier with the Signal Corps tapped to make a movie about the horrors of the concentration camps. On his way back to the states to do this job and see his estranged brother, he learns that his brother has 'fallen' from a hotel balcony in a suicide that is hushed up as an accident. Ben becomes sure that his brother was murdered, the question is by whom and why. Searching for answers, Ben Collier tours a post-war Hollywood and America on the verge of replacing a hot war with a cold one. The plot and characters in this book are intricate and clever, but the real magic is in the atmosphere and the dialogue. Stardust invokes not only silver screen Hollywood but the pictures that made it a legend. Think Double Indemnity and Out of the Past to get some idea of the flavor of Stardust. The book is dialogue driven and there isn't so much as a wrong grace note. The characters have the cynical patter and the heartbreaking melodrama of the noir films that inspired them without ever falling into parody. Other reviewers comment that the book could have been shortened and tightened, but the reader would have been the loser as depth would have been lost. More importantly time in a magical, lost, probably illusory world would have been shortened for the reader. Stardust is a great way to spend time in a Hollywood that never was, but a Hollywood we all know just the same. Highest possible recommendation to those who love noir, Silver Age Hollywood or literary mysteries. Stunning.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Joseph Kanon's book, Stardust, is not about a ballroom. It's about the glitter, the glam, and the ugliness of Hollywood.
*by S***N on December 1, 2014*

Stardust takes place in 1945. WWII has ended, Europe is in ruins and lives have been shattered. In Joseph Kanon's book, Ben Collier is on the Chief, a train that runs from the east coast to the west coast, to attend to his brother's affairs. Once there, Ben learns his brother, Daniel, is lingering in a coma and not expected to live .Ben also learns that Daniel was either pushed or fell from the balcony of the apartment he rents for reasons that are unknown but are suspect. Movies have a cast of characters and so does Stardust. There's Daniel who seems to be greater and far more interesting in death than he was in life. Lisel is Daniel's widow who came to the States early on in the war and has never acclimated to Hollywood or the life that plays out there.. Then there are those who came during and after the war to a new country with barely their lives. Other characters also came from Europe very little except for what could be smuggled out of Europe. Hollywood is a character in Kanon's story. It's the backdrop on which Stardust plays out. Stardust is a good read. The only way to improve Kanon's book would be to use a good editor. So, my question is: where have all the good editors gone? Writers have fabulous ideas around which to base a novel. But it is the editor who takes the novel in its most raw and rough form and makes it shine like a diamond. A good editor would have tightened up Stardust and made a good book better.

### ⭐⭐⭐ No Characters to Root For in this One
*by M***E on April 16, 2023*

Joseph Kanon is a very productive writer and I genuinely like, in almost all of his books the interweaving of history, geography, timeframe and real and fictional people to create a very visual and alive atmosphere. But, I've noticed in the last few of his books the I've read, most recently Stardust and Alibi (I don't know the chronology of his books so I can't say this is a recent trend) that I just don't care for the characters. I found myself hoping that somebody would knock some sense into Ben and even better, just knock him. He is stubborn, self-righteous and egotistical, everything he does he can justify but he can't seem to find or understand others' perspectives. I think Mr. Kanon gives a very unrealistic view of studio life and studio politics. In the real world, I think Ben would have been kicked out on his ear and where was the Army in all of this while Ben is playing detective. Interesting plot, good atmosphere, many interesting (minor) characters, but in the end, I could not stomach Ben.

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*Product available on Desertcart Panama*
*Store origin: PA*
*Last updated: 2026-04-01*