Title: Set the Stars Alight
Author: Amanda Dykes
Genre: Time-slip
Publisher: Bethany House
Release date: 30 June 2020
Pages: 368
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About the Book
Lucy Clairmont’s family treasured the magic of the past, and her childhood fascination with stories of the high seas led her to become a marine archaeologist. But when tragedy strikes, it’s Dashel, an American forensic astronomer, and his knowledge of the stars that may help her unearth the truth behind the puzzle she’s discovered in her family home.
Two hundred years earlier, the seeds of love are sown between a boy and a girl who spend their days playing in a secret sea cave, while the privileged young son of the estate looks on, wishing to join. As the children grow and war leads to unthinkable heartbreak, a story of love, betrayal, sacrifice, and redemption unfolds, held secret by the passage of time.
As Lucy and Dash journey to a mysterious old estate on the East Sussex coast, their search leads them to a community of souls and a long-hidden tale that may hold the answers–and the healing–they so desperately seek.
Excerpt
One day, after returning from school, Lucy ran into the reading room, pulled out a book, and walked through the tunnel that led to Candlewick Commons’ front doors. She always shivered as she passed through. Not so much from cold, as from the distinct impression that the tunnel was a portal to a dragon’s lair, and its many windows reached story upon story into the sky.
Passing through the massive front doors, she entered the garden courtyard, where she liked to read while circling the fountain. “‘All the world is a stage.'” Lucy read aloud, trying to keep from chucking the book into the fountain. Chopped up in strange lengths of lines, it made no sense to her. Whoever had given a pen to this man Shakespeare had made a massive mistake.
“All the world is not a stage,” she argued right back at the book. And with her nose buried in the offending pages, she collided with something and only had time to think one thing on her way down—that something was tall.
Not having far to fall, she hit the ground before her counterpart, and when a boy landed next to her, all limbs and glasses, they looked at each other wide-eyed for a moment. When her haze lifted, Lucy made to speak, but the boy—dark-haired, brown-eyed, a year or two older than her ten years—beat her to it.
“Sorry,” he said.
American. His Rs dug deep into the word, mouth as wide as his eyes when he spoke it. She attributed it to his accent but would later come to learn it was just him. Wide-eyed, wide-worded, wide-hearted.
“Sorry,” she echoed.
He stood, reaching first for her book, which had fallen near the fountain and was catching stray water droplets on its aged pages. He pushed his black-rimmed glasses up as he read the title. “As You Like It. What’s that mean?”
Lucy shrugged. “I don’t like it.”
He seemed to remember her presence then, nearly tripping over his lanky legs all over again as he reached a hand to pull her up—the first instance of many times in their lives.
Review
Wow. I have no idea where to start with this review. I feel as though I could read this story over and over again and still get lost in the spell it weaves, still find myself discovering details and wonders that slipped by me in previous readings.
From the first page, I knew I was in the hands of a master storyteller—which, as it turns out, is exactly where characters Lucy and Dashel find themselves as they grow up listening to Lucy’s father’s stories: “And so began the gift. Dad giving, and giving, and giving them stories. True ones, made up ones, and some a mysterious mingling in between. In his hands, the simplest things become wonders, miracles, the stuff of fairy tales, because “‘in a world as dark as ours, we—that is, people—forget how to see the light. So we remind them by telling the truth, fighting the dark, paying attention . . . setting the stars alight. There are things shining brightly all along, if we will notice.’”
This story is all about seeking those things that shine brightly in the darkness, and I was as enraptured by Lucy and Dash’s story in the present as I was by Frederick’s story two hundred years earlier. The plot was intriguing in its own right, but Dykes’s prose is a work of art. It’s lyrical, perfectly nuanced, and when coupled with this particular story, achingly beautiful. Lucy and Dash were such unassuming characters in many ways, yet there was incredible depth to their characterisation. I adored them and their relationship, from the way it began all the way through to where it ended up.
And yet it is Frederick’s story that is the heart of this story, and on that I will say little because it must unfold exactly as it does in the book. It’s like Lucy’s dad always said, “All stories—the very best ones, anyhow—may be full of fairy tales and nonsense and lore, but if they are to be lasting . . . they must have truth at their very core.” I just love that paradox, and I love that while Frederick’s story is the truth Lucy and Dash were seeking, there are even deeper, greater truths at the heart of this story for those who take the time to mine for them.
Take the time to mine this story for each and every star it sets alight. You will be nourished and enriched!
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not influenced the content of my review, which is my honest and unbiased opinion.
About the Author
Amanda Dykes is the author of Bespoke: A Tiny Christmas Tale, the critically-acclaimed bicycle story that invited readers together to fund bicycles for missionaries in Asia. A former English teacher, she has a soft spot for classic literature and happy endings. She is a drinker of tea, a dweller of Truth, and a spinner of hope-filled tales, grateful for the grace of a God who loves extravagantly.
Connect with Amanda:
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I’m almost finished with this book, and I’m reading slowly because I don’t want it to end! Beautiful review, Katie! I echo your sentiments!
It’s definitely worth savouring! Enjoy xo
Dear Katie:
When was the last time you read a book in which a relationship between a young lady (Lucy) and a young man (Dashel) was given such time, space and breadth to blossom…..
And to blossom in such a virtuous, noble and unhurried fashion?
PhiL >^•_•^<
It’s rare indeed!
Dear Katie:
The character of Sophie fascinates me.
She’s not easily impressed, is she?
Listen. Lucy Clairmont is altogether disarming – at least to the reader.
She is pure in heart. Her speech is seasoned with grace. She carries herself with a quiet dignity that is instantly endearing. But she’s not ‘too good to be true.’ Her character is entirely believable.
And yet, from the first moment Sophie meets Lucy, and for the longest time thereafter, Sophie holds Lucy at arm’s length.
Sophie doesn’t seem to be at all impressed with Lucy, does she?
Her initial curtness – would it be fair to say discourteousness? – had me, the reader, wondering aloud: “What’s HER problem?”
Of course, as the story unfolds and we are told more about the ‘direct hits’ that Sophie has endured, our attitude towards Sophie shifts. We no longer recoil from her. We feel compassion towards her.
Okay. Here’s the point I wish to make:
As uncomfortable as Sophie’s initial harsh words make us feel, we know that we have encountered such people in our own lives.
And the temptation is to tell such people to stroke off, or at least to give them a wide berth.
But Lucy doesn’t do that, does she?
No. Instead, she DEFERS to Sophie.
Recently, I was watching a program in which a Roman Catholic priest attested to the importance of deferring to others, if we do indeed wish to be instruments of God’s transformative work in this world.
And indeed the priest is right.
That’s why I love how Amanda Dykes envisions Lucy’s interactions with Sophie.
Lucy always answers Sophie’s sharpness with grace.
And in so doing, over the course of an extended period of time, Sophie softens towards Lucy.
I daresay that Lucy is Christ’s ambassador to Sophie.
And the gentle deference that Lucy always shows towards Sophie is, I confess, a stern rebuke to me.
I, alas, have a penchant for nursing my wounded pride.
It’s entirely devilish, I know, and I hate myself whenever I allow it to gain a foothold, but I do.
Just how much favour would Lucy have curried with Sophie if Lucy had nursed HER wounded pride?
This is just one example of the spiritual depths to be plumbed in Amanda Dyke’s newest book.
Even the secondary characters are capable of stopping readers in their tracks.
I was sure ’nuff stopped in mine!
Contemplatively,
PhiL >^•_•^<
Love hearing your contemplations, Phil. And love meeting another person who thinks deeply about the books they read. I’m not sure when it first began to sink in that those who are most difficult to like are often the ones who need us to show kindness (or deference, as you put it) the most, but every time I encounter a character like Lucy in fiction, it firms my resolve to go and do likewise. So glad you enjoyed the book!
Hey Katie.
Allow me to digress for a moment.
I am a retired Canada Post letter carrier who embarks upon nightly 2-hour-plus, 25-mile-plus bicycle rides out into the countryside.
Under a canopy of stars (or clouds, as the case may be) I listen to podcasts, sermons and – wait for it – audiobooks by Christian pastors, theologians and authors.
Thus, I’m far more likely to immerse myself in the work of a given author if he/she has managed to release his/her work in an audiobook format.
And I gotta tell ya, a narrator can make or break a story, regardless of the quality of the author’s writing.
In the case of ‘Set The Stars Alight,’ Amanda Dykes hired Shiromi Arserio to narrate her text.
Well.
Shiromi Arserio is a stage actor and voice talent who holds a BA in theater from Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance.
And it shows!
The skill-full manner in which she utilizes tone and inflection to craft Lucy’s gracefulness and Sophie’s curmudgeonliness causes both these characters AND their interactions to be burned into the listener’s mind.
The tension is palpable, and as a consequence, their dialogues are memorable.
And as a consequence of THAT, the magic of ‘Set The Stars Alight’ lingers long after the 12 hours and 36 minutes have elapsed.
My two cents’ worth.
PhiL >^•_•^<