The Stars at Noon - by Denis Johnson (Paperback)

About the Book

"Set in Nicaragua in 1984, The Stars at Noon is a story of passion, fear, and betrayal told in the voice of an American woman whose mission in Central America is as shadowy as her surroundings. Is she a reporter for an American magazine, as she sometimes claims, or a contact person for the anti-war group Eyes of Peace? And who is the rough English businessman she begins an affair with? The two foreigners become entangled in sinister plots and ever-widening webs of corruption, until a desperate attempt to escape the country brings their relationship to a crisis point."--Publisher marketing.

Book Synopsis

A literary thriller and love story set during the Nicaraguan revolution, from the National Book Award winner and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist. - Now the basis for a major motion picture

Set in Nicaragua in 1984, The Stars at Noon is a story of passion, fear, and betrayal told in the voice of an American woman whose mission in Central America is as shadowy as her surroundings. Is she a reporter for an American magazine, as she sometimes claims, or a contact person for the anti-war group Eyes of Peace? And who is the rough English businessman she begins an affair with? The two foreigners become entangled in sinister plots and ever-widening webs of corruption, until a desperate attempt to escape the country brings their relationship to a crisis point.

With his customary narrative brilliance, award-winning writer Denis Johnson brings a hellish landscape of moral ambiguity vividly to life.

Review Quotes

"A daring novel. . . . Johnson is one of our most inventive, unpredictable novelists." --The New York Times Book Review

"Ambitious and haunting. . . . It is as if one is reading a Graham Greene novel through a surreal haze. . . . Utterly brilliant." --Philadelphia Inquirer

"Powerful. . . . Johnson reminds us that political ideals have little to do with the shifting alliances and rhetoric by which we define our allies and enemies." --San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author

DENIS JOHNSON (1949-2017) was the author of nine novels, one novella, two books of short stories, five collections of poetry, two collections of plays, and one book of reportage. Among other honors, his novel Tree of Smoke won the 2007 National Book Award, and Train Dreams was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize.