The Stars Are a Million Glittering Worlds
In Gina Butson’s pensive novel The Stars Are a Million Glittering Worlds, a woman evades her grief.
After her mountaineering father’s death, Thea, a New Zealander, backpacks in Guatemala, falling in with a drug-fueled community of expatriates and tourists among whom strangers bond as “friends for a day.” There she meets Chris and Sarah, an Australian couple who befriend her at their shared hostel. Thea, in her loneliness, develops feelings for Chris. Then Sarah is found dead in a lake. Both Thea and Chris feel that they should have done more for Sarah; despite their survivor’s guilt, though, they push their thoughts aside to forge a romance.
Thea is a knowing heroine, prone to reflecting on her past traumas; she often assumes an outsider’s role. She relishes new experiences and avoids disclosing private details to others. In Guatemala, she tires of the backpackers’ carefree lifestyles and yearns to return home. A detour reunites her with Chris, whom she follows to Tasmania, putting her independence on hold and ignoring her doubts. Though Chris is magnetic and adapts to their shared household and work routines well, he’s also self-focused. Across fourteen years, the couple grow older and face COVID-19 lockdowns together. News of a bushwalker’s death reminds Thea of her suppressed pain, including over Chris’s reserve around Sarah’s death.
Poetic descriptions of Thea’s inner world (“There’s a dark honeycomb of holes inside her”) and deft descriptions of trails, weather, and wildlife combine to hint at danger in the wilderness, mirroring the risks Thea takes in probing her heart. When Thea confronts her guilt, it reawakens her resolve to break free of the past by embracing the truth.
In the luminous novel The Stars Are a Million Glittering Worlds, a woman evolves through heartbreaks.
Reviewed by
Karen Rigby
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