Light from Uncommon Stars

this had its moments i guess but i have read better-written things on ao3 and i got extremely tired of “cozy scene where loveable misfit main character eats food with found family”. any drama introduced is resolved within a few pages and you always know exactly what is going to happen and that everyone will be fine, and the attempt at humorous pop-culture aware plot (especially at the end) is just very cringe

Genuinely poor.

I love the book and especially that I play the violin, I have a deeper appreciation and understanding for classical music and the composers they're talking about. The only thing I would critique is the way Ryka Aoki develops the magic and world building since it can be slightly confusing to follow at times. Otherwise, I'm grateful to read it at a book club and don't regret reading it again.

3.5

This book tackles so much in such a short time, it should've been overwhelming, but somehow it all fit together perfectly.

I especially liked the refreshing writing style that somehow really mirrored the way my brain usually works (probably not for everyone though).

Also, so weird. There are Aliens owning a Donut Shop and a cursed Violin. I loved it.

A really sweet story. A mash-up of several genres and topics that somehow works.

Shizuka Satomi has made a deal with the devil: she must train 7 souls in the way of the violin and then sacrifice them in order to save her soul and get her music back. However, when she finds her 7th student, Katrina, she realizes that this may be harder than she imagined. Katrina, a trans woman who has run away from home, is homeless and desperate. Shizuka's offer to teach her violin while providing housing and food seems too good to be true, but she readily accepts. Lan, a woman from a different planet, has set up shop in a donut shop nearby. These 3 women's lives entangle, and they must work together to overcome their fears and live.

This book is beautiful. At the beginning, I had absolutely no idea what was going on. The story telling is a little confusing. When the POV changes in the audiobook, there is typically no pause or anything to indicate it has changed and the reader has to figure it out. At first, this made everything a little confusing, but as you get to know the characters, you can easily keep up with the changes. After I started to pick up on what this story was about, I fell in love. The characters are all so complex and damaged in a way that felt so real. They all had their own demons, literally and figuratively, that they had to deal with from their pasts and their present, and watching these characters help each other through life felt so rewarding. This book tackles very heavy themes, including racism, transphobia, queerphobia, etc., but Aoki did a great job of balancing these themes with touching moments.

I recommend this book to anyone. It was a lovely, fun, dark story about survival in a world that doesn't want you to survive.

TW: anxiety, deadnaming, domestic abuse, gun violence, homophobia, mentions of war (intergalactic), misgendering, partental physical abuse, racism, rape, self harm, sexual abuse, slut-shaming, suicidal thoughts, transphobia

This was an enjoyable read, although it did feel a little tonally odd at times. There were certain plot points that I never really bought (Endplague?), however the over-arching themes made them fairly easy to gloss over (although one passing comment at the end threw me a bit: did it mean to imply that Katrina had formed some sort of relationship with her apparently unrepentant molester Tso?).

Also, although I can appreciate the appropriateness of the Bartok piece as a metaphor for acceptance of things outside your normal realm of experience, I am not a great lover of the violin, so I struggled to really understand the impact the music was meant to be having. Granted the experience was well described, but I can't say I really believed in it. I suspect this is a failure on my part however.

So, overall, despite some misgivings, a good read; probably even more so if you have greater musical appreciation than I do.

I really enjoyed half of this book, but the other half annoyed me to no end. I think that the portrayal of Katrina as a homeless, trans, violin prodigy willing to sell her soul for a scrap of dignity is extremely well done, realistic, and poignant. However, Lan the donut lady/alien refugee mom was so flat and dull that it inhibited the whole story for me. From the non-sensical romantic aspects to her frequent disregard for her children, I just could not get into her storyline at all, especially not mashed together with soul stealing demons. Aoki is great at writing about food for sure, but the overall conceit of the book is just not for me.

Shizuka Satomi has sacrificed the souls of six violinists to the devil, and has now found her seventh soul in runaway teen and violin prodigy Katrina. When she visits a local donut shop, owner Lan Tran catches her eye. What she doesn't realise is that the donut shop hides a spaceship, and the Tran family are actually aliens from another planet.

In amongst the quirky plot, the book touches on a lot of serious topics. The main one being the transphobia that Katrina experiences throughout the book. Her parents are unsupportive and abusive, she has to do sex work to make a living, and there's mentions of sexual assault. When she performs as a violinist on stage, she's misgendered and made fun of for wearing a dress. Most of the characters are Asian, so we also see some casual racism directed their way, as well as some bigotry towards two other LGBT characters. There's also the side plot of a violin-maker with super low self-esteem, because her father told her that the secrets of violin-making can only be passed down to his sons.

Unfortunately it didn't quite come together for me. The book tries to straddle too many things. I'll admit I went into expecting a comfy sci-fi read (the book is described as “Good Omens meets The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet”) so I finished it feeling really confused and disappointed.

This book is ambitious, and tries to cram so many things into the story: A trans protagonist, a love for violins, video game music, a faustian bargain, and a space alien crew running a donut shop. I'm still not sure about that last one, but I think it pulls of the rest with aplomb.

Wow.

I felt somewhat feeling emotionally disconnected from the story. So it took me significantly longer to read this one.

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki is a collection of discordant elements: California's San Gabriel Valley, cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship with a deep love and fascination for fresh-made donuts. However, instead of Light From Uncommon Stars feeling overly jangly like a tin can full of pennies...this book comes together like a bit of sugar-dusted magic. 

The premise involves three women, Shizuka Satomi, Katrina Nguyen, and Lan Tran. All are women running from something and grasping for something that will, in the most literal sense, save them. 

Shizuka, long ago, made a deal with the devil. To escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six. Enter Katrina, a young transgender runaway that catches Shizuka's ear with her wild talent; Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She's found her final candidate.

But where does a donut shop fit into all of this?

“Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn't have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan's kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul's worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline.”

“As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found.”

The first thing you notice when reading this story is that humanity is laid bare. The good, the bad, and the deplorable are brought into the light for all to see. Maybe it is because it involves Faustian bargains. Ultimately, who you are will shine through because it has to. The music and the devil know what is in your heart. I think that is why one of the main characters is transgender. Aside from the beautiful queer representation, they are being their most authentic self. Who they really are, is brought out to the forefront in a very emotional and unflinchingly raw way. 

And I am here for it. 

The book also touches on the importance of the concept of a found family. Who we are born to is not necessarily whom we end up with as our nearest and dearest. Sometimes, our family is a bunch of alien space refugees running from a galactic war who run a donut shop. 

Light from Uncommon Stars is also a sensual experience. Music and food can be luscious and evocative of memories of bygone times. Aoki uses them as mute characters. When speaking of music, “What would happen if someone played their existence not only to its inevitable end, but also to its inevitable beginning? What if someone played their music to its inevitable everything?” Or, when talking about bread, “A good bread tastes like home.” 

My only caveat to this lovely story is a point brought up by the amazing reviewer Gautam Bhatia: this story is heavily steeped in American culture. This might make this story difficult to connect to if you are unaware of some of the minutiae of American culture. 

If you have an opportunity to read this book, you should. It is an entertaining, heartwarming experience that speaks to the heart of what makes us both human and who we are inside. It takes absolute courage to be your most authentic self, and these three female protagonists, each on their own path, show that courage in different ways. 

In retrospect, Ryka Aoki's “Light from Uncommon Stars” is the best new science fiction / fantasy release of 2021, and, it's a little bit of both genres all mashed up together. This one book is so cute and fuzzy but dead serious at the same time - I mean, can an author pull off a somber comment on LGBTQ rights, alien invasion, and Doctor Faustus in the same novel (not to mention some great musical references) - but then make that story into Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? This a novel that had me smiling, chuckling, and rolling my eyes all the way through. I loved it. I recommend it highly (and it's, gasp, not a doorstop!).