The Same Bright Stars by Ethan Joella
Published by Scribner
Publication date: July 2, 2024
Genres: Book Clubs, Fiction, Contemporary, Vacation Reading
Bookshop
As evidenced by Wednesday’s review I’m always up for dark dark fiction if there’s humor somewhere in the horror. At the same time, I appreciate a gentler approach—slice-of-life novels if you will. Ethan Joella’s The Same Bright Stars fits in this quieter space perfectly. Jack Schmidt has been in the restaurant business since he was a little boy. Now in his early 50s he’s begun to look back at all he’s giving up to run and manage his family’s beachside restaurant in Delaware. When a substantial offer comes in from a large chain wanting to buy the restaurant he wonders if it’s time to get on with the rest of his life before it’s too late.
Jack started spending time in the restaurant after his mother died unexpectedly and his father had nowhere else for him to go after school. Everyone working there became a second family to him and some still work with him, but 40 years later they’re his only family. Even his longtime girlfriend gave up and moved away after one too many cancelled vacations. But now he learns she’s back and may still have feelings for him. Suddenly, a life narrowed by obligations feels as if it’s expanding faster than he can handle.
A returning girlfriend is just one of the unexpected situations that arises as The Same Bright Stars progresses. Jack faces personal and professional issues ranging from someone stealing from the restaurant to the death of a family friend. Each creates a push-pull feeling in him about his decision. A feeling heightened by the loving care with which Joella describes Rehoboth, the novel’s setting. A summer vacation town, he imbues it with a vibrant peacefulness, yet doesn’t succumb to sugarcoating the place. He embraces the very real fact that even in close-knit communities there can be pain in the private lives of its residents.
Joella writes Jimmy Stewart fiction and at times like these it’s deeply comforting. This is not to say his novels are simple—there’s nuance and layers to his characters and their lives. Rather, just as Jimmy Stewart’s presence in a movie was reassuring there’s a feeling of trust felt when reading Joella’s novels knowing that, large or small, the worlds and characters within will be written with respect. For those in The Same Bright Stars, it’s a matter of the choices made for us and those we make for ourselves and where each land us at the end of our lives.
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*I received a free copy of this book from Scribner in exchange for an honest review.*
Although I now live in the Midwest, I grew up on the east coast and spent many summers at Rehoboth Beach and can’t wait to read this one!
Oh, lucky you! It is such a lovely book. An oasis of nice at a time when it feels like there is none.