Night Came with Many Stars

By: Simon Van Booy

Narrated by: Courtney Patterson

Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

In Kentucky, back in 1933, Carol's daddy lost his 13-year-old daughter in a game of cards. Award-winning author Simon Van Booy's spellbinding novel spans decades as he tells the story of Carol and the people in her life. Incidents intersect and lives unexpectedly change course in this masterfully interwoven story of chance and choice that leads home again to a night blessed with light.

"What you give in this world," an old man tells his grandson, "will be given back to you." Those words illuminate the actions within this unforgettable novel and its connected characters. A young man survives two nearly fatal accidents. A Black family saves an orphaned White boy. A pregnant teenager is rescued by the side of the road. An autistic teenager is given his first job. Each incident grows in meaning and power over many decades as we see connections sometimes felt but not always apparent to the people themselves. "Everything was moving," observes Samuel (Carol's grandson) in the Kentucky woods. "An invisible force that was everywhere and made everything touch."

Told by a master storyteller, Night Came with Many Stars is a rare novel that reveals how wondrous, mysterious, and magically connected life can be - the light Simon Van Booy creates in this novel illuminates our own lives.

©2021 Simon Van Booy (P)2021 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Excellent

This is a wonderful book that shows the human resilience of people. It is a book, that in time, would be one I would like to listen to or read again.

The narration is superb. She has different voices for the characters and you feel transformed into the story.

This is one of the best books I’ve listened to for both the story and narration.

Perfect Narration

The best thing about this book is the perfect union of author and narrator. Together they allowed me to sink into the story and travel backward in time. Booy nailed the voices of these Kentuckians, and the narrator Courtney Patterson nailed Simon Van Booy. Perfect.

Beautiful, Subtle Story

First, I really admire how the author created realistic characters who are ordinary people, not extraordinary. Some of them have gone through terrible trials, and others have faced relatively normal struggles. The story, fundamentally, is about the importance of being a good person. it's also about how a person's whole life can change and a span of just a few seconds. The structure of the story is complex, but masterful. I loved the vignette style The author uses to thread together many short stories related to this one. family history. The narrator was excellent.

Loved it. Really Good Book. 📖 📕

I enjoyed it very much. If you like family, history and love. It’s a must read.

Kentucky Story

I love how this story read like a quilt knitted together over time. The performance was beautiful and the story line timeless. I always love reading about home.

Binged this lovely story

The tapestry of characters and the way they tied together in different timelines was genius. I loved this book!

Beautifully written and read

Stirred up a lot of emotions and feelings and definitely helped remind me how precious life is

Incredible!

Lovely narration of an extraordinary novel of lyrical haunting beauty. Simon van Booy’s storytelling and crafting of sentences is so mesmerizing. The story stays with you throughout the day and you can’t wait to get back to it. All the characters beckon you to listen to you their stories with the varying voices of Kentucky landscapes, all reinforced by Courtney Patterson’s sensitive performance. I love these characters. Thank you, Simon van Booy!

Family connections

I love the overlap of generations, the idea of what we carry with us, and Carol's realizations in the end.

Great listen!

It’s been a long time since I found a book that I actually could not put down! This book has everything. It’s a great story told in a really good way.