Lone Stars
A Novel
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Pub Date Feb 2 2021 | Archive Date Feb 16 2021
Description
"Desperately affecting." —The New York Times
“Generous and epic…takes us through generations of a singular family, whose loves and losses also tell us a story about America itself." —Eliot Schrefer, National Book Award finalist, author of Endangered
Justin Deabler's Lone Stars follows the arc of four generations of a Texan family in a changing America. Julian Warner, a father at last, wrestles with a question his husband posed: what will you tell our son about the people you came from, now that they're gone? Finding the answers takes Julian back in time to Eisenhower's immigration border raids, an epistolary love affair during the Vietnam War, crumbling marriages, queer migrations to Cambridge and New York, up to the disorienting polarization of Obama's second term. And in these answers lies a hope: that by uncloseting ourselves—as immigrants, smart women, gay people—we find power in empathy.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781250256102 |
| PRICE | $27.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 304 |
Average rating from 45 members
Featured Reviews
SJ S, Bookseller
An engaging family saga, sometimes joyful, sometimes heartbreaking, but always genuine, exploring numerous characters and their beautiful flaws.
JENNIFER S, Librarian
Read if you: Enjoy character-driven historical fiction.
Librarians/booksellers; This is a sensitive and moving portrayal of family history, and the difficulties in escaping it and facing it. Although relatively brief when compared to other historical fiction novels, this is quite memorable; touches on everything from upward mobility, women's empowment, divorce, coming of age as a young gay man in the 1990s, and the heartbreak and uncertainty of adoption.
Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Sara B, Reviewer
"Lone Star" by Justin Deabler is a fictional story that centers around Julian Warner and the history of the family that raised him. Deabler's inclusion of many different topics like racism, discrimination, coming out, and same-sex relationships and adoption made this a really interesting read. The beginning of the story made me think the focus of the book was Julian and Phillip's journey into parenthood, but Deabler takes the reader into the distant past, through Julian's childhood, and into his current life. This is definitely an enjoyable read that will make you feel a multitude of emotions.
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