How We Named the Stars

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book for review from Netgalley. Thank you to Tin House Books.

I believe the prologue of How We Named the Stars is absolutely beautiful. I cried a little when I read it the first time, and then read it again when I finished the book. The entire book itself is full of beautiful, emotional writing. When I finished, I discovered Ordorica is a poet, so that makes sense.

With that said, I want to say the book lacks substance because so much relies on language alone. Most of the book is just paragraphs of Daniel's, the narrator, thoughts. Not exactly much happens until the third part. Until then, so much is just what's in his head. However, it's difficult to say the book lacks substance since the point seems to be emotional, not plot-focused. Still, it fell flat for me.

Speaking of the plot, essentially it's supposed to be adjacent to a love story between Daniel and Sam. At least, that's how I feel. Perhaps others would say it's a full-on love story. But as I said, so much is in Daniel's head. I find it hard to discuss this without spoilers, but the links between Daniel and others felt weak. If more time was spent with those other characters, where we as readers see them being themselves instead of Daniel telling us about them, perhaps the links would feel stronger. Besides Daniel and Sam, and really just Daniel, there is nothing to be said of these characters. I know nothing about them or their development. With Sam, I had trouble understanding why Sam felt the way he did. It was like, it just happened because it needed to be that way for the book. There was no development of character or feelings.

In the third part of the book, things change in many ways and there are so many scenes with other people. People talking and things happening. This was like a breath of fresh air. To be honest, while reading the first and second parts, I was getting frustrated. It was Daniel's constant thoughts. If there was a scene with dialogue, each line was followed by a paragraph of Daniel's thoughts. I didn't know if the whole book would be this way, but I didn't want to give up. The prose itself was lovely.

I guess all of this boils down to the old adage of “show don't tell.” This book almost solely tells us what is going on. It was disappointing. My frustration would rate it two stars, but my feelings while reading Ordorica's use of language would give it four stars. Normally, a three star rating from me usually means it's a middling book. But I can't say that's the case here. There are two strong reactions to this book, and three stars is just the average.

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i'm not sure where to begin to describe how much i loved this book so let me say that it is easily one of my favorite books i have ever read.

this story is told from the perspective of Daniel de la Luna, a 19 year old freshman at Ithaca college recounting the past year of his life where he falls in love with his roommate, Sam. the first 2 words of the book tells us that Sam will die in this story and we learn that Daniel is recounting this story by talking to Sam, after his death, as a way to preserve their memories and never forget what Sam's love taught him. we explore many themes such as sexuality, death, grief, trauma, and difficult family dynamics.

i am so moved by the writing in this book and i cannot believe this is the author's debut. there are so many memorable passages and many moments that moved me to tears. the voice and character of Daniel is so relatable and NOT in a quirky way, but rather in a tangible, human way. Daniel feels completely real and is someone that i think all young gay men can see themselves in. his character arc was such a beautiful thing to read. i was fully gripped by the writing in this book, i never wanted to put it down. i read the entirety of it in 3 sittings and it would have been less if i didn't have to go to sleep in order to function at work the following morning. it is such an impressive skill for a reader to feel like an author wrote a story just for you, especially when you may not have much in common with the characters. i am not mexican, i am older than 19, i did not fall madly in love in college, i did not experience the death of someone i romantically loved, i do not have a close relationship with my grandfather, etc. but yet i still felt like this was written just for me.

i will be on a one man mission to get everyone i know to read this book. Andrés N. Ordorica, i cannot wait to read what comes next.


MEMORABLE QUOTES:

- “I was happy, and now, looking back, I am grateful I have these memories of you, that I can remember it all with such vividness. Wherever you are, are you remembering it the same way? How the birds flew overheard, weaving from branch to branch, following us as we hiked the path. How the squirrels scaled trees, chasing one another. Everything had its purpose and understood its seasonality and temporality in that place. Just like us.”

- “All these questions I was too afraid to ask would be left behind until I was ready to face them. One day, I knew, we'd have to confront what had started around the fire, acknowledge how we first learned what burning desire felt like. We'd have to reckon with a flame that would eventually consume us, bringing with it all the light and pain to follow. But on that day, we would simply continue walking toward a future we didn't understand.”

- “I know I'm meant to be showing you what I was doing between leaving you in Ithaca and learning of your passing, but there is a voice reverberating within me. As I sit here, writing to you, it keeps asking me questions, longing to know what you were up to. This voice tells me that knowing will help me to properly say goodbye. Is that crazy? Yet I hear it. So tell me, Sam, what were your eyes seeing as time was winding down? What were you up to? Was your heart vibrating in a forest with another man's? It's okay if so, you can tell me. I won't be hurt. Maybe, I keep thinking; even if we were both with other people, there was a point in our time left together on this earth in which our rhythms were in sync, totally in tune with the love we were still carrying. Maybe there was a night in which we both looked up to the stars and thought about the language we shared, how we'd mapped ourselves to our ancestors. Because even as I made room for another, you were still there, buried in my heart. I couldn't totally leave you. I kept seeing the world through your eyes and longed to show you what I saw.”