I finished The Actual Star a couple of days ago and have had to consider how to write this review. I definitely have a love-hate relationship with this book. It was not an easy read; however, I found it fascinating and thought-provoking, enough so that I discussed it with my ex.
Things I loved:
The epic scope of The Actual Star. Byrne rotates through three time lines from ancient Maya (1021) to near-contemporary (2012) to 1000 years in the future (3012) and pulls all three strands deftly together in the ending.
Her fresh treatment of reincarnation, family, gender, pronouns, sexuality, and how complex Byrne makes the relationships between her characters.
The sole thing I didn’t like: I found the use of Kriol excessive. It was so difficult to read, took way too much effort. I am an avid reader and speak several foreign languages, but found the Kriol too dense. I nearly put the book aside a couple of times due to my difficulties reading the Kriol (I had to read each line aloud several times and try to parse what was being said). Here’s an example, one of the easier ones, from page 177 of the hardcover edition: Yu no laik di chaaklit gyal dehn?
Twins and their relationships with each other and their milieu center this book. The first set of twins, in 1012, develop an incestuous relationship. Just as they are about to become the king and queen on their Mayan kingdom, they are torn apart. The next set of twins in 2012, the year of the highly-anticipated apocalypse (end of the world according to the Mayan calendar), separate themselves and must live and die with the consequences of their actions. The final set of twins in 3012 are difficult to identify as they are separated due to the unusual sociological structure prevalent at that time.
Overall, I ended up being glad I presevered and will add this book to my permanent collection.
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The Actual Star (Harper Voyager, September 14, 2021) is available through:
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