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A Trip to the Stars
At a Manhattan planetarium in 1965, ten-year-old Enzo and his young aunt, Mala, are separated, an event that profoundly alters the rest of their lives. In an epic tale of love and destiny, "A Trip to the Stars" charts their paths over the next fifteen years as they search for each other and, in the process, discover themselves.
As Enzo and Mala cross continents
...morePaperback, 512 pages
Published
February 20th 2001
by Touchstone
(first published February 15th 2000)
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Wow. I don't remember what I was expecting when I started reading this book, but A Trip to the Stars far exceeded those expectations. The story is intricate, beautifully written, and totally engrossing. Very different than what I have read recently. I read a review somewhere that said the storylines of the two main characters, Mala and Enzo, are like separate wide spirals that get tighter and tighter as they overlap -- and I really agree with that assessment.
I am so glad I investe...more
I am so glad I investe...more
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Recommended by my friends Marla and Kerfe, "A Trip to the Stars" has everything that I want in a book: great story, characters drawn beautifully (even the dog Sirius is given a personality), and the hum of synchronicity throughout the book.
At age ten, Loren is kidnapped at a planetarium--he grabs a hand, thinking it is his young aunt's, and winds up being spirited away. He had been adopted, his hippie parents were killed in a car crash, and the person who finds him, and bring...more
At age ten, Loren is kidnapped at a planetarium--he grabs a hand, thinking it is his young aunt's, and winds up being spirited away. He had been adopted, his hippie parents were killed in a car crash, and the person who finds him, and bring...more
I've enjoyed the work of a few "magic realists" in my day, and was looking forward to Christopher's take on the genre. After slogging through 150 pages, A Trip To The Stars is fated to remain unfinished -- its pretensions have deflated its attempted "realism" of any emotional power.
An orphan kid, Loren/Enzo gets separated from his charge in '65, then shuttled to an exotic hotel in Nevada where he receives an eclectic education. Meanwhile his young aunt, Alma/Mala (s...more
An orphan kid, Loren/Enzo gets separated from his charge in '65, then shuttled to an exotic hotel in Nevada where he receives an eclectic education. Meanwhile his young aunt, Alma/Mala (s...more
this is then closest thing to a one-size-fits-all book that ive come across. whenever someone asks me "just for something good". "i dont know, just with a good story", "whatever", i just give them this. even when they are much more helpful with what they are looking for - i give them this. and i have had a number of people come back and tell me how much they loved it, and do i have anything like it. thats the problem. i dont. there are shades of it in other books - ...more
(This review attempts to avoid spoilers while presenting something of a synopsis of the plot. Personally I don't think it needs spoiler warnings but if you like going into a book knowing nothing about it then let me just say that I very much enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.)
I wish I had written it. I could give a story higher praise but not much. A Trip to the Stars is an extremely engaging, well-researched story with a lively cast of unforgettable characters.
Th...more
I wish I had written it. I could give a story higher praise but not much. A Trip to the Stars is an extremely engaging, well-researched story with a lively cast of unforgettable characters.
Th...more
Why do we continue to read books that we consider terrible? Do other people have enough discipline to stop reading?
This book ia pretty ambitious, and tries to tell lots of semi-related stories that cross a variety of genres from within the lens of two protagonists.
The stories though with few exceptions are of a couple varieties: "rich, super-interesting people live their awesome self-satisfied existences" and "poor, super-gorgeous people drink themselves i...more
This book ia pretty ambitious, and tries to tell lots of semi-related stories that cross a variety of genres from within the lens of two protagonists.
The stories though with few exceptions are of a couple varieties: "rich, super-interesting people live their awesome self-satisfied existences" and "poor, super-gorgeous people drink themselves i...more
Wow. The magical mystery tour is waiting to take you away on A Trip to the Stars. No, Nicholas Christopher's novel is not about a magic psychedelic bus or sci-fi, although there are some psychotropics and there is some space travel, but that's getting way ahead of things. From astronomy to Zunis, this book encompasses an amazing number of subjects as it follows the mystical journeys of two people who are the narrators. The opening setting, appropriately enough, is a planetarium in Manhattan i...more
This book was like a magical journey: captivating at times, slow and searching at times. When I read it, it was like I was slowly transporting into another world, which is part of the fun! I definitely enjoyed the experience, however, it could be an acquired taste for some.
A Trip to the Stars is billed as a story about people who are lost or who have lost things. It begins with the separation of ten-year-old Loren--who has already lost much--from his young aunt, Alma, at a planetarium in Manhattan in 1965. From there, Christopher traces Loren's and Alma's paths for the next fifteen years, as each wanders in seemingly far-fetched situations, navigating unlikely relationships.
This book isn't quite sci-fi or fantasy. It's more of an exploration of some extr...more
This book isn't quite sci-fi or fantasy. It's more of an exploration of some extr...more
I'm a little befuddled by some of the rave reviews of this book. I'm not sure if I'll finish it. I was enjoying it as some very light reading, but moving very slowly though it, and not really caring that much about the characters. Mala's love affair is pretty standard man-fantasy stuff (incredible sexual connection, woman doesn't have emotional needs, they don't need to talk) but it's not the amazing connection that NC apparently wants us to believe. I mean, they don't feel comfortable talking t...more
Annie Fyfe
rated it
This was a very good and interesting book. I loved that the overall theme kept relating back to stars and space, but very subtly. I loved the stories about both characters and trying to figure out when their paths would cross and how everyone fit into the story. Althoguh it might not look too long it felt very epic and so much happened so I think you have to be ready for that type of book. Just an overall great book I'd recommend to anyone who has even a slight interest in fantasy (although ...more
The first time I read this, it was the kind of thing where once I finished it I had to lay back on my pillow taking deep breaths for a while to soften the transition back to reality. Really fun to read, pretty thoroughly a magical rich indulgent escapist kind of thing with a guy protagonist that I still sort of have a crush on (in jr high I used to dog-ear one or two love scenes and read them at school and feel really subversive cause it was a Catholic school) and another really attractive prota...more
The novel "A Trip to the Stars" is a startling find, especially given that I found it on the bargain table at Chapters for 2.50. The novel chronicles Mala and Enzo an aunt and her 10 year old nephew who are seperated one fateful day at a planetarium. The remainder of the book follows their seperated paths and their various quests to get back to one another. The book is filled with lost people, who are seeking lost things. It was this description of the lost people looking for lost thin...more
In short, this book is about a young boy whose adoptive parents die, and his 21 year old adoptive aunt takes him under her care. After only a couple weeks, he is kidnapped. This book covers the next 15 years of their lives until they finally see each other again.
There is not a single wasted word in this book. The story is told in alternating chapters out of each of their lives. Just when you get completely wrapped in her story, you're plunged into his. Everything is tied together. P...more
There is not a single wasted word in this book. The story is told in alternating chapters out of each of their lives. Just when you get completely wrapped in her story, you're plunged into his. Everything is tied together. P...more
Entertaining. Interesting notions of fate and choice, what's written in the stars versus individual determination. A very complex web of choices can somehow still lead you to exactly where and who you are supposed to be. I enjoyed reading about Mala's and Enzo's quests, how their stories intertwined, how they shared various people in their lives without even realizing it, too often for it to be mere coincidence. Despite the pain of the journey, in the end they were meant to be exactly where they...more
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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The title is no lie-- you surely will take a trip to the stars, and to the end of the universe and beyond, through reading this book. It's my second favorite book ever ("The Elegance of the Hedgehog" being my favorite). Full of rich description, metaphor, themes, beautiful prose, and a whole lot of obscure subjects that are interesting if for no more reason than their uniqueness, Christopher has, simply, written a perfect book. It is not an easy read, but it is extremely enjoyable. It ...more
Right from the start, the author lets us know that the characters, events, and physical items in the parallel stories of Loren/Enzo and Alma/Mala, which diverge in the first chapter, will fit together like a puzzle at the end. The reader can easily figure some things out; yet that did not keep me from wanting to follow all the paths as they moved to their inevitable conclusion.
On one level this book is a soap opera about several interrelated dysfunctional families falling apart and ...more
On one level this book is a soap opera about several interrelated dysfunctional families falling apart and ...more
Oh! I love this so far...
Now that I am finished I still love it. The last third got a bit slow for me, and I was left still peckish at the ending until a friend pointed out that perhaps NC was making room for a sequel. Harrumph. I still feel there was a key meeting missing, but I'd be willing to forgive this if NC delivers more of this world and its people.
The story is imaginative and just plain fun. The bazillion star references mostly made me smile. Only a few were il...more
Now that I am finished I still love it. The last third got a bit slow for me, and I was left still peckish at the ending until a friend pointed out that perhaps NC was making room for a sequel. Harrumph. I still feel there was a key meeting missing, but I'd be willing to forgive this if NC delivers more of this world and its people.
The story is imaginative and just plain fun. The bazillion star references mostly made me smile. Only a few were il...more
One of my favorite books. The story spans a couple decades, set in many different places, and it's filled with quirky characters and cool facts about spiders and stars and other random subjects that do manage to tie together and be relevant to the plot, which is tinged with a little mysticism, without a heavy hand. At points, I wanted to live the characters' lives (I stress "at points"...). I can't wait for enough time to pass to read it again.
I absolutely loved Christopher’s The Bestiary so I was really looking forward to this book; this might explain why I was less than thrilled by it. I really enjoy his imagination and the unusual characters he creates but something in this book just fell flat for me. I kept thinking to myself, ‘this could be amazing.’ And I don’t think this review will be helpful at all because I can’t exactly decide what was wrong with the book because on a lot of levels it was captivating and exciting (I love...more
This book is one of those that sprawls with adventure and magical realism. You're set in the real world, but it's just a step beyond the norm. Vampires are just as plausible as Greek celebrations. The journey that both nephew and aunt take from the time they are separated until they are reunited are equally amazing. This book is one to read on vacation, when you yourself are removed from the normal grind.
Overall a fantastic novel. The only downsides for me were the extremely detailed explanations of astronomy and memorization techniques. Without that it would have been an easy 5 out of 5. The characters are fully realized and the connection that all of the pieces of this story have is really surprising. Highly recommended, although be prepared for it to take a while to get through.
An epic journey of two distinct yet interwoven lives. Alma and her nephew are separated from each other while visiting the planetary in NYC. The cruel hand of fate steps in and the two are set on different paths. Beginning the 1960s the book spans nearly two decades of the lives of his characters as they experience wonder, love, sadness, and learn about themselves in the process.
I read this three or four years ago, and I still think about it. Sure, it's kind of messy and all over the place, but it's so imaginative and ambitious in its scope that I didn't really mind. I'd like to pick it up again to see how it holds up a second time around, but if nothing else, the author did a great job creating some really memorable settings and scenarios.
Mariel
rated it
Recommends it for:
(*)(*)
Recommended to Mariel by:
karen
Shelves:
coughhistoricalscough
The Book of Life, Love, Dreams and Epicness Beyond that did not read to me. I wanted to like A Trip to the Stars more than I did. You know that feeling of hearing about the very detailed dream someone has and you feel like you're probably missing a freaking ton of backstory? The symbols that represent so much don't mean anything to you? People are people who wear masks of other people? It must mean an awful lot to the person having it. It ties in all of those things that they've been thinking ab...more
This may just be the best book I've ever read. A pretty lofty declaration, given how many classics and sentimental favorites are on my list, but a true one nonetheless. This is not a quick read--you have to be patient with it as it weaves its tapestry of overlapping fates. Nicholas Christopher rushes nothing as he establishes the complex web of connections between his characters. In the meantime, you will learn about philosophy, history, astronomy, arachnology, art, architecture, vampirology, an...more
Julianne Hunter
rated it
Recommends it for:
Anyone, especially those who are avid readers!
Shelves:
fantasy
I am thoroughly enchanted by this book. I wanted to read it again right after I finished, to get a new perspective on it as I knew how it would end. This is so magical and complex and arcane but still accessible and romantic. I had better stop so I won't begin to gush...but it's a real achievement and one of my favorites immediately!!
Simply put-a fabulous read. Who comes up with these kind of inventive story lines, and characters that you think about long after the book ends ? Every friend who has read this book has loved it. My friend Hilde took it to Ireland and didn't talk to her husband the entire trip, she was so compelled to finish this book.
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