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Stars Go Blue
Laura Pritchett is an award-winning author who has quickly become one of the west’s defining literary voices. We first met hardscrabble ranchers Renny and Ben Cross in Laura’s debut collection, and now in Stars Go Blue , they are estranged, elderly spouses living on opposite ends of their sprawling ranch, faced with the particular decline of a fading farm and Ben’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. He is just on the cusp of dementia, able to recognize he is sick but unable to do anything about it —the notes he leaves in his pockets and around the house to remind him of himself, his family, and his responsibilities are no longer as helpful as they used to be. Watching his estranged wife forced into care-taking and brought to her breaking point, Ben decides to leave his life with whatever dignity and grace remains.
As Ben makes his decision, a new horrible truth comes to Ray, the abusive husband of their late daughter is being released from prison early. This opens old wounds in Ben, his wife, his surviving daughter, and four grandchildren. Branded with a need for justice, Ben must act before his mind leaves him, and sets off during a brutal snowstorm to confront the man who murdered his daughter. Renny, realizing he is missing, sets off to either stop or witness her husband’s act of vengeance.
Stars Go Blue is a triumphant novel of the American family, buffered by the workings of a ranch and the music offered by the landscape and animal life upon it.
As Ben makes his decision, a new horrible truth comes to Ray, the abusive husband of their late daughter is being released from prison early. This opens old wounds in Ben, his wife, his surviving daughter, and four grandchildren. Branded with a need for justice, Ben must act before his mind leaves him, and sets off during a brutal snowstorm to confront the man who murdered his daughter. Renny, realizing he is missing, sets off to either stop or witness her husband’s act of vengeance.
Stars Go Blue is a triumphant novel of the American family, buffered by the workings of a ranch and the music offered by the landscape and animal life upon it.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published May 19, 2014
68 people are currently reading
1464 people want to read
About the author
Laura Pritchett
21 books224 followersLaura Pritchett's seventh novel THREE KEYS is now available. Booklist has this to say: “A dedicated environmentalist and acclaimed nature writer, Pritchett’s keen observations of the world…are wondrous and lyrical, grounding her heroine’s journey in beauty and grace.”
Kirkus has this to say: “Engaging…thought-provoking and insightful. A satisfying examination of one woman’s journey of self-discovery.”
Pritchett is also the author of PLAYING WITH {WILD}FIRE (Torrey House, 2024), THE BLUE HOUR (Counterpoint, 2017), RED LIGHTNING (Counterpoint, 2015) STARS GO BLUE (Counterpoint, 2014), SKY BRIDGE (Milkweed Editions, 2009), and HELL'S BOTTOM, COLORADO (Milkweed Editions, 2001).
Known for championing the complex and contemporary West, giving voice to the working class, and re-writing the “Western,” her books have garnered the PEN USA Award, the Milkweed National Fiction Prize, the WILLA, the High Plains Book Award, several Colorado Book Awards, and others.
She’s also the author of one play, two nonfiction books, and editor of three environmental-based anthologies.
She developed and directs the MFA in Nature Writing at Western Colorado University, one of the few in the nation with a focus on environmental and place-based writing.
She earned her Ph.D. from Purdue University.
Her work has appeared in The New York Times, O Magazine, Salon, High Country News, The Millions, Publisher’s Weekly, The Sun, Brain, Child, and many others.
She is also known for her environmental stewardship, particularly in regard to land preservation and river health. You can find out more at her website www.laurapritchett.com or www.makingfriendswithdeath.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 162 reviews
June 4, 2024
5 stars
short review for busy readers: the story of an elderly ranching couple, the husband with Alzheimers. What starts as a quiet story of grief and sadness ramps up into a type of riveting thriller. Beautiful nature descriptions, realistic characters, straightforward prose. Fast read. Suitable for book clubs.
in detail:
Earlier this year, I did a deep-dive into the works of author Willy Vlautin. Vlautin's novels about impoverished, desperate characters in the American west impress with their simple prose that is so heartfelt it hurts.
Laura Pritchett's novel reminded me of the best of Vlautin. Being that she's female, there's a bit more poetry and embellishments to her prose, but both authors are writing in the exact same territory.
Set in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the characters of Ben and Renny Cross in "Stars Go Blue" are not poor, but they are desperate. Their daughter was murdered by her husband in front of their eyes some seven years previously...and from that moment on nothing has been the same.
Like many couples, Ben and Renny's marriage was unable to cope with the sudden death of a child, and then Ben came down with Alzheimers and Renny has been forced - against her will - to take care of not only the ranch, but Ben, too, as he increasingly loses his grip on reality.
Then the news comes that their daughter's murderer has been released from prison -- and their lives spin out of control for the second time.
The story starts slow and measured, with lots of nature and a hard-to-pin narrator, but about the midway mark ramps up into a desperate, all out struggle with the blind-sides of fate and the uncaring onslaught of nature that can compete with any thriller for suspense.
I was absolutely riveted and read most of the novel in one sitting. I couldn't put it down until I knew what had happened to Ben and if Renny would live!
Speaking of Renny, she's one of the hardest characters to like. At the beginning, you really think she's a right nasty old battle axe, but the more you understand her motivations and reasons, the more sympathetic she becomes. Still an old battle axe, but one you can admire.
My only critique is that the ending goes on for too long and gets dangerously close to almost sentimental, but that's a taste issue.
I read this with the new GR "Under 200 Pages! Book Club". check out the book club here It's the BOTM selection for June 2024.
short review for busy readers: the story of an elderly ranching couple, the husband with Alzheimers. What starts as a quiet story of grief and sadness ramps up into a type of riveting thriller. Beautiful nature descriptions, realistic characters, straightforward prose. Fast read. Suitable for book clubs.
in detail:
Earlier this year, I did a deep-dive into the works of author Willy Vlautin. Vlautin's novels about impoverished, desperate characters in the American west impress with their simple prose that is so heartfelt it hurts.
Laura Pritchett's novel reminded me of the best of Vlautin. Being that she's female, there's a bit more poetry and embellishments to her prose, but both authors are writing in the exact same territory.
Set in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the characters of Ben and Renny Cross in "Stars Go Blue" are not poor, but they are desperate. Their daughter was murdered by her husband in front of their eyes some seven years previously...and from that moment on nothing has been the same.
Like many couples, Ben and Renny's marriage was unable to cope with the sudden death of a child, and then Ben came down with Alzheimers and Renny has been forced - against her will - to take care of not only the ranch, but Ben, too, as he increasingly loses his grip on reality.
Then the news comes that their daughter's murderer has been released from prison -- and their lives spin out of control for the second time.
The story starts slow and measured, with lots of nature and a hard-to-pin narrator, but about the midway mark ramps up into a desperate, all out struggle with the blind-sides of fate and the uncaring onslaught of nature that can compete with any thriller for suspense.
I was absolutely riveted and read most of the novel in one sitting. I couldn't put it down until I knew what had happened to Ben and if Renny would live!
Speaking of Renny, she's one of the hardest characters to like. At the beginning, you really think she's a right nasty old battle axe, but the more you understand her motivations and reasons, the more sympathetic she becomes. Still an old battle axe, but one you can admire.
My only critique is that the ending goes on for too long and gets dangerously close to almost sentimental, but that's a taste issue.
I read this with the new GR "Under 200 Pages! Book Club". check out the book club here It's the BOTM selection for June 2024.
March 28, 2018
4 emotional stars
While just 144 pages on my e-reader, it took some time for me to finish this short novel. Reason being: I had to stop and take breaks along the way before I could go back to it. This is one of the most heartbreaking stories I have read to date. And more than once, that lump in my throat was difficult to swallow.
This is the story of an elderly couple, Ben and Renny Cross. They are ranchers in Colorado, and are estranged…both still live on the ranch, just on opposite sides. Ben has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Ben and Renny are still suffering from a terrible tragedy that rocked their family a few years prior, and now Ben’s diagnosis further strains their relationship.
Alternating between Ben and Renny, this book is bold and raw and beautiful and brutally honest. It paints a vivid picture of Ben’s battle with the disease and Renny’s battle with being his caretaker. It shows us how marriages/relationships can suffer and crumble in the wake of something tragic and how hard it is to pick up the pieces.
Laura Pritchett’s novel is not one that I will soon forget. It is extremely well written and full of emotion. From anger to sadness to empathy to love, this little book captures everything and then some. In addition, the scenery and landscape are so alive and clearly depicted. Also, the characters are well developed and have a real, genuine quality to them.
This was a very good book and one that I would recommend. However, I would note that it is a “heavy” read. It might be a short novel, but it packs one heck of a punch.
While just 144 pages on my e-reader, it took some time for me to finish this short novel. Reason being: I had to stop and take breaks along the way before I could go back to it. This is one of the most heartbreaking stories I have read to date. And more than once, that lump in my throat was difficult to swallow.
This is the story of an elderly couple, Ben and Renny Cross. They are ranchers in Colorado, and are estranged…both still live on the ranch, just on opposite sides. Ben has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Ben and Renny are still suffering from a terrible tragedy that rocked their family a few years prior, and now Ben’s diagnosis further strains their relationship.
Alternating between Ben and Renny, this book is bold and raw and beautiful and brutally honest. It paints a vivid picture of Ben’s battle with the disease and Renny’s battle with being his caretaker. It shows us how marriages/relationships can suffer and crumble in the wake of something tragic and how hard it is to pick up the pieces.
Laura Pritchett’s novel is not one that I will soon forget. It is extremely well written and full of emotion. From anger to sadness to empathy to love, this little book captures everything and then some. In addition, the scenery and landscape are so alive and clearly depicted. Also, the characters are well developed and have a real, genuine quality to them.
This was a very good book and one that I would recommend. However, I would note that it is a “heavy” read. It might be a short novel, but it packs one heck of a punch.
May 2, 2019
4.5 tragic and heart-breaking stars, rounded up to 5
I just finished “Hell’s Bottom, Colorado” (2001) by this author and I knew this one was the follow-up with many of the same characters. “Stars Go Blue” was published in 2014 and I must say that I see huge growth in this writer. The first book was good, but I found this one quite remarkable. Both books are short, but really pack a wallop. I cried big tears at the end, these characters really got to me!
“Stars Go Blue” features Ben and Renny, the somewhat estranged couple that we first meet in “Hell’s Bottom, Colorado.” They are ranchers in Colorado but living on opposite ends of their ranch and still reeling from a family tragedy. By the time this book rolls around, they’ve sold all the cattle because Ben is diagnosed with dementia/early-onset Alzheimer’s and is going downhill fast. Renny has moved Ben back into the bigger house to care for him. They still love each other but struggle to express it.
The chapters alternate between Renny’s point of view and Ben’s and I must say the author has done a fantastic job making Ben’s struggle very real. We see the notes he writes himself so that he doesn’t forget things, how he wants to communicate, but can’t get the words out. I adored his character and he really came to life for me in this book. He just wants the simple things in life: being outside on his ranch, enjoying the willow trees, thinking about all the life he brought into the world, and spending time with his beloved family.
If the medical diagnosis wasn’t enough for them to deal with, it’s the tail end of a brutal winter when Renny and Ben get word that the man who killed their daughter is being released from prison. This one ends in a stunning fashion with a blizzard, a quest for vengeance, and Ben trying to keep his thoughts together for one more task. Laura Pritchett really generates the emotions in this one and has developed fantastic characters. I hated to see it end!
I just finished “Hell’s Bottom, Colorado” (2001) by this author and I knew this one was the follow-up with many of the same characters. “Stars Go Blue” was published in 2014 and I must say that I see huge growth in this writer. The first book was good, but I found this one quite remarkable. Both books are short, but really pack a wallop. I cried big tears at the end, these characters really got to me!
“Stars Go Blue” features Ben and Renny, the somewhat estranged couple that we first meet in “Hell’s Bottom, Colorado.” They are ranchers in Colorado but living on opposite ends of their ranch and still reeling from a family tragedy. By the time this book rolls around, they’ve sold all the cattle because Ben is diagnosed with dementia/early-onset Alzheimer’s and is going downhill fast. Renny has moved Ben back into the bigger house to care for him. They still love each other but struggle to express it.
The chapters alternate between Renny’s point of view and Ben’s and I must say the author has done a fantastic job making Ben’s struggle very real. We see the notes he writes himself so that he doesn’t forget things, how he wants to communicate, but can’t get the words out. I adored his character and he really came to life for me in this book. He just wants the simple things in life: being outside on his ranch, enjoying the willow trees, thinking about all the life he brought into the world, and spending time with his beloved family.
If the medical diagnosis wasn’t enough for them to deal with, it’s the tail end of a brutal winter when Renny and Ben get word that the man who killed their daughter is being released from prison. This one ends in a stunning fashion with a blizzard, a quest for vengeance, and Ben trying to keep his thoughts together for one more task. Laura Pritchett really generates the emotions in this one and has developed fantastic characters. I hated to see it end!
February 20, 2018
I first read this novel, Stars Go Blue by Laura Pritchett in 2017. Perhaps my mood was wrong at the time or my mind was not in a good place because although I admired Ms. Pritchett's beautiful writing, I was left feeling frustrated with the story and the characters. I put the novel aside until recently and upon re-reading it, I found I had a wholly different experience. This time, I read the book with a persistent lump in my throat and the words I am now writing are not so much a review but rather a much needed release.
Stars Go Blue is a continuation of a story told by Laura Pritchett in her collection of inter-connected short stories called 'Hell's Bottom, Colorado.' In 'Hell's Bottom, Colorado', the reader is introduced to the Cross family. Ben and Renny Cross are Colorado ranchers who are accustomed to the trials that life sometimes sends their way; but it is the murder of their daughter Rachel by her husband Ray, which ends up providing their biggest test. And in 'Stars Go Blue', the readers can see that the couple did not handle this test well. The story picks up many years after Rachel's murder. Ben and Renny are estranged ... the two have been living on opposite sides of their ranch ; that is, until Ben was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Now, Renny has become Ben's caretaker and the two have been informed that Ray, their former son-in-law, is being released from prison early. Life once again will test Ben and Renny's endurance and this test will culminate in an act of vengeance or the purist act of heroism... depending on your viewpoint. Ben and Renny's life together has often been one of harshness and tragedy as much as it has been a life of of beauty and love; and that is the dichotomy of this story. While reading this story, the reality of their lives was almost too much for me to bear.
The essence of this novel comes down to understanding the main characters, Ben and Renny. Ben is an intelligent. unassuming man whose life has been interwoven into the patch of land he has worked. ben is such a part of the land that you cannot tell where he ends and the land begins. His life has been the land and the land his life. The very first paragraph of the novel illustrates this fact....
"The fields are poured ice, rippled and waved as if a frozen lake. Ben considers the way the sun
has melted -and the earth absorbed- the snow that fell months ago, which is how strange
patterns got created. But he also entertains the idea that his pastures have reverted in time
to the great sea they once were. Ben has been partial to water, always, which is why life gets
measured in terms of irrigation and rainfall... Even now he considers the watersheds in his
brain, how water moves through tissue, how rivers of electricity pulse in stops and starts...."
Ben is a tragic figure and yet quietly heroic. His Alzheimer's disease has been picking up in intensity . He is aware that his his mind is not functioning as it used to and he is also aware that he can't do anything to change it. He tries his best to cope with his scattered, unreliable thoughts by making lists on scraps of paper.. instructions and reminders to himself of who he is and what he still must do. He cares these lists in his pockets and they are also scattered throughout his home and barn. And reading them broke my heart. To see the scattered fragments of this once fiercely intelligent mind filled me with sorrow and pity.
Ben's Notes to Himself:
Feed chickens (7 chickens)
Feed donkeys (4)
Feed horses (2)
Another Note:
Check on Jess (granddaughter). Watershed of the heart
Goodbye= Back away= water runs backward
And:
I am married to Renny. I am Ben Cross, Born May 5, 1934,
Greeley, Colorado. Hell's Bottom Ranch. Two daughters
I am a dummy.
And then there's Renny... Renny is the character I initially had the most trouble understanding. If you are a people watcher (as I am), you have probably observed people like Renny. Renny is a person who wears her profound unhappiness and disappointment on her face. I imagine her face pinched from life's tragedies and disappointments and etched with a myriad of frown lines. Her impatience with her life and with the job of caring for Ben have made her abrupt, cruel and frequently sarcastic.But one of my first introductions to Renny's true thoughts and feelings in this novel came at a meeting of the Early Stage Alzheimer's Support Group. Sitting around the table with other caretakers, her thoughts are the first hint that Renny is more complicated than she seems and reminds me that people are never just one thing....
"At some point, people have to die. Ben should just die. But the truth of the matter is that Ben's
a good man who still loves his life. She looks around the room quickly to mitigate the closing
sensation she is having in her throat. She's clarified this emotion with herself many times
before: the simultaneous wish for him to die makes her, at times, unable to breathe."
Renny was a reminder to me that what person appears to be on the outside is sometimes just a carefully constructed defense, masking an inner self full of hurt, sorrow and fear. Realizing this essential fact about Renny makes her as tragic a figure as Ben. What Renny seems to truly want is for Ben to return to the way he used to be.... the man she fell in love with. She knows how this story will end and she knows she can't go where he is going. And she doesn't know if she can handle yet one more tragedy in a life full of tragedies and regrets.
In its most basic form, this novel is about life.... a marriage, a family made up of its individual members and how the members weather the storms life sends their way. It is the story of how interconnected we all are to each other and also to the land which provides us with shelter and sustenance. And it is also a story of the ever-changing landscape of memory. Laura Pritchett describes this so much more eloquently than I can....
"Earth and sky and soul, all these become a remembering room.... I can see Ben's mind, how it
tumbled through memory. How our brains do that, pinging with life when each new memory
hits, a river of channels sparking with movement. Melting and freezing and flowing... The
universe itself holds all this motion inside the stars, even as they are turning blue."
Stars Go Blue is a continuation of a story told by Laura Pritchett in her collection of inter-connected short stories called 'Hell's Bottom, Colorado.' In 'Hell's Bottom, Colorado', the reader is introduced to the Cross family. Ben and Renny Cross are Colorado ranchers who are accustomed to the trials that life sometimes sends their way; but it is the murder of their daughter Rachel by her husband Ray, which ends up providing their biggest test. And in 'Stars Go Blue', the readers can see that the couple did not handle this test well. The story picks up many years after Rachel's murder. Ben and Renny are estranged ... the two have been living on opposite sides of their ranch ; that is, until Ben was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Now, Renny has become Ben's caretaker and the two have been informed that Ray, their former son-in-law, is being released from prison early. Life once again will test Ben and Renny's endurance and this test will culminate in an act of vengeance or the purist act of heroism... depending on your viewpoint. Ben and Renny's life together has often been one of harshness and tragedy as much as it has been a life of of beauty and love; and that is the dichotomy of this story. While reading this story, the reality of their lives was almost too much for me to bear.
The essence of this novel comes down to understanding the main characters, Ben and Renny. Ben is an intelligent. unassuming man whose life has been interwoven into the patch of land he has worked. ben is such a part of the land that you cannot tell where he ends and the land begins. His life has been the land and the land his life. The very first paragraph of the novel illustrates this fact....
"The fields are poured ice, rippled and waved as if a frozen lake. Ben considers the way the sun
has melted -and the earth absorbed- the snow that fell months ago, which is how strange
patterns got created. But he also entertains the idea that his pastures have reverted in time
to the great sea they once were. Ben has been partial to water, always, which is why life gets
measured in terms of irrigation and rainfall... Even now he considers the watersheds in his
brain, how water moves through tissue, how rivers of electricity pulse in stops and starts...."
Ben is a tragic figure and yet quietly heroic. His Alzheimer's disease has been picking up in intensity . He is aware that his his mind is not functioning as it used to and he is also aware that he can't do anything to change it. He tries his best to cope with his scattered, unreliable thoughts by making lists on scraps of paper.. instructions and reminders to himself of who he is and what he still must do. He cares these lists in his pockets and they are also scattered throughout his home and barn. And reading them broke my heart. To see the scattered fragments of this once fiercely intelligent mind filled me with sorrow and pity.
Ben's Notes to Himself:
Feed chickens (7 chickens)
Feed donkeys (4)
Feed horses (2)
Another Note:
Check on Jess (granddaughter). Watershed of the heart
Goodbye= Back away= water runs backward
And:
I am married to Renny. I am Ben Cross, Born May 5, 1934,
Greeley, Colorado. Hell's Bottom Ranch. Two daughters
I am a dummy.
And then there's Renny... Renny is the character I initially had the most trouble understanding. If you are a people watcher (as I am), you have probably observed people like Renny. Renny is a person who wears her profound unhappiness and disappointment on her face. I imagine her face pinched from life's tragedies and disappointments and etched with a myriad of frown lines. Her impatience with her life and with the job of caring for Ben have made her abrupt, cruel and frequently sarcastic.But one of my first introductions to Renny's true thoughts and feelings in this novel came at a meeting of the Early Stage Alzheimer's Support Group. Sitting around the table with other caretakers, her thoughts are the first hint that Renny is more complicated than she seems and reminds me that people are never just one thing....
"At some point, people have to die. Ben should just die. But the truth of the matter is that Ben's
a good man who still loves his life. She looks around the room quickly to mitigate the closing
sensation she is having in her throat. She's clarified this emotion with herself many times
before: the simultaneous wish for him to die makes her, at times, unable to breathe."
Renny was a reminder to me that what person appears to be on the outside is sometimes just a carefully constructed defense, masking an inner self full of hurt, sorrow and fear. Realizing this essential fact about Renny makes her as tragic a figure as Ben. What Renny seems to truly want is for Ben to return to the way he used to be.... the man she fell in love with. She knows how this story will end and she knows she can't go where he is going. And she doesn't know if she can handle yet one more tragedy in a life full of tragedies and regrets.
In its most basic form, this novel is about life.... a marriage, a family made up of its individual members and how the members weather the storms life sends their way. It is the story of how interconnected we all are to each other and also to the land which provides us with shelter and sustenance. And it is also a story of the ever-changing landscape of memory. Laura Pritchett describes this so much more eloquently than I can....
"Earth and sky and soul, all these become a remembering room.... I can see Ben's mind, how it
tumbled through memory. How our brains do that, pinging with life when each new memory
hits, a river of channels sparking with movement. Melting and freezing and flowing... The
universe itself holds all this motion inside the stars, even as they are turning blue."
July 11, 2014
A brutally honest and unflinching look at a family tragedy and an elderly husbands descent into dementia. Beautifully and poignantly told, the cold weather, the snow and a man's last attempt to right a wrong. The love hate relationship Remy has as a caregiver to her husband of many years. Her resentment and impatience, all so real, as she contemplates the lack of a future they will not have. The notes, the reminders, the struggle as Ben tries so hard to hold on to his thoughts long enough to finish what he believes needs finishing. It all climaxes with a bus trip, an accident and a blizzard that shuts down roads. Peace and understanding may come at last, but at what cost?
A wonderful story of a family, a ranch, memories and struggles. A story of a life well lived, with all its sadness and joys. Bittersweet.
A wonderful story of a family, a ranch, memories and struggles. A story of a life well lived, with all its sadness and joys. Bittersweet.
March 3, 2015
Reading this book was a profound experience that I don't think I'll ever forget. It made me FEEL so DEEPLY. It made me feel BIG things, like life and death and love and sorrow and laughter and landscape... Pritchett has this incredible ability to capture the expansive range of human experience and make readers feel it all, right down to their bones. I was already crying just a few pages in-- but the good kind of crying, the kind that lets you glimpse what matters about being a human on earth. There are hard and gritty elements in this book, like the murder of a loved one and mental deterioration from Alzheimer's... but there is a soaring beauty as well, seen in the poetically spiritual descriptions of snow or trees. And Pritchett somehow manages to weave all this poignancy into a suspenseful and breath-taking plot that kept me glued to the book. I'll be giving copies of this book to all my friends and family as gifts this year-- I want them to experience the book for themselves, and I want to discuss it with people!
June 23, 2024
4 stars
Great, but sad, story. Short book with a lot to say.
Both the good and the bad of a lifetime of marriage. The loss of a daughter and the onset of Alzheimers. How they affected the family and the decisions made to circumvent the problems. You will meet and fall in love with Ben and Renny - with both their good and bad. You will smile at their accomplishments and cry at their losses.
A lot packed into 200 pages and well worth the read.
Great, but sad, story. Short book with a lot to say.
Both the good and the bad of a lifetime of marriage. The loss of a daughter and the onset of Alzheimers. How they affected the family and the decisions made to circumvent the problems. You will meet and fall in love with Ben and Renny - with both their good and bad. You will smile at their accomplishments and cry at their losses.
A lot packed into 200 pages and well worth the read.
May 29, 2014
Despite having won a number of awards for her previous books, Laura Pritchett's newest novel may top them all. Stars Go Blue is wintery, passionate and poignant, with characters you want to sweep up in your arms to either heal, or to borrow some of their peaceful presence. This book is particularly moving if you have ever loved someone with dementia. It is full of love for animals and ranching and mountains; full of love of details of the Colorado landscape; full of love for the prickly people in our lives. If you know the area, you will recognize landmarks, some of them by different names. Buy the book and grab a few kleenex.
August 28, 2014
What a brave and scary thing for a writer to do. By writing in the voice of a protagonist with Alzheimer's, Pritchett forced herself to live in her own father's head. Because both fathers (real and fictional) have the progressive disease, the bittersweet reality of love and loss are profound. But that's not all this novel has to offer. It's just the tip of the iceberg really. I stand in awe of the skill and guts it took to weave such a beautiful story.
August 5, 2014
The novel reads quickly for three reasons: it’s suspenseful (a bit of a thriller), the reader is captivated by the characters and its lean. A number of things impress me about Laura Pritchett’s story. Let’s start with Ben, one of the protagonists.Ben wouldn't be a man you’d notice on the street. He's not somebody that would stand out. But because of the attentive focus of the narrative, the old man gets inside your heart and emerges as a hero, becomes somebody you wish you could know, have as a mentor.
Ben is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. He has some important things to do before his diseased mind makes the mission impossible. So he’s fighting a superhuman battle. You find yourself pulling for him, against impossible odds. You want him to succeed, and the story draws it out of you, empathy for this old guy.
But here’s the kicker: the two things he is determined to accomplish are illicit. His objectives are firmly categorized as "bad" in our culture’s moral and legal codes. Some would say evil. Yet we pull for him to succeed.
That is a story!
The other protagonist is Ben’s wife, Renny. I should mention that the narrative is told from two points of view, Renny’s and Ben’s. We alternate chapters between them. This technique catalyzes two effects: the suspense of the thriller and the profound relationship the reader develops with each character.
Renny is not somebody most of us would like if we met her. She is as cold as the winter setting of this novel and cruel. Her motivation to be so shuttered is rooted in the past. Stars Go Blue is the third book in a trilogy. In a previous story Ben and Renny lost their daughter, and that tragedy drove the couple apart.
I found myself wishing something for Renny: that she’d let her guard down and just accept and love herself. To her, everything is stupid, which is her favorite word. Renny’s contempt for herself drives her to pour the same emotion into everyone she loves. It’s heart breaking.Yet Pritchett manages to turn the table on the reader by putting Renny’s life in danger, by making her vulnerable, and suddenly we’re pulling for her, too.
There’s a third point of view from which we get to watch these people, the granddaughter's. Jess is a great character. We’re introduced to her early on. We’re teased in a way, because she’s an instant favorite, but the lens is always a mile away from her. And we’re always wanting more.
You get the sense that Pritchett knew this about us when, in the end, she gives the reader some time with Jess. The novel closes with a satisfying chapter from her point of view.
There are some rich themes Pritchett addresses in this story. It would be impossible to discuss them without introducing spoilers, which are present below.
The setting is a ranch in Colorado. It’s winter. Icy and cold. And the climax takes place in a blizzard. Stars Go Blue is a bold end-of-life narrative. Pritchett does not flinch. Her directness, I think, will make readers squeamish. From the earliest pages, we are witnesses to ranch life. To birthing and killing. We see animals nurtured and we see them compassionately put down.
There is a juxtaposition which serves to compare the compassion with which the rancher offers the suffering animal at the end of its life to the lack of compassion with which we treat our own kind. It’s taboo to put down a suffering human being.
There are scenes presented in the narrative that most Americans have never contemplated. Scenes detailing where our food comes from. What it means to be alive and to eat and to be near the land. The book reveals the consequences of our appetites, of our lives, to the animals which feed us, which is not a commentary on food in this story, but on life itself.
There are wild things living on the ranch: the bald eagle, the owl, the aspens, the willows and the water. Wildness which the old man loves.
The old rancher is protective of the earth around him. It is his dying wish the that land be preserved, healed. It is a subtext, but it is there, like an accusation. There is something amiss in our civilization: that without protection the very thing that sustains us, the land, is in jeopardy.
The old man is no liberal, no environmentalist. The reader gets the sense that he wouldn’t be able to relate with that urban ethic. He’s a rancher who understands where life comes from. The balance necessary to sustain his family. He understands health in a way no one divorced from the land could.
The main thrust of the story is the damaged family. So the old man's desire to heal the land also serves as a metaphor for another type of healing. There are a lifetime of scars accumulated in this book. Neither Ben nor Renny are very good at intimacy. That is evident in their relationships with their children and grandchildren. They are human beings, as flawed and as afraid as any of us. We get to see the consequences of their lack of development, the fruit it bears over a lifespan.
The theme of self-acceptance is played out through the female characters. Renny is loaded with self-contempt. It is the lens with which she views everyone around her. She sees fault first and protects her heart from further loss by believing that no one will come to a good end. This is played out in her expressed certainty that her granddaughter, Jess, will wind up addicted to drugs and pregnant. Which is ironic because Jess is the character in the story who has learned to love herself. Because she is comfortable with herself, she also loves her grandmother, accepts Renny for who she is.
The resolution to this tale about death (which is to say life), about the land, about family, about love–takes place in the spring, at Ben’s burial. The old man has accomplished his mission. He is a hero.
Ben's heroism means that he has committed acts thought to be reprehensible by our society. However, the reader was with him when he committed those acts, wanted him to succeeded. In other words, the context of the old man’s life, our empathy for him, changed us, grew our own understanding of what it means to be human. Our own understanding of life and of death.
Jess walks us through all of that in the last chapter. We learn that, just as we suspected, she was protecting her grandfather all along. By being clandestine about it, she gave him his dignity. Jess is the embodiment of grace, of forgiveness and of self-acceptance.
The story is going to make the reader sad. That's just the way it is. But it would be a mistake to avoid it because of sorrow. Ben, knowing his mind is almost gone, writes a letter to his future self. It's the most touching scene in the book. An act of compassion, of self-love that brought me to tears.
"You have been a good man. You have Alzheimer's...Be brave. It's been a good life...Everyone has to die, Ben. No life without death. And your time is now, and it's OK."
We've got to put our hearts in order. Stars Go Blue is a good story for that.
August 1, 2015
3.5 Stars
abandoned-dnf
June 17, 2025DNF @ 13% (Jun 2025) — How could I continue while he reminisced about all the animals he'd killed over the years?😯 His wife's peacock - shot because it wouldn't stop honking; the dozens of prairie dogs and foxes - shot for no good reason. Then there was the story of the Newfoundland dog his vet euthanised, but apparently with a dose too low for its size. The family buried him in a pasture and by morning the dog had dug its way out.
I'm not going to apologise anymore for being unable or unwilling to read stuff like this. Why do authors include it? It's just not necessary! And I will discontinue reading any author who feels it is. ❤️🐾❤️
I'm not going to apologise anymore for being unable or unwilling to read stuff like this. Why do authors include it? It's just not necessary! And I will discontinue reading any author who feels it is. ❤️🐾❤️
December 20, 2017
One Book Billings
April 1, 2025
3.75. A short and intimate read, about a couple that has grown old and grown apart, making sense of it all. I came to care about the characters and got invested in what they were doing. I wished for more, but it was still a book I’m glad I read.
August 2, 2014
This novel is a Psychological Drama, and it is disturbing – you’ve been warned. It is about diseased minds, both genetically and environmentally caused, and the interaction of both and the dire consequences of diseased minds. Stars go Blue is about death, dying, and killing. It’s about small towns and rural ranch living, which hardly is living at all – but a slow, painful death that struggles to minimize suffering. It’s about being old and how to die. It is about stuff most of us don’t want to think about – the killing and saving of lives. Brutality and ugliness in amongst beauty. It is cold and dark. Blue.
Shocking how such a young (relatively) women, the author, would write about, know about, and concern herself with such things. But then, I guess, things are forced upon you that are out of your control and you must deal with them, or not. Ms. Pritchett is dealing. Folks.
This couldn’t have been an easy book to write. It’s apparent to me how the author struggled with the words to tell the story – how she took her time to carefully craft what it was she was trying to convey. For the most part, she succeeds, though it is sometimes slow and almost torturous reading – there is sometimes too much redundancy. I don’t know if that was intentional or not – part of the struggle that is life, and dying. Another thing, this is a continuation of Laura’s first book, Hell’s Bottom, Colorado, which is a collection of stories about a rural cattle ranch at the base of the Rockies of Colorado, aptly named, Hell’s Bottom, and the family that forged it. The characters are the same, but much time as passed. There is some repletion of the stories told. Traumas are re-lived and re-experienced. I’ve read Hell’s Bottom, Colorado, twice. It is great story telling, as is this – tough stories. Hard stories about real hard choices, and whether or not we have a choice. Maybe we don’t, maybe the universe just deals, and we stay in the game and play, or fold. I don’t know. I don’t know if Laura was making an argument, just telling a story, or asking a question.
Should you read it? I don’t know that either. It’s good writing about serious stuff, yes; and it’s traumatic.
August 2, 2014
Shocking how such a young (relatively) women, the author, would write about, know about, and concern herself with such things. But then, I guess, things are forced upon you that are out of your control and you must deal with them, or not. Ms. Pritchett is dealing. Folks.
This couldn’t have been an easy book to write. It’s apparent to me how the author struggled with the words to tell the story – how she took her time to carefully craft what it was she was trying to convey. For the most part, she succeeds, though it is sometimes slow and almost torturous reading – there is sometimes too much redundancy. I don’t know if that was intentional or not – part of the struggle that is life, and dying. Another thing, this is a continuation of Laura’s first book, Hell’s Bottom, Colorado, which is a collection of stories about a rural cattle ranch at the base of the Rockies of Colorado, aptly named, Hell’s Bottom, and the family that forged it. The characters are the same, but much time as passed. There is some repletion of the stories told. Traumas are re-lived and re-experienced. I’ve read Hell’s Bottom, Colorado, twice. It is great story telling, as is this – tough stories. Hard stories about real hard choices, and whether or not we have a choice. Maybe we don’t, maybe the universe just deals, and we stay in the game and play, or fold. I don’t know. I don’t know if Laura was making an argument, just telling a story, or asking a question.
Should you read it? I don’t know that either. It’s good writing about serious stuff, yes; and it’s traumatic.
August 2, 2014
August 18, 2016
4.5****
O tema deste livro é assim um pouco difícil e complicado de abordar, uma vez que fala de uma doença que nos dias de hoje está a tornar-se cada vez mais frequente. Quando falamos com alguém que já não vemos há algum tempo e perguntamos: "Então como está a família?" e a resposta, eventualmente, acaba por ser "Está tudo bem, tirando o meu pai a quem foi diagnosticado Alzheimer.". Quantos de nós já não se pôs a pensar "E se um dia eu sofrer de Alzheimer? Quem cuidará de mim com a paciência e amor suficientes?"
O que muita gente não sabe é que tanto sofre o doente como as pessoas que o cercam. Esposas, filhos, netos, maridos, sobrinhos... não é só o doente que é afectado. Todos à sua volta sofrem um forte abalo nas suas vidas e este livro é um espelho do que muitas vezes se passa. As pessoas mais chegadas ao doente são quem mais sofrem, porque de uma maneira ou de outra, o doente vai esquecendo de cada vez que se lembra de alguma coisa, esquece-se das dores que passou no dia anterior, esquece-se da frustração e raiva que se sente quando não se lembra sequer de como os seus filhos se chamam, ou se até os têm. No final das contas, quando uma pessoa recebe esse diagnóstico não é apenas a vida dessa pessoa que muda.
Opinião Completa
http://sinfoniadoslivros.blogspot.pt/...
O tema deste livro é assim um pouco difícil e complicado de abordar, uma vez que fala de uma doença que nos dias de hoje está a tornar-se cada vez mais frequente. Quando falamos com alguém que já não vemos há algum tempo e perguntamos: "Então como está a família?" e a resposta, eventualmente, acaba por ser "Está tudo bem, tirando o meu pai a quem foi diagnosticado Alzheimer.". Quantos de nós já não se pôs a pensar "E se um dia eu sofrer de Alzheimer? Quem cuidará de mim com a paciência e amor suficientes?"
O que muita gente não sabe é que tanto sofre o doente como as pessoas que o cercam. Esposas, filhos, netos, maridos, sobrinhos... não é só o doente que é afectado. Todos à sua volta sofrem um forte abalo nas suas vidas e este livro é um espelho do que muitas vezes se passa. As pessoas mais chegadas ao doente são quem mais sofrem, porque de uma maneira ou de outra, o doente vai esquecendo de cada vez que se lembra de alguma coisa, esquece-se das dores que passou no dia anterior, esquece-se da frustração e raiva que se sente quando não se lembra sequer de como os seus filhos se chamam, ou se até os têm. No final das contas, quando uma pessoa recebe esse diagnóstico não é apenas a vida dessa pessoa que muda.
Opinião Completa
http://sinfoniadoslivros.blogspot.pt/...
January 2, 2015
a continuation and opening up of pritchett's short stories centered around ben and renny cross's ranch on the east side of the rockies. Hell's Bottom, Colorado you know what's on the east side of the rockies right? flat earth, no rain, constant wind, 2 inch tall grass. and families. so the old couple are facing bad bad health and a small small window for justice. will justice be done? is more death and heartache worth the satisfaction? hard people, hard life and histories, hard choices in compelling story on high plains.
October 7, 2015
A story about a family broken by two tragedies -- a brutal death and a life-changing dementia diagnosis. I liked and "knew" the characters immediately -- they existed in my family and they probably do in yours, as well. Halfway through the book, I was interrupted by the curveballs of my own life, but I picked it up again last night and couldn't put it down until I had finished. It's achingly sad, sadly tragic, tragically real. Yet, I closed the book feeling proud of the main characters and how they were able to endure, and even achieve redemption, when it mattered most.
August 14, 2016
Tinha tudo para ser excelente, mas no fim só o achei cansativo!
June 5, 2019
Do not shy away from this because you will miss out on the beauty of place, the human connections, humor, and suspense. If you read the description you might be tempted to give it a miss. Especially when you find out that one of the point of view characters has Alzheimer's. Because, you think, this will be heart-breaking and we all know how it ends. This is so much more than Alzheimer's--it is the beauty of the language when you're struggling for a word, it is how a couple still loves each other when they've pushed away because of the death of a daughter, the strain of care-giving. Humor, you say? Absolutely. These characters, Ben and Renny and lovely and wonderfully flawed and Pritchett sprinkles a humorous fondness for them throughout. Suspense--Absolutely. We do not know how this will end.
If you love when place is a character, if you want to put it down hoping there will be a sequel, if you want to carry characters with you long after you've stopped reading, then buy this. Now.
If you love when place is a character, if you want to put it down hoping there will be a sequel, if you want to carry characters with you long after you've stopped reading, then buy this. Now.
November 24, 2020
The author makes you feel for each of the characters. I like how the ending was weaved into the story. This book leads you to live each moment of the day to the fullest and let others know how much you love and care about them.
July 3, 2017
A perspectiva do doente e a do cuidador. A certeza de que se está morto antes de morrer. Um tema actual e pertinente mas em que faltou algo.
July 1, 2019
An elegant story about dementia. Interesting characters. Lyrical writing. Highly recommended.
December 19, 2015
This is an emotionally rich, but sad, book about an elderly couple: he has Alzheimer's and she often feels hurt as his caregiver. Laura Pritchett tells Ben and Renny's story in first person in alternate chapters, trying to capture Ben's way of thinking as he deals with his Alzheimers, and Renny's confusion and anger. Their son-in-law killed one of their daughters and is now being allowed out of prison. Part of this book deal with Ben's decision to go and see this former son-in-law, Ray. Laura Pritchett has a way of reaching the deepest emotions in people and bringing it out for the reader to really feel what they are feeling. She writes beautifully and honestly about very hard topics.
June 25, 2014
I was so moved by this short novel. It is about Renny and Ben who are estranged. Ben is struggling with Alzheimer's, and his wife is struggling with being his caretaker. They are both struggling with the murder of their daughter and the release of her murderer from prison. The book is beautifully written, and the characters are well developed. I cried as the characters let me into their lives. A story of family love and the tragedies that life deals us. Set in Colorado, the setting became one of the characters as well. I loved this book.
October 8, 2016
It took quite a while before this book grabbed me, despite the fact I have a father with dementia -- which is one of the reason's I wanted to read it. The other reason is that I took a writing workshop from Laura Pritchett and she sure seemed to know her stuff. The only part I really disliked was how angry Renny seemed most of the time. I knew deep down she loved her husband, but I wanted her to show a little more compassion towards him.
August 30, 2024
If you have ever dealt with a person with Alzheimer’s in your family read this book. It is crushing at times but it really hits home where they are at.
This was hard at times emotionally, but it was beautifully written and magnificent.
I miss you Dad.
This was hard at times emotionally, but it was beautifully written and magnificent.
I miss you Dad.
July 10, 2014
Fantastic.
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