Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki is a rare treat to read in a class at Stevens. I was delighted to read it in Queer Fiction this semester, taught by Assistant Professor Smaran Dayal. Most of what I read in my classes is either textbooks or much older novels and short stories. So, getting the chance to read something written in the past decade is really nice. I feel the need to share that I would spend many afternoons between my classes reading Light from Uncommon Stars in bed, and it was a great book to read casually, relaxing in the warm sunlight.
Light from Uncommon Stars is a unique book that crosses across many genres and many different types of characters. The main characters are Katrina Nguyen and Shizuka Satomi. Katrina is a gifted violinist and trans girl from Oakland, CA, who finds herself homeless in LA after running away from her home and abusive parents. Satomi is a legendary violin teacher who is functionally immortal due to a deal with the devil (the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks kind of devil). There is also a family of alien (the kind from space) refugees who run a donut shop, and Satomi falls in love with Lan Tran, who is the mother of most of the alien kids working in the donut shop. Over the course of the novel, Satomi comes to care for Katrina in a way that she did not for the previous six violinists she gave to Hell. Satomi has to make a decision on whether to spare herself or the talented student she has come to care for so much.
One of the most enjoyable parts of the book was honestly the ability to discuss it with others. Queer Fiction has been one of my favorite classes this semester because people were excited both to read and talk about this book. As one of the few literature majors at Stevens, very rarely are people in my classes enthusiastic about the material or class. Maybe because of the nature of who it attracts or the giant circle we form at the beginning of each meeting, this course is everything one could be excited about in a class. Talking about a book with people who care improves the experience tenfold. Any book or any story can be worth analyzing, and it doesn’t have to be crazy complicated to be crazy good.
With class registration slowly creeping up on us all, I would like to point out to any eager readers that HLI 391-A Queer Fiction is a class that is available to take in the spring semester. I greatly enjoyed the class, and every reading in it has been amazing, including this novel. So, when thinking about a class to fulfill a humanities requirement, maybe consider taking this class and reading some great works of fiction.
