- Title: The Stars Are Not Yet Bells
- Author: Hannah Lillith Assadi
- Publisher: Sceptre
- Star Rating: ★★★★
It is the end of the Great Depression and Elle Ranier believes that by marrying her wealthy husband Simon she is saving her life. Young and impressionable, she is unable to foresee the true cost of her decision. Instead, she leaves everything she has known in New York City to live in a vine-covered mansion on the tangled shores of Lyra, an island off America’s southeastern coast. There, amid the wild horses, oak woods and rumours of jewels hidden beneath the water, Elle harbours a secret. Her so-called ‘cousin’ Gabriel, who comes to stay, is really a boyfriend from back home and the love of her life.
In subsequent years, when Elle and Simon raise a family and face a less than idyllic relationship, Elle can never forget her brief dalliance with Gabriel. Even fifty years later, when her memory recedes into the mists of Alzheimer’s disease, she is haunted by his fate. With her mind a maze of questions about long-buried stories, the bewitching island of Lyra might eventually bring answers to light.
The Stars Are Not Yet Bells by Hannah Lillith Assadi will instantly grab your attention due to Assadi’s beautiful, haunting and lyrical prose which is a joy to behold. This captivating novel delves into the fragmented mind and somewhat tangled memories of Elle – who is in the late stages of dementia, as they seem to slip away from her. Elle’s complex relationship with Gabriel unfolds in her memories, as she is plagued by not only desire, but his tragic fate. Set in the mystical island of Lyra, the novel explores the complexities of relationships and marriage, the betrayal of our memories, the impact of secrets and life-altering choices. Anyone who has suffered loss will find this a heartbreaking, bittersweet read which will stay with you long after the final page. Thoroughly recommended.
*I received a review copy from Sceptre in exchange for an honest and fair review.
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There would be no use for memory. We would rise to eat, lie in the sun, then sleep again until it was all over. It’s beauty that has grown our minds. And it is beauty that has undone us. For a long time, I have wondered whether it would exist without the end, without death. If beauty and death are coincident, codependent.
Hannah Lillith Assadi, The Stars Are Not Yet Bells, page 15.