The Stars Are Not Yet Bells

August 1, 2021

During World War II, blue lights deck the skies above an island called Lyra off Georgia's coast, and Elle Ranier's new husband, Simon, is sent to Lyra by his industrialist father to discover their source. They could be generated by valuable minerals found offshore, and the business Simon establishes to find them employs many of the island's inhabitants for 50 years but never succeeds in its goal. Here, Elle reflect on her long life on the island and a secret she has kept close. From National Book Foundation 5 under 35 honoree Assadi, whose debut novel, Sonora, was a PEN/Robert W. Bingham finalist.

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 18, 2021
Assadi (Sonora) returns with a lyrical and melancholic tale of grief, love, and a marriage’s open secrets, narrated by a woman who has Alzheimer’s. In 1941, Elle Ranier and her jeweler husband, Simon, moved from New York City as young newlyweds to a remote island off the coast of Georgia in search of a variety of jewel akin to diamonds and known locally as the “blue legend.” Many people have drowned while seeking the minerals, which are believed to lie at the bottom of the ocean, and Simon’s fruitless search eventually leaves his business in shambles. Now, in 1997, Elle remembers her previous lover, Gabriel, in Brooklyn, whom she arranged to work with Simon on the island after claiming he was her cousin, and who died shortly after they arrived. Then, in 1961, Simon grows close with a geologist hired to prospect for the jewels. Elle’s reminiscences become hazy as a result of her Alzheimer’s, though “for a while, life remained in bright dreams,” which evokes a sense of magic with images of mermaids and fairies. As the story of the trio’s arrival to the island and their subsequent misfortunes gradually unfolds, Elle circles around the secrets about her and Simon’s relationships with other men. The beauty of Assadi’s prose and the splendid depiction of a love that transcends death make for a singular rendition of an oft-told story. This will leave readers undone. Agent: PJ Mark, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc.

November 1, 2021
An elderly woman facing dementia examines her memories to uncover the truth about her past. "Time does not move forward, but falls backward," thinks narrator Elle Ranier as she sifts through fading memories in Assadi's dreamy, elegiac novel about loss and desire, set on Lyra, an island off the coast of Georgia. "The island has never wanted us," Elle says, but it is people who spark the real friction there, not Lyra's wild and inhospitable coast. Elle is elderly now, and the line between past and present is slipping out of her grasp as she slides into dementia. But she is determined to remember the hidden corners of her life and piece together answers to mysteries that confuse and trouble her. An impoverished girl who married into a wealthy family, Elle came to Lyra as a new bride at the start of World War II, with her husband, Simon, and her cousin Gabriel (who is not her cousin at all). Simon, a man with secrets of his own, is obsessed by the mysterious blue lights offshore and legends of miraculous minerals under the sea. Elle is obsessed with Gabriel. Potent streaks of longing and melancholy run through the novel: All of its characters want what they can't have, and Assadi returns again and again to the lasting pain of broken hopes and dreams. The story moves abruptly back and forth in time, but though Elle's mind leaps erratically, following the story is never difficult. When they come, the revelations are not entirely surprising, but Assadi still creates a haunting mood of despair and regret. A haunting elegy for loss, desire, and memory.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

December 15, 2021
Lyra Island, off the coast of Georgia, is known for its mysterious blue glow, purportedly caused by underwater stones. At the beginning of WWII, newlyweds Elle Ranier and her husband, Simon, are sent there to unravel the mystery of the stones, and to see if there's some commercial use for whatever it is that they find. Now it's 1997 and Elle is suffering from dementia, memories of her past blurring with the present day in unpredictable, often troubling, ways. At the center of Elle's memories is Gabriel, her first love, who drifts through the narrative, providing bursts of joy. Seen through Elle's eyes, the 1997 storyline is purposefully unclear, but it seems that Simon is about to sell their beloved home on the island, severing one of Elle's last connections to Gabriel. This is a nonlinear novel built on memories, capturing Elle's complex inner life while showing how dementia can ravage the mind. Assadi captivates the senses, compelling readers to pause and reflect as they progress through the story. Highly recommended for those who enjoy lyrical fiction that explores women's inner lives.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.