Starlight, Richard Wagamese’s unfinished last novel, is a gripping read. There’s suspense and quiet joy all at the same time, and I had to keep turning the pages to find out what happened. Although the novel was unfinished, the publisher included notes about how Wagamese’s circle think it was likely to have ended, as well as a scene from a novella that might have been the basis for the eventual last scene, and an essay by Wagamese that fits the theme of the story. I highly recommend this but you need to read Medicine Walk first. ( )

At its heart, there's nothing new here. Wagamese takes an old, well-worn story, and puts his own voice on it.

And yet, that's where the magic lies. Wagamese's voice. I absolutely adored Medicine Walk and, when I started reading this, my first thought was, it's not going to come close.

I was utterly mistaken.

It's not the same story, but it's equally as good as that preceding novel. It starts with everyone broken, but looking with desperate hope toward the future.

When you figure you've got nothing, moving back and going on can feel like the same direction.

Then, Wagamese just gives you one beautiful scene after another. He's truly a gifted author, and his passing before completion of this novel (or any other works he might have produced) is an utter tragedy.

I won't talk to the plot, because it's best discovered by each reader. But I will say, there's a lot to be found in these pages.

You take the label off a can of beans, it's still a can of beans. Seems to me a label doesn't matter much at all. What counts is what's inside. ( )

I will start off by declaring that I am a huge fan of Richard Wagamese, and Starlight has only strengthened my admiration of this author. I hate the fact that this is his final novel but he certainly left us a wonderful legacy. Starlight is a moving story of love, compassion and mercy as a badly abused young mother and her daughter find a place of safety on a rural farm in a remote corner of British Columbia. Unfortunately the author passed away before he completed the novel, although it is based on a short story that he wrote in 2007 so the publishers have a very good idea of how it is meant to end. I congratulate them for the fact that they didn’t attempt to have an ending written, they simply refer the reader to the original short story.

When Franklin Starlight took Emmy and her daughter Winnie into his home, offering a job and security, he also taught them both survival skills for the wilderness not knowing that the people that are tracking her are coming closer every day. Emmy found herself learning how to replace a lifetime of hurt and anger with the enrichment of nature and a new awareness of her own self-worth. She and Franklin grew closer to each other but a dangerous confrontation with her abusers is on the horizon.

Richard Wagamese was a firm believer in forgiving and moving forward and learning how to leave the hurt behind so there is a strong indication that this novel would lean toward reconciliation and healing. Hopefully Frank’s gentle guidance would influence Emmy to show mercy and allow her and Frank to find peace together. I enjoyed this follow-up story about Frank Starlight who was first introduced in Medicine Walk. Even though unfinished, I am giving this soulful story five stars. ( )

The story starts off amazing. Good action and then moved into some awesome nature scenery and back country living. Just as you near the incomplete end, however, it goes exactly where I thought a writer of Wagamese's caliber would not go: into cheesy romance. Seriously. It came across as the stuff I read in high school. I wish it had gone in an unexpected way.
There were a few other unbelievable parts: no farmer leaves his farm with his #1 hand for a trip to the city. It took Starlight a lifetime to achieve his communion with nature, but he is apparently such a great teacher that it takes him only a few indeterminate months to get Emmy and Winnie to the same place?! And how does he suddenly have so much time to teach them, after establishing in the first few chapters that he is practically a work-aholic on the farm? Why does a guy who has such trouble with words become so well the first time he speaks to a crowd? (Mind, the speech sounds spot-on to the speaking style of Indigenous elders I have heard speak.) Despite these plot holes, the writing style is great, with a strong vocabulary and witty repartee.
Dickens' Mystery of Edwin Drood it is not. That unfinished piece was a true mystery. This one just feels unpolished and incomplete. ( )

Final novel of Richard Wagamese beloved author of Indian Horse and Medicine Walk. Author has a way of describing feelings and thoughts in such a quiet and contemplative stryle. This story was of a wildlife ojibway photographer who takes in a white woman and her daughter when they needed help. ( )