LGBTQ Annotation

Author: Carter Sickels

Title: The Prettiest Star

Genre: LGBTQ

Publication Date: 2020

Number of Pages: 291
 

Geographical Setting: Chester, Ohio

Time Period: 1986

Plot Summary

Brian, a young queer artist, flees to New York City where he finds love and acceptance by his chosen family. After witnessing many loved ones taken too soon by AIDS related illness, and receiving the diagnoses himself, he returns home to small town Ohio to die. Losing his lover and many of his friends to AIDS, Brian has nothing left but memories of death in New York and the urge to seek the comfort of his family in his last days. Brian returns home to his estranged family where he reconnects with his grandmother and wrestles with a family and a community who struggle to accept him. The story is told from the perspective of three characters: Brian, who uses his video camera to document his life and tell his story. Jess, his little sister who once idolized him and is now struggling with the impact his return has had on her life at home and at school. And Sharon, Brian's mother, who is conflicted and unsure how to accept and care for her son.

Subject Headings

 

AIDS (Disease) -- Patients -- United States -- Fiction.

Gay men -- Fiction.

Small cities -- Fiction.

 

Appeal

 

Three words that describe this novel: character driven, heart wrenching, engaging

 

CHARACTER

In this character driven novel, we are introduced to a diverse cast of characters and hear the story of a dying man's last days from different point of views. The novel was inspired by the story of Mike Sisco, an HIV+ gay man who moved back home to be surrounded by family after being diagnosed with AIDS, to a community that went into an uproar when on one hot summer day, he took a swim in the local public pool. 

 

STORYLINE

The author tells the story from three characters' point of view - Brian, who is dying from AIDS; Jess, his little sister who once idolized him but since his departure 6 years ago, now feels like a stranger to her; and Sharon, their mother who is struggling within herself to know the right thing to do. She is torn between her long held religious beliefs, her fears of the backlash from the community, and the love she has for her son. 

 

TONE

The is a heart wrenching portrayal of the devastation that the AIDS epidemic had on its victims, their families, and their communities. Through the lens of the three main characters, we see the many forms of family and love that co-exist in the midst of turmoil, shame, and rejection. 

Fiction Read-alikes 

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai (2019) - Just as the director of an art gallery in Chicago achieves career success, the AIDS epidemic grows around him and takes the lives of many of his friends. 

 

Rat Bohemia by Sarah Schulman (1995) - Set in New York City, members of the LGBTQ community forge new bonds, and attempt to heal old wounds after they have been abandoned by their families back home. 

 

Scissors, Paper Rock by Fenton Johnson (1994) - Raphael returns home to see his dying father, who disapproves of his lifestyle, in hopes of reconciliation. Raphael is unaware that he may also be ill.

 

Aladdin Sane by David Bowie (1973) - The title, The Prettiest Star,  is taken from this album and Bowie’s work is referenced throughout the story. Sickels attributes the framing of the different sections in the novel to Bowie’s songs. 

 

Non-Fiction Read-alikes

 

Ties That Bind: Familial Homophobia And Its Consequences by Sarah Schulman (2009) - Schulman explores familial homophobia and invites us to understand it not as a personal problem but a widespread cultural crisis.

 

Later by Paul Lisicky (2020) - Leaving his hometown in search of love and acceptance in Provincetown, the author finds the connection he longs for in a community consumed by the AIDS crisis. 

 

Heaven’s Coast: A Memoir by Mark Doty (1997) - Poet, Mark Doty, chronicles the journey he endures with the love of his life, Wally, who tests positive for HIV and subsequently dies from the disease.