Starry Starry Night
By Shani Mootoo
2025
First Published
300
Number of Pages
In Starry Starry Night, Shani Mootoo gives us the singular voice of Anju Goshal, a young girl living in 1960s Trinidad. Spanning her life between the ages of four and twelve, we experience the world just as Anju does, coming to understand she has evolved into a keen observer because her safety depends on it. Through her clear-eyed perspective, the reader is fully transported and becomes both a witness to and participant in Anju' s negotiations of an unexpectedly new and complex life.Starry Starry Night illuminates the experiences of a well-off and socially advancing family during the turn of a country' s fortunes. Thoughtfully articulated via the innocent commentary of a child, the book tackles larger issues of family, loss, and trauma. It relays the story of a British colony just before and after its independence and touches on the racial and class problems faced as a result of colonialism.Beautifully crafted and rich with sumptuous detail, this unique narrative coalesces into a portrait of a child who, despite privileged appearances, must become independent and fend for herself. It also depicts adults who, while so wrapped up in their own dramas, fail to see the needs of the ch
Author
Shani Mootoo
Author · 10 books
Shani Mootoo, writer, visual artist and video maker, was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1957 to Trinidadian parents. She grew up in Trinidad and relocated at age 24 to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She currently lives in Toronto, Canada.
