Samantha Edmonds' "A Preponderance of Starry Beings": a Book Review by Isaac Masters

 A Preponderance of Starry Beings creates a sense of curiosity that dwells in the cosmos and the important simplicity in the moments we experience with others who are different and similar in equal measures. A thought-provoking attempt to navigate the sensual and personal moments as a woman. What we seek in the universe is often touch and understanding from another person. These Starry Beings are in the open of life where people never lose track of the stories they have been told and experiences they have been through. There is an invitation on each page to explore what faith and love can do to your psyche as you traverse the universe, it doesn’t admonish the believer or the lover but wants them to process the pain and change around them, as only they can. The universe Samantha Edmonds sees is found on each page, where reader can be an explorer and purveyor of the beings of the world, or they can enter with their own experiences, both options provide a sense of wonderment. The companionship and loneliness of existence is captured well in the short story White Dwarf Star Seeks Red Giant for Binary Orbit, we are searching to teach and to be both comforted and comforting to another. “We have more in common than you think. After all, we’re both main sequence stars; I’m just a few million years ahead of you. And I’m not some kind of pervert, okay, I’m looking for a mature red giant….” (Pg 151) This passage and story is late in this short book, and we get to see in the mirror of the pages before and after, a human representation of these same themes. The backbone of these stories are stories i.e. the bible, scientific news, wives’ tales, bedtime stories, and stories the characters tell themselves. The book is full of love lost, but hope is always in the next moment.
 –Isaac Masters

Isaac Masters from Nashua, Iowa is currently pursuing two degrees, one in Creative Writing and the other in History. They are a part of Waldorf Theatre and Waldorf Choir. They enjoy the creative process of writing poetry.