Review of ASTRA by Cedar Bowers

 4 Stars

This novel is a complex character study of one woman named Astra Winter Sorrow Brine and ten people who encounter her at different stages of her life. 

The narrative unfolds in chronological order so the reader is given a view of Astra beginning just before her birth and ending with her as a mature woman.  Various people (five men and five women) give their perspectives; some know her for a long time and some, for a much shorter time.  The final chapter is the only one in first person and that is from Astra’s point of view. 

The novel asks how well we can ever really know someone else.  People describe Astra as “courageous” and “a bit helpless, and desperate for someone to take care of her” and “a marvellous actress, gifted at embellishing her panic or pain to garner sympathy” and having “trouble processing criticism without feeling unreasonably rejected and hurt” and lacking “clarity and strength” and “unconventionally intelligent” and “good at hiding her feelings from other people” and “an impressive woman.”  The point is that Astra, like all people, is a complicated person who “is as unknowable as a still, black lake:  there’s just no way to tell what’s underneath or how deep down she goes.” 

Each of the ten people believes he/she is describing Astra objectively, but that is not the case.  Their portraits are shaded by who they are, their life experiences, their hopes and desires, and their own shortcomings and failings.  For instance, it makes sense that a woman who spends little time with her son with whom she has “a harder and harder time relating” and from whom she feels distanced would be envious and critical of Astra’s closeness to her son, even finding “their intimacy a bit revolting.”  Certainly several of the men in Astra’s life view her more in terms of what they want in a woman rather than who Astra really is.  And because of their motives, some people give descriptions that are rather unreliable. 

When trying to form an accurate impression of Astra, the reader must also remember that the people describing her encounter her in different roles at different times in her life.  Brendan meets Astra when she first moves to the big city and is struggling to adapt to an unfamiliar world; Astra would not be the same person were he to meet her years later.  We change over time and take on different roles.  Just the other day, I posted a photo of myself kayaking, and a former student commented, “Seeing you in a kayak is a strange cognitive disconnect for me.”  It made sense because he knew me as his high school teacher; likewise, I experience cognitive dissonance when I think of him as the father of a young child.

Of course what happens is that people end up revealing as much about themselves as about the person they are describing.  For example, Lauren initially has only positive opinions about Astra but when she suspects that her husband is having an “emotional affair” with her, she begins finding fault with Astra.  Lauren’s insecurity is what is emphasized in her criticisms that Astra “isn’t perfect” and is “always overemphasizing how tired she is” and “is a little greedy as well.”  I love Astra’s summary that “We’re one human life stacked on top of the traumas and the tragedies of another.”

What is impressive is that everyone is portrayed realistically.  Everyone is shown to have both positive and negative traits.  Astra is sometimes selfish but she can also be generous.  Sometimes she wants others to look after her, but then she wants to be independent.   She is not always likeable but “considering her, and all she’s done, and all she’s lived through,” it is not possible to be unsympathetic to her and even admire her. 

This book is thought-provoking.  It will have you thinking about how others see you and how well we really know others.  One character mentions wanting to understand Astra “as a whole rather than as a collection of parts, yet thinking about her is like peering through a kaleidoscope.”  This is what the book provides:  a collection of views but none is complete.  And that’s how we live life - without a complete understanding of anyone. 

This novel appeared on the Giller Prize longlist and deservedly so.  Readers cannot but be astounded at the complexity of its characterization.