The Stars at Noon

by Denis Johnson

First published 1995

An American woman moves through war-torn Nicaragua in 1984, claiming to work as a reporter for a magazine while possibly operating as a contact for Eyes for Peace. Her true mission remains unclear even to herself as she navigates the dangerous landscape of the Nicaraguan Revolution. She becomes involved with a mysterious English businessman whose own purposes prove equally opaque. Their relationship develops against a backdrop of political upheaval and mounting paranoia. As both foreigners find themselves drawn deeper into shadowy conspiracies, the woman must confront not only external threats but the corruption spreading within her own soul. The revolution around them mirrors an internal collapse as passion collides with fear and trust dissolves into betrayal.

Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, espionage, political-thriller

Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking

Tropes: fish-out-of-water, moral-ambiguity, unreliable-narrator

Setting: Nicaragua

Period: 1984

192 pages · Paperback · Harper Perennial

Content warnings: violence, war

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