Review: Star Gazers, by Duncan Sarkies

Acclaimed playwright, novelist and screenwriter Duncan Sarkies ventures into the world of alpaca breeding with his third novel, political satire Star Gazers. Corruption that seeps from the institutional to the individual, a deadly mystery illness spreading through the alpaca population, censorship in industry rag the Alpaca News, and the competitiveness of the Breeders Showcase demonstrates that there’s more to alpaca breeding than meets the eye, while also mirroring several topical local and global issues. It’s all silly-puttied together through complicated relationships between multiple players and a gleeful plot.

Investigations into the Alpaca Breeders Organisation of New Zealand’s dodgy election and the source of the alpacas’ fatal illness forms the thrust of the narrative. With so much going on, character is primarily revealed through action. Principled and dogged vet Willemijn uncovers the truth of the alpacas’ fatalities with little support from others, as her social awkwardness gets in the way of significant traction. She’s up against some powerful players with a lot more money and strategic relationships, such as main antagonist and master manipulator, businesswoman Shona. A moment with a cake tin, a lighter, and a fistful of uncounted votes reveals much about alpaca breeder and social climber Caroline, as does the way she whips up a batch of ginger crunch. 

Baking in general is a motif in the story, with Kiwi classics such as custard squares and iced treats referenced as a homage to the Pink and White Terraces. The novel works best in these spaces, when focused on the minutiae of things. One memorable scene involves the creation of a banana cake. It’s astounding how much Alpaca News staffer Pat can manage to get wrong in this most basic of recipes: I longed to pin a rosette onto the final product. The horror of rancid butter, ant corpses in the sugar, eggshell bits—‘little bit of grit won’t harm anyone’, and green bananas that are ‘too firm to be mashed easily’ is as hilarious as it is excruciating. The action stops just short of the recipients taking a bite, but as every step has been so meticulously described, it’s a relief to not have to be there for the actual tasting. 

Brief chapters which centre on the alpaca’s point of view balance out the rest of the novel’s hectic pace, and also serve as a reminder that they are the victims in all the scheming. The narrative around how these gentle, social creatures have unwittingly inspired a ruthless industry built around shaping, breeding, and controlling them is a genius stroke. However, emotions attributed to the alpacas are dished up with overstuffed lines like, ‘Svalinn feels love for her, a big surge in her strong heart’, sentiments that detract from genuine insight. A deeper exploration into the psyche of the humanoid kind instead would’ve been welcome, especially with Shona: are all her motivations purely fuelled by greed?

The small window inside her head that we do get offers some nuance, but the lens too quickly moves to the next thing. A chaotic auction inducing a potentially dangerous situation when Shona’s daughter Alyssa starts wolfing down her mum’s dodgy product, VitAl Paca Health Biscuits, elicits only the smallest blip on the monitor. Perhaps Shona’s begrudging response of ‘sensing that it has gone too far’ is played for laughs, and indeed it is appallingly funny to witness just how little Shona cares about her offspring. However, in moments like this I craved more insight into why she might react so offhandedly during a moment where it is clear that her daughter is crying out for help.  

The main takeaway of Star Gazers is the bleak reminder of humanity’s distorted priorities and the immense difficulty of changing the system. A momentous scene towards the end highlights this imbalance, demonstrating how those who want to overhaul everything and create real change lack the power, resources, and strategic connections to navigate the political and corporate landscape so are reduced to waving protest banners while the status quo remains entrenched. And so it continues.

Reviewed by Angelique Kasmara