This was like nothing else I'd read before, and I admit I decided to read it based largely on the fact that it takes place in New Jersey, my beloved home state. Aberration of Starlight takes you through one summer day at a boarding house told from the perspective of four narrators, with each account adding a layer of detail to the previous one(s). It really is a rather interesting look at the development of story and character, and a book that I'd recommend to anyone interested in the art or structure of writing, particularly to aspiring writers. I was, however, somewhat turned off by the frequent casual use of ethnic slurs. While this gave you an acute sense of both the time period and the characters' true natures, and while the story would have been nowhere near as gritty and affecting without it, I still felt very uncomfortable with it. ( )