Why Stars Burn
The Sirena Diamond Stories
by Kathleen Alcalá

Reviewed by Galen Strickland
Posted December 21, 2025

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"This is not a story about a broken heart. This is not a story about what it feels like to be left alone by the person you thought would love you for the rest of your life, or about what if feels like to be deceived. It might be about what it feels like to deceive yourself, and trying to make the rest of your life conform to that lie. The lie is, "he still loves me." The truth is, "you are alone."

In spite of the title and cover art, this is not science fiction. Thanks to Rosarium Publishing for providing a digital copy of this book, which I might not have been aware of otherwise. I did not request it, but I have reviewed several other books from them, and they offered it freely. Several of Alcalá's other books might be considered magical realism, and this one is at least speculative in that it reminded me of Malka Older's concept of "narrative disorder," wherein characters invent stories about themselves and others in an attempt to make sense of their lives. Sirena Diamond is the daughter of Mexican immigrants living in San Bernardino, something that mirrors Alcalá's life. Sirena features in most of the stories, in some it is other members of her family, or friends. "A Hole in the Sky" does not. Instead it is about a young woman named Tina, running away from her home in New Mexico, who takes various buses from there to Southern California. She is later referenced as a part-time worker at the real estate office where Sirena works.

Other stories are about her eccentric grandmother and her pet duck, or her PTSD-suffering brother Danny, or her Indian friend Devi, or her on again, off again boyfriend Julio, who adopts the name Mike when he goes to D.C. to work in the office of their Congressman. Later, Sirena meets another man, Bullitt, at a film festival on Venice Beach. That was one of the first instances of Sirena concocting a story based on a large, star-shaped scar on Bullitt's back. Supposedly the scar was obtained when he was still in his mother's womb, when she had been shot during a robbery, and he had to be delivered via Caesarean section. The story she concocted for him was that he was a Star Child, destined to be a hero who would save the universe, but first he had to find the many other Star Children all across the galaxy. When she met Bullitt's mother she was curious if she had a similar scar, but later learned that Bullitt was adopted, and that no one knew who his birth mother was. I'm not sure if the stories are in the chronological order of her life, nor how many years they encompass, but some appear to present different perspectives. For example, Danny is at first a wild, impetuous person, drunk during leave from the Army, mistakenly shot by police. Later, he apparently outgrew his rambunctious ways, and is presented as a much more responsible person than Sirena.

The stories vary in length, and in seriousness. One of the better ones is "Sinners Find Rest in Gehenna," but I won't reveal why it is very traumatic for Sirena. She eventually gets married, but not to either Julio or Bullitt, but to a man named John. In the final story, "Something Even You Can Understand," their house is broken into, the most valuable thing stolen being an old Victrola John had inherited from his grandparents. Sirena's wallet was also stolen, but it was later found. The thieves took the cash and her driver's license, but not a credit card. She later thinks she has found the other "Sirena" who has been using her ID, stalks her at the restaurant where she is a waitress, and later to a club she thinks the young woman frequents. She doesn't see her there, but likes the club, the music and the atmosphere, something she normally would not have been drawn too, but John is out of town and she is up for an adventure. After the club closes, she realizes she has left her keys in her car, but she has her purse, so takes a cab home. Without her keys, or her husband at home, she has to figure out another way to get in. Her neighbor had left a ladder out, so she moves it to her house, where she is able to get in through an attic window. When she gets to her bedroom she is surprised to discover John has come home early.

"It was almost three o'clock, and she would hate herself when she had to get up in a couple of hours. John would think she was insane when he found out. But for now, Sirena marvelled at her discovery, at how easy it was. It was so easy to be somebody else."

If Alcalá ever writes more stories about Sirena I would like to read them, to find out how many other people she is able to become. Recommended.

Related link:
Kathleen Alcalá's Official Website

 

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