All the Glimmering Stars

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence, suicidal ideation, death, child death, emotional abuse, physical abuse, child abuse, rape, and child sexual abuse.

All the Glimmering Stars explores the brutal and destructive era in Ugandan history during which Joseph Kony pursued building his Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and mounting an insurrection against the government. Central to his success was the psychological warfare he used to recruit and secure child soldiers for his army. Through Anthony, the novel explores the mental and emotional impact of war as he struggles to reconcile the things he feels he must do for Kony with his efforts to be a “good person.”

The internal conflict that Anthony undergoes throughout the novel emphasizes the psychological effect that Kony and the LRA had on even its strongest soldiers. Anthony is a successful soldier, mastering the skill of signal calling and working his way to the top of Kony’s communications team. The praise he receives from Kony is a primary motivation for his character, as he feels pride in the work he does for him. However, at the same time, he recognizes the brutal acts that Kony is committing and the wrongness of his war.