A simple beginning: page 1

The book arrived at my door on 8 November. A tragic day in America, perhaps in the world, which could not have been predicted. A shocking outcome. But the book was welcome, an escape from the goings-on around.

Three things strike me upon opening the book: the allegory of the title, the epigraph from Cervantes, and the geography of the place. Zooming in from macro- to micro-, one asks why schooldays, a sequel, and how Estrella relates to Novilla (or novella). Each point could benefit from a deeper analysis and discussion. So, in no particular order than the story itself: "But whereas Novella was a city, Estrella is no more than a sprawling provincial town set in a countryside of hills and fields and orchards, with a sluggish river meandering through it." Questions pop up: what is it about a child, being carried in a car with a man (Simón -- whose name is not mentioned until p. 3), woman (Inés), and a hitchhiker Juan that begs the question: what kind of allegory is this?

The question of refugees or fugitives (Syrians, the boat people, and so many others come to mind) and what a state (nation-state or communist system) is for: "Will he and Inés and the boy be able to find a home here?" The state represents, at least at the beginning of this book, the "embodiment of beneficence of an impersonal variety" and it was pointed out that the author's name is perhaps an allegory here in the name of hitchhiker, to bring them to this new land, a new beginning, a fresh clean start. How much of the previous book is necessary (even in Part I to Part II of Don Quixote published 10 years apart)? Whereas the work earlier in the childhood was in a factory, or an urban allegory, here (at least on page 1) it is a rural allegory: the farm. "If it isn't orange season it is apple season: if it isn't apple season it is grape season." The word "cornucopia" points to something of the richness, the abundance, which comes from the land. Juan suggests they work on a farm.

The question of the title is left open. What are the schooldays and what might this have to do with Jesus? What does this mean to be a second part, a sequel? How even might Life and Times of Michael K, In the Heart of the Country, Boyhood, etc. all be prequels? Lastly, what is the setting, the place, the potential "home" of Estrella (star) mean? This is a brief beginning for an end of a year.