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This novel was a 5-star read for me. I've been wondering what others thought about it. I thought the writing was fantastic. I highlighted so many passages as I was reading. I'm really glad that we picked it. I chose also to read it as raw and real about how harsh the time period was to survive and not look for any propaganda motifs. The story takes place in the region where I live so I really could visualize the setting from my own experiences traveling through the desert and having been to some of the places mentioned. I'm constantly thinking about how did earlier people traverse this area when there were no roads and air conditioning. It just amazes me trying to imagine what life was like. It was not easy is an understatement!
I'm still thinking about the ending and how ambiguous it was. I think he died too, but I read some compelling arguments on the internet by people who think he didn't. Interesting comments about the stars. I hadn't thought about that.
I love the first line "See the child." Such a simple statement. The kid wasn't such a naive young child when we first meet him, growing up in such a difficult household and choosing to run away. Yet he is innocent compared to the things he sees and does in the West that transform him. And of course "the kid" is no longer "a kid" by the last scene.
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