Quote by Jesus Carrasco
Take me Home (2021) is the third novel by the Spanish professor and writer Jesús Carrasco. The author surprised the literary world with the work Outdoor (2013), which was translated into more than twenty languages, and obtained an adaptation to the comic and the cinematographic format. Some time later, Carrasco published The land we step on (2016), laureate of the European Union Prize for Literature.
During his years in literary activity, the professor has received positive reviews regarding his narrative style and moving stories. In this way, Take me Home is no exception to that fact. So far, the author's latest book it is the most autobiographical he has written; Likewise, it is the least obscure in the list of his works.
Synopsis of Take me Home
A death that changes everything
The plot starts when Juan, a young man who becomes independent far from his homeland, he is forced to return to his maternal home because of the death of his father. After the burial, the protagonist's intention is to return to Edinburgh, his new home, immediately. However, his plans change abruptly when his sister gives him news with irreversible consequences.
A return to an unwanted site
Contrary to your wishes, Juan is forced to stay in a place from which he decided to escape long ago. In addition, he must take care of a mother whom he knows very little, and with whom he only shares a love for the old family Renault 4. He is like the main character he is surrounded by his sick mother and sister, who serve as a counterpoint. Similarly, the deceased father plays an important role in the psychology of the protagonist.
the return of the past
In the background, but not without less importance, friends and figures appear whom Juan met in a blurred past for him. Even so, these apparitions offer him an outside view of himself and his situation. They also give him good humor and a more detached understanding of the main events of the plot, which, at the same time, refreshes his own personality and disposition.
The Necessary Change (The Hero's Journey)
At first glance it may seem that the protagonist is a mediocre subject, especially when compared to her sister's abilities and way of being. However, the fact of returning home puts you before an environment that generates various conditions: in principle, a small rural town from which he fled thinking that it had nothing to offer him; responsibilities to the family he left behind; and their own origins.
All these details make Juan grow as a person. Carrasco, with his brilliant prose, creates a gap of great magnitude between the main character at the beginning of the book, and how he can be perceived towards the end of the story. They are two different people, and However, the subject changes without losing its essence. The author directs the reader towards that metamorphosis, in which Juan lives a reality that is unexpected for him; at the same time, he notes how effective he can be.
About the context of the work
generational differences
This novel It is a reflection of family generational conflicts, and how these walls are broken to discover new ways of seeing the world.. Various perspectives can be seen in the work. Among them are: that of the one who struggles to achieve a legacy and leave something to her children; and that of the one who must go far to form his own path. All this is traced under fundamental decisions that the characters must make to get ahead.
The past that no longer returns
“From the house comes a particular fragrance that is only perceived when you have been outside for a while and the exterior has renewed the interior. It is a bland and unique smell of time”, says Carrasco's character. The fragment talks about how Juan perceives his home the first time he enters it. After his departure, the protagonist is struck by the memory of everything he left behind, and understands that it is too late to recover certain moments.
life and its responsibilities
In his book, Jesus Carrasco also talks about the commitments that human beings must assume, paternity being one of them. However, the most important narrative that develops in the work is learning to be children and care for an elderly person who can no longer fend for himself. According to Carrasco: "The responsibility of being children and the consequences of assuming it are rarely discussed."
Roles within the family, old age and fears
In the same way, the writer raises several truths about family relationships. For example: each member assumes a role to which he believes he belongs, and acts with respect to that conviction. Take me Home assumes themes such as old age, loneliness and how the characters are forced to give up different pleasures. It also tells stories about fear, memories and the way each figure deals with them.
About the author, Jesús Carrasco Jaramillo
Jesus Carrasco
Jesús Carrasco Jaramillo was born in 1972, in Olivenza, Badajoz. The author graduated in physical education; shortly after, he moved to Scotland, and, in 2005, he settled in Seville. In this last city he worked as an advertising writer, to later dedicate himself fully to writing. Today Carrasco He is best known for creating award-winning novels
In most cases, the background environment for their stories has nature as the protagonist. This fact is related to the origin of Jesus, and his love for the flat and dry land where he grew up. His first novel, Outdoor, It was presented at the 2012 Frankfurt Book Fair. However, Grupo Planeta obtained the rights for the Hispanic market, and included the work in the Brief Library.
Outdoor It was honored with a multitude of awards, such as the Best Book Award (2013); the Prize for Culture, Art and Literature; and the Prix Ulysse for Best First Novel. It was also named book of the year by the newspaper El País. According to critics, this work by Carrasco gave worldwide recognition to the ruralist movement in Spain in the XNUMXst century.