The Guiding Star

The Guiding Star is Blur’s camper vehicle and home. He lives in and operates out of it with his dog, Flip. The Star is conducive to Blur’s itinerant nature; the reader follows his progress around the country. The Star also helps Blur remain off-grid and anonymous. Blur is fond of the Star, and it is one of the only things or people in the story to receive his affection. When Blur is informed the Star is totaled, he is overcome with sadness; this is the first instance of such emotion in his character. The reader should recognize this moment, and Blur’s relationship with the camper, as a dynamic element of his character’s growth.

Chicago

The novel depicts Blur in Chicago on multiple occasions, once via his memory and then again during the plot’s development. In his twenties, Blur drove through Chicago...