Books like The Childhood of Jesus by J. M. Coetzee

After crossing oceans, an older man and a young boy arrive in a new country, where they are given new names and settled in a desert camp while learning Spanish, the language of their new home. They are moved to a relocation centre in the city of Novilla, where officials treat them politely but with indifference. The elder, now known as Simon, takes a job at a grain wharf. Though the work is unfamiliar and demanding, he forms bonds with his stevedore colleagues, who share philosophical reflections on the dignity of labour. Simon’s mission is to locate the boy’s mother, a task he feels is inevitable. While traveling with the boy, David, he sees a woman he believes to be the mother and persuades her to assume the role. The boy, now embraced by a new family, displays remarkable imagination that draws suspicion from school authorities, who wish to send him to a special school. The mother refuses, and Simon drives a car with them as they flee across the mountains.

First publish date: 2013