She's also dividing the world into two: those born lucky and those born unfortunate. Which means that she has already created two sources of conflict: people versus cosmic forces and the lucky versus the unfortunate.
It's a slightly unusual place to begin a story. As yet, we have no particular person to focus on. And, the novel calls for someone who can take action. A character who follows a predetermined path is an automaton rather than a protagonist. Even if the available actions are very small, there must be some choices to make a story.
We like characters who take action. So it's risky to start a story by putting the results under the control of the stars and planets instead of in the hands of humans.
The word "born" is very important here. It holds out the possibility that the stars and planets only dictate where someone begins, and not where they go from there.
The beauty of the sentence also helps draw a reader on. "Some people are born under a lucky star" has almost passed into cliché, and then Moreno-Garcia plays on it with the contrast she makes in the second half of the sentence. "Misfortune telegraphed" contains two less-common words, an attractive rhythm, and an old-fashioned flavor. Telegraphs are not common any more. Then "position of the planets" is more specific than "lucky star" and has the poetic effect of the repeating Ps.
I'm hoping when I read this that a central character will challenge the cosmic forces that placed them in an unfortunate circumstance, and that the story will continue in lovely language. If the author satisfies those hopes, the book will please me.
Spoiler alert: She met my hopes.
Graphic design by Ken Silbert
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