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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
I grew frustrated with this book and considered giving it up midway, but the final act roared in and salvaged my reading experience.
Luiselli seems to be trying too hard here. There are four or five clever conceits here (chapters organized by lists, the use of music, multiple narrators, magical realism, to name a few) where only two or three were necessary.
And her refusal to name the characters, referring to them throughout as "my husband," "they boy," "Mama," and "Papa," I just found annoying. This isn't allegory. The central familial characters are distinct: an immigrant woman and her American husband--both collectors of sound for radio and archives--the woman's daughter from a previous relationship, and her step-son. Toward the end, Luiselli alludes to the Native American tradition of "awarding" names to reflect great deeds, but it doesn't fit.
Yet this book sings--especially as it closes in on its very dramatic climax. Traveling from New York City to Columbus, New Mexico, two distinct stories lead the characters into America's heartland: the demise of the Apache Tribe that once roamed the border region of the Southwest, and the growing migration crisis at the US/Mexico border.
The woman is ostensibly looking for "lost children" of a friend who had paid a smuggler to get them across the border. Are they in federal custody? Are they wandering in the desert? This part of the plot is undeveloped until the climax.
Another key scene occurs when the unnamed woman and her step son arrive at an airport in Roswell, New Mexico, just as a charter plane filled with deportees takes off for Central America. Other powerful scenes show the migration of children the other way.
This is an uneven but ultimately rewarding read. I recommend it for those interested in America's migration crisis.
Luiselli seems to be trying too hard here. There are four or five clever conceits here (chapters organized by lists, the use of music, multiple narrators, magical realism, to name a few) where only two or three were necessary.
And her refusal to name the characters, referring to them throughout as "my husband," "they boy," "Mama," and "Papa," I just found annoying. This isn't allegory. The central familial characters are distinct: an immigrant woman and her American husband--both collectors of sound for radio and archives--the woman's daughter from a previous relationship, and her step-son. Toward the end, Luiselli alludes to the Native American tradition of "awarding" names to reflect great deeds, but it doesn't fit.
Yet this book sings--especially as it closes in on its very dramatic climax. Traveling from New York City to Columbus, New Mexico, two distinct stories lead the characters into America's heartland: the demise of the Apache Tribe that once roamed the border region of the Southwest, and the growing migration crisis at the US/Mexico border.
The woman is ostensibly looking for "lost children" of a friend who had paid a smuggler to get them across the border. Are they in federal custody? Are they wandering in the desert? This part of the plot is undeveloped until the climax.
Another key scene occurs when the unnamed woman and her step son arrive at an airport in Roswell, New Mexico, just as a charter plane filled with deportees takes off for Central America. Other powerful scenes show the migration of children the other way.
This is an uneven but ultimately rewarding read. I recommend it for those interested in America's migration crisis.
Una gran obra, en la que Luiselli expone los diversos aspectos de la crisis de refugiados centoamericanos en EE.UU, especialmente desde la perspectiva de los niños refugiados mismos.
La novela podría ser considerada como narración alternativa del ensayo que la precedió (Los niños perdidos). En vez de un ensayo de no ficción, sin embargo, Desierto sonoro es una obra de ficción, en la que Luiselli tiene más libertad narrativa, describiendo aspectos de la historia del ensayo en más detalle, y poniendo énfasis en otros elementos, como las dudas que surgen en la representación de los niños refugiados.
Además, las cuantiosas referencias intertextuales, tanto como las alusiones a fuentes no textuales (como canciones, películas, y fotografías), enriquecen la novela aún más,
Para cualquiera persona que esté interesada en saber más sobre la crisis de refugiados, especialmente desde una nueva perspectiva, vale la pena leer la novela.
La novela podría ser considerada como narración alternativa del ensayo que la precedió (Los niños perdidos). En vez de un ensayo de no ficción, sin embargo, Desierto sonoro es una obra de ficción, en la que Luiselli tiene más libertad narrativa, describiendo aspectos de la historia del ensayo en más detalle, y poniendo énfasis en otros elementos, como las dudas que surgen en la representación de los niños refugiados.
Además, las cuantiosas referencias intertextuales, tanto como las alusiones a fuentes no textuales (como canciones, películas, y fotografías), enriquecen la novela aún más,
Para cualquiera persona que esté interesada en saber más sobre la crisis de refugiados, especialmente desde una nueva perspectiva, vale la pena leer la novela.
What a book. Towards the end the boy says, talking to his sister about his plans to be both a documentarian and a documentarist, that he would do so "so you could get at least 2 versions of everything and know things in different ways, which is always better than just one way." And this is what Luiselli does, linking the hellish journey of migrant children to the experience of the boy and his sister, watching their own family come apart and "divide" (an image she often returns to) and then becoming lost children themselves. It's a stunning look at the way the past echoes into the present, and how absence can "echo" into presence and yet still also highlight its absence. And she does this in such amazing and subtle ways, not least of which is inserting the "echoes" of past writers into the present narrative. I loved this book but also couldnt bear to read it at times.
There's a fine line between a very smart book that makes the reader feel stupid and one that makes the reader feel smarter for having read it - Lost Children Archive is definitely the latter. Inter-textual references through the book add to the narrative, but it doesn't particularly matter if you don't know exactly what they're referencing. A great road book, for anyone with mixed romantic and horrified feelings about the American South. Even the parts narrated in a child's voice didn't annoy me too much, and usually I hate that.
really really interesting book but honestly lost me at the end with the formatting of the paragraphs which is super specific i know... but still... that was a no for me!! slow build-up for me but then once we shifted perspectives to another narrator, i really got into the groove.
emotional
3 stars.
I read this for my book club and really wanted to like it. The problem is its focus or rather lack of focus. Many important issues are touched on here (on many levels): treatment of Native Americans, immigration over our Southern borders, lost and exploited children, immigrants, divorce, and our country's vast landscape. However, none of it receives enough in depth exploration.
A disservice was done to both the plight of Native Americans over the course of American colonization and a disservice was done to the current plight of immigrants attempting to enter this country. None of it received enough attention or in depth discussion. It felt weird to me that these issues were "obscured" from the children. The idea that these parents thought they could talk about these issues and listen to the news while the kids were "asleep" and then NOT talk about it with their kids? We're literally reading as they traumatize their children and then refuse to discuss the trauma with them. It made me super uncomfortable. Maybe that was the point? Who knows! None of the "points" were clear in this book.
It felt like the author wanted to say so much but never got to the point. Like some other reviewers, I felt this could have been a collection of essays. The lack of insight into the parents relationship was also very frustrating. The whole first part of the book is the mom and yet we have no understanding of WHY their relationship is failing. Nor do we get flashbacks of when it was "good" in their relationship. The husband felt barely present in the first half of the book. It was very disappointed. We were supposed to care about this family breaking apart but the author didn't make me care! I wanted them to separate so the kids could stop suffering in silence.
The second half narrated by the boy is much more enjoyable. We get actual insights into their family and home life. We get to see the dynamic between his mother and father. However, it makes the beginning seem even more lacking. Clearly, the author is an excellent writer so why did she make these stylistic choices? Why obscure your own story?
I really wanted to like this book but it lacked the depth it promised. It would start to touch the surface of any issue, dip a toe in, and then move on to the next body of water. In the end, it was muddled and confused without a clear focus.
I read this for my book club and really wanted to like it. The problem is its focus or rather lack of focus. Many important issues are touched on here (on many levels): treatment of Native Americans, immigration over our Southern borders, lost and exploited children, immigrants, divorce, and our country's vast landscape. However, none of it receives enough in depth exploration.
A disservice was done to both the plight of Native Americans over the course of American colonization and a disservice was done to the current plight of immigrants attempting to enter this country. None of it received enough attention or in depth discussion. It felt weird to me that these issues were "obscured" from the children. The idea that these parents thought they could talk about these issues and listen to the news while the kids were "asleep" and then NOT talk about it with their kids? We're literally reading as they traumatize their children and then refuse to discuss the trauma with them. It made me super uncomfortable. Maybe that was the point? Who knows! None of the "points" were clear in this book.
It felt like the author wanted to say so much but never got to the point. Like some other reviewers, I felt this could have been a collection of essays. The lack of insight into the parents relationship was also very frustrating. The whole first part of the book is the mom and yet we have no understanding of WHY their relationship is failing. Nor do we get flashbacks of when it was "good" in their relationship. The husband felt barely present in the first half of the book. It was very disappointed. We were supposed to care about this family breaking apart but the author didn't make me care! I wanted them to separate so the kids could stop suffering in silence.
The second half narrated by the boy is much more enjoyable. We get actual insights into their family and home life. We get to see the dynamic between his mother and father. However, it makes the beginning seem even more lacking. Clearly, the author is an excellent writer so why did she make these stylistic choices? Why obscure your own story?
I really wanted to like this book but it lacked the depth it promised. It would start to touch the surface of any issue, dip a toe in, and then move on to the next body of water. In the end, it was muddled and confused without a clear focus.