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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
It’s not the book’s structure, it’s me (maybe)
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wanted to like this but found that hard. I’m not sure the literary techniques deployed worked for the novel and not against it. Using relational approaches just made it harder for me to connect and empathise. That said there’s a tremendous amount of research and under-explored stories which the author reveals as they’re stories which should be told. However, I knew I had struggled bravely on when I reached Box VII and it was all Polaroids and I thighs ‘Thank God!’.
This novel feels like a road trip: vaguely forward-moving, with long stretches of thoughtful minutes and unexpectedly quick days. It sets up an interesting parallel between a fragmenting family on the road and migrant children journeying to the U.S. The parallel succeeds because it is justified by (in fact, inherent to) the narrative, but left open to the reader’s symbolic and thematic analysis.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Beau, touchant, enivrant, émouvant... une lecture à la fois incroyable et essentielle.
Couldn’t finish it. The narrator is way too detached and intellectual for my taste. I had no interest in her or her family.
Primeur: Ik heb een did-not-finish shelf aangemaakt, speciaal voor dit boek.
Het is op zich een mooi boek over liefde die voorbij is gegaan en over verloren kinderen die kwijt raken in het migratie proces. Echt een slow-read met mooie quotes, een tikkeltje verdrietige sfeer en veel, heel veel beschrijvingen.
Ik merk alleen dat ik op dit moment wat minder lees en totaal niet in de stemming ben voor een boek als dit. Als ik in dit tempo door lees heb ik hem volgend jaar nog niet uit, dus.. misschien een ander keertje. Tijdens een donkere winter of zo.
Het is op zich een mooi boek over liefde die voorbij is gegaan en over verloren kinderen die kwijt raken in het migratie proces. Echt een slow-read met mooie quotes, een tikkeltje verdrietige sfeer en veel, heel veel beschrijvingen.
Ik merk alleen dat ik op dit moment wat minder lees en totaal niet in de stemming ben voor een boek als dit. Als ik in dit tempo door lees heb ik hem volgend jaar nog niet uit, dus.. misschien een ander keertje. Tijdens een donkere winter of zo.
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An interesting premise, but did not find any good connections to the characters.
This book is divided in two parts, the first one being the best. It narrated by a woman as her family take a road trip from New York to the south of the US. She reminisces about a lot of things; family, work, sound, but mainly about the inmigrantion crisis.
She's doing a project to recollect oral stories of undocumented children crossing the border alone, and I think that's fascinating. I enjoy listening to her voice (metaphorically). There isn't really a plot, but there's some sort of tension steaming from the fact that she are her husband are most likely going to divorce by the end of the book.
It's the second part of the novel that kinda lost me. The narration changes from the woman to her ten year old son, as he takes the very stupid decision of crossing the dessert alone with his five year old sister to find some lost kids. It's not like the kids are annoying or anything (the author managed to avoid that pit fall), but I still enjoy the first part a lot more.
She's doing a project to recollect oral stories of undocumented children crossing the border alone, and I think that's fascinating. I enjoy listening to her voice (metaphorically). There isn't really a plot, but there's some sort of tension steaming from the fact that she are her husband are most likely going to divorce by the end of the book.
It's the second part of the novel that kinda lost me. The narration changes from the woman to her ten year old son, as he takes the very stupid decision of crossing the dessert alone with his five year old sister to find some lost kids. It's not like the kids are annoying or anything (the author managed to avoid that pit fall), but I still enjoy the first part a lot more.