You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
A 2019 staff favorite recommended by Brooke. Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Slost%20children%20archive%20luiselli__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
This book was an intense read and it took me nearly 2 months to finish it. Usually I’m a fast reader, so that’s saying something. I couldn’t get into the woman’s section of the novel, which feels like the first 60% or so. It feels unbearably pretentious and eye-roll-inducing. I don’t give a fuck about the difference between documentarian and documentarist. There were so many references to other texts, movies, music that it felt like showing off.
When we switched gears to the boy’s narration, things actually clicked for me. I loved the boy and the girl, while their parents bored me to tears and weren’t at all likable. The plot twist where they run away really startled me and got me invested in finishing the book. Finally, some plot! Some suspense! It was absolutely fascinating to see how Luiselli wove in the children from the Elegies and made them real. I loved the final recording the boy did for Memphis, and the interwoven Bowie references.
The final chapter of the book is a single sentence—a 20 page one! It reminded me of Ulysses. It was hard to read but cool to see.
All in all, this book is trying VERY hard and ultimately pulls off something cool and moving in the end, if you can put up with the beginning and the pretentious parts.
When we switched gears to the boy’s narration, things actually clicked for me. I loved the boy and the girl, while their parents bored me to tears and weren’t at all likable. The plot twist where they run away really startled me and got me invested in finishing the book. Finally, some plot! Some suspense! It was absolutely fascinating to see how Luiselli wove in the children from the Elegies and made them real. I loved the final recording the boy did for Memphis, and the interwoven Bowie references.
The final chapter of the book is a single sentence—a 20 page one! It reminded me of Ulysses. It was hard to read but cool to see.
All in all, this book is trying VERY hard and ultimately pulls off something cool and moving in the end, if you can put up with the beginning and the pretentious parts.
There are so many excellent review of this novel and my attempt will not even come close to them. All I can do is to note a few of my thoughts about this novel.
The first part of the novel is narrated by the mother and, although compelling to read, I found myself annoyed with things like how cold she seemed toward her children: referring to them as "the boy and the girl", not bringing any children's books along on this long road trip -I mean, who would think that The Lord of the Flies is an appropriate book for children? I felt like she was writing a clinical case study of her own children. The parents seemed so wrapped up in their own agendas that it seemed like their children were secondary to their personal goals.
I loved the second half of the book, when the narration was taken over by the boy and I loved the embedded book, "The Elegies for Lost Children". It took me several days to read the last third of the book, when The Elegies mingle with the boy's narration. I'd read a few pages and have to put the book aside because I was so deeply moved by it all.
The structure of the novel is unique and I couldn't even begin to explain it. There are so many layers to this story and I cannot stop thinking about it!
The first part of the novel is narrated by the mother and, although compelling to read, I found myself annoyed with things like how cold she seemed toward her children: referring to them as "the boy and the girl", not bringing any children's books along on this long road trip -I mean, who would think that The Lord of the Flies is an appropriate book for children? I felt like she was writing a clinical case study of her own children. The parents seemed so wrapped up in their own agendas that it seemed like their children were secondary to their personal goals.
I loved the second half of the book, when the narration was taken over by the boy and I loved the embedded book, "The Elegies for Lost Children". It took me several days to read the last third of the book, when The Elegies mingle with the boy's narration. I'd read a few pages and have to put the book aside because I was so deeply moved by it all.
The structure of the novel is unique and I couldn't even begin to explain it. There are so many layers to this story and I cannot stop thinking about it!
major mixed feelings about this like i get but i’m also like ehhhh but the concept is good
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I read the Spanish translation, in which the author herself collaborated (a rare thing, in my experience).
Analytical prose. Revealing meaning in the selective, yet precise description of the mundane.
A rhapsody of interweaving, intertextual voices and perspectives.
A gloomy view on humanity, particularly the late-stage capitalism ruins of American society.
Absorbing, auditive. Loved it.
Analytical prose. Revealing meaning in the selective, yet precise description of the mundane.
A rhapsody of interweaving, intertextual voices and perspectives.
A gloomy view on humanity, particularly the late-stage capitalism ruins of American society.
Absorbing, auditive. Loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Xenophobia, Colonisation
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced