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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
Thoughtful and haunting - this wasn't the novel I thought I was going to read when I first picked it up. It is a road trip story but also a story about history and memory and names.
Of the many interesting aspects there are to discuss in this novel, one that continually came back to me was the way Luiselli used echoes as a consistent metaphor. Echoes permeate every difficult corner of this novel and managed to ground me during certain puzzling sections.
Highly recommended.
Of the many interesting aspects there are to discuss in this novel, one that continually came back to me was the way Luiselli used echoes as a consistent metaphor. Echoes permeate every difficult corner of this novel and managed to ground me during certain puzzling sections.
Highly recommended.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
entire story and writing felt very contrived
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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 works really well as an audiobook as a lot of the content is based around the various sounds of life, some of which are included. A woman takes a road trip, with her family, towards the USA-Mexico border to document the lives of children who are lost or detained whilst trying to cross the border. The stories of some of these lost children are particularly well woven during the second half of the book with the stories of the first narrator's children. These children are also lost, in their own way; trying to navigate the disintegration of their family unit. I enjoyed this second part much more than the first which I found to be a little tedious with technical details in places. Well worth sticking with. Fantastic narration
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes