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dancinrio's review against another edition
5.0
Deeply moving and incredibly timely. I suspect this one will linger at the corner of my mind for a long time. Also I loved the writing.
sullyvan's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
cindypepper's review against another edition
3.0
Hmm -- I wanted to enjoy this, especially reading the reviews and premise. I also can't find it within me to resist a road trip novel.
Having just read it, I'm not sure the form factor works. I enjoyed reading it, but I was beginning to tap out near the middle of the book. The structure of two narrations plus bits-and-bobs of the mother's documentation felt too intricate and mazy. There's a storyline about the slow decline of a marriage and the separation of a family. There is the backdrop story of undocumented migrant children. We never know who the children or the migrants or the parents are; they are referred to by their pronouns because displacement and migration aren't rooted toward specific people. As standalone stories, these different plots hold up, but together, there's a lack of cohesion as the elegies, the mother's story, and the son's adventure blur together.
Sometimes this works, as it creates a mythical but relative quality to the migrant children's story, like an oral tradition passed from one generation of family to another. Othertimes, it creates a separation between the reader the children, in that it's difficult to humanize them the way Luiselli intends.
The good: the prose is beautiful, in a languid way that sprawls across the pages like a daydream that materializes when you close your eyes for a second longer. Even as the narration switches from the mother to her son to the stories she has collected, Luiselli's words are so rooted in their lyricism, that I almost wanted to listen to this via audiobook. I never listen to audiobooks.
I didn't have an issue with the meta nature of a novel about a documentarian documenting their story, but the multiple POVs and the intertextual way the elegies bleed into the book made it feel like I was reading multiple novels that had been loosely stitched together as one. I don't think the execution landed with me, but damn if it isn't nice to read.
Having just read it, I'm not sure the form factor works. I enjoyed reading it, but I was beginning to tap out near the middle of the book. The structure of two narrations plus bits-and-bobs of the mother's documentation felt too intricate and mazy. There's a storyline about the slow decline of a marriage and the separation of a family. There is the backdrop story of undocumented migrant children. We never know who the children or the migrants or the parents are; they are referred to by their pronouns because displacement and migration aren't rooted toward specific people. As standalone stories, these different plots hold up, but together, there's a lack of cohesion as the elegies, the mother's story, and the son's adventure blur together.
Sometimes this works, as it creates a mythical but relative quality to the migrant children's story, like an oral tradition passed from one generation of family to another. Othertimes, it creates a separation between the reader the children, in that it's difficult to humanize them the way Luiselli intends.
The good: the prose is beautiful, in a languid way that sprawls across the pages like a daydream that materializes when you close your eyes for a second longer. Even as the narration switches from the mother to her son to the stories she has collected, Luiselli's words are so rooted in their lyricism, that I almost wanted to listen to this via audiobook. I never listen to audiobooks.
I didn't have an issue with the meta nature of a novel about a documentarian documenting their story, but the multiple POVs and the intertextual way the elegies bleed into the book made it feel like I was reading multiple novels that had been loosely stitched together as one. I don't think the execution landed with me, but damn if it isn't nice to read.
hannahrosecohen92's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
murphyjc's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
alybre13's review against another edition
Good idea that was poorly and unrealistically executed
timplevoets's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
jessehersh's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best audiobooks I've listened to this year. Luiselli does such interesting things with form and I loved how she pushed up against what a book (and audiobook) needs to be. Because this novel deals with audio recordings I felt like I got a lot out of the audiobook I might not have gotten out of the physical copy but after reading some reviews, I want to go back and look at it and see if there are other aspects that come out from the physical version more.