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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.
duck56's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
Really beautiful. A story about migration, the brutality of the immigration system, love falling apart, a true journey, but more than anything else, sibling love. The love the boy (Swift Feather) shows to his younger sister (Memphis) resonates deeply. The final chapter/sentence feels like a fever dream.
funktious's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Beautiful, sad and challenging.
Most of the literary allusions went well over my head and I wouldn’t have know about them but for the afterword! And it’s a tough read in places, both in form and subject matter. But it was an interesting and sad read; following one family falling apart while other families are ripped apart, both at the US / Mexico border and even further south as adults send children on dangerous journeys in pursuit of a better life. Luiselli makes you confront questions like which children matter, what is a childhood and where does it end.
Also interesting from an Information Management perspective, with the 'archive' informing both the structure of the novel and the plot.
Most of the literary allusions went well over my head and I wouldn’t have know about them but for the afterword! And it’s a tough read in places, both in form and subject matter. But it was an interesting and sad read; following one family falling apart while other families are ripped apart, both at the US / Mexico border and even further south as adults send children on dangerous journeys in pursuit of a better life. Luiselli makes you confront questions like which children matter, what is a childhood and where does it end.
Also interesting from an Information Management perspective, with the 'archive' informing both the structure of the novel and the plot.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death