A review by blaineduncan
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli

1.0

In a "Works Cited" section to end this novel, Luiselli says that 'Lost Children Archive' is a "result of a dialogue with many different texts," and boy, does she mean that literally. She proves her pointy-headed bona fides by constantly quoting -- out of context -- works you've never heard of, never wanted to hear, or have heard of but doesn't add a thing to this text. It adds to the coldness of this work. It's so cold, it's lifeless, which is sad because there's a warm story here, somewhere. I got 100 pages into it, saw where it was going, and finally allowed myself to quit this distant book. If you like your books to prove to you that the author has an MFA, boy, do I have a great one for you. Some books want to give you a story rather than tell you one.