Lost Children Archive Part 1:

I’ve really enjoyed this novel so far. As I’ve been reading the first part, I have encountered myself noticing how the reader is not really presented with any kind of suspense. Instead we are simply following a family through their road trip through the United States. As we join them in this journey, we learn about their family interaction, the relationship between the mom and the dad, music, photography, literature and the political climate in relation to the immigration crisis at the southwestern border. All this is narrated through the eyes of the wife. I must say that when I first saw the title of the novel, I was expecting something that would focus on tackling the child migrant crisis but after reading this first part it seems that this is the backdrop of the story. It is a novel with immigration. It’s a backdrop of the family road trip where the family also observes the wide variety of Americans in the country, witnessing things such as the way they live and their political and social beliefs. As the family is witness of this immigration crisis through listening to the radio, they also have a crisis of their own. This crisis revolves around the marriage presented, which is slowly dissolving throughout the family road trip. Though physically they are together, emotionally and internally the mom and dad seem to be lost in the direction of their marriage.

Throughout the journey the mother also reflects on how she wants to work and present her project on the border situation. As the trip progresses, she realizes that she wants to document the stories about the missing migrant children, something that is brought to her attention after hearing of the disappearances of the two girls that are part of the legal case that she has become interested in. The mother wants her project to humanize these children, as she shares that she does not want her project to use the suffering and unjust treatment of these innocent beings for political intentions, sob stories or to follow a narrative of us vs them or how she states it “patriots versus illegal aliens”. The mother is in search to give a human face to these beings who are victims of a terrible situation. This crisis that is touched on in this book clearly reminds me of the situation that is still happening presently and is still greatly politicized today.

5 thoughts on “Lost Children Archive Part 1:

  1. pamela salome chavez calapaqui

    Hi Stephanie!

    Yeah! I agree with you on what the wife wants is to offer a less politicized and more humane perspective of what is happening at the Mexico-US border. I definitely like the way in which she tries to put into perspective this complex issue.

    And it is very interesting, as you said, how the book manages to tell us this story while also offering the story of the marriage and its own crisis. It is as if the book offers a variety of events that happen inside the car (being this one a limited space) and that offer a lot of possible comparison with the more complex things that occur outside the car.

    Btw, I am also enjoying this reading. Let’s see what happen in the second part of the book.

    I

    Reply
  2. pamela salome chavez calapaqui

    Hi Stephanie!

    Yeah! I agree with you on what the wife wants is to offer a less politicized and more humane perspective of what is happening at the Mexico-US border. I definitely like the way in which she tries to put into perspective this complex issue.

    And it is very interesting, as you said, how the book manages to tell us this story while also offering the story of the marriage and its own crisis. It is as if the book offers a variety of events that happen inside the car (being this one a limited space) and that offer a lot of possible comparison with the more complex things that occur outside the car.

    Btw, I am also enjoying this reading. Let’s see what happen in the second part of the book.

    Reply
  3. Rachel Cervantes

    Hey chica!

    “As the family is witness of this immigration crisis through listening to the radio, they also have a crisis of their own.”

    I completely agree with this. It’s interesting how it seems like they’re all “lost children” going somewhere but not knowing where to go and having to rely on a map. But I love how the mom focuses on a picture bigger than herself. She finally finds a clear goal (something she didn’t have in the beginning). She was mostly just following along and not really knowing her next steps. I believe that as we read on, we will see how she will be able to resolve the conflict in front of her, or maybe not.

    Reply
  4. Cynthia

    Hey girl!!

    I agree with what you said about us not being presented with any “typical” suspense that you would find in other novels. To me the “suspense” or the conflicts come from the woman’s head. It seems as though there are 1 million thoughts constantly running through her mind, and in a way, this creates a little bit of suspense. I found myself constantly wondering what will happen with their marriage at the end? There seems to maybe be some suspense there.

    Reply
  5. Craig Campbell

    Hey Stephanie,

    I am on the edge of my seat with suspense! I want to find out what happens with Manuela’s daughters. I want to see if the narrator changes again…the switch from Mama to The Boy was quite surprising. I wonder what Papa’s take on things is. Besides that, I agree, there isn’t too much suspenseful. Although I always find road trips to unknown areas to be suspenseful.

    I hope all is well and that you are keeping healthy!
    Cheers,
    Craig

    Reply

Leave a Reply to pamela salome chavez calapaqui Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *