Children — probably one of the most sensitive subjects in the news. Laws have been made for children that are abducted or have gone missing. Memorial days are in place for those who have been lost but never forgotten.
At their last meeting The Ladies Who Brunch discussed Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli. In the book, unnamed children and their parents, travel from New York to Arizona. Their final destination is Apacheria, the place the Apaches (a people who were “the last of something”) once called home.
Like characters in a novel that take on a personality all too real to today’s society, the title of this novel, also sparked discussion. The “lost children” are the immigrant children coming to this country without a name or an identity; hence the unnamed children. The “archive” part of the title refers to the son documenting their entire journey through echoes (sounds) that he heard along the way and photographs that he took. These photos and notes are placed in boxes that document the family’s entire trip. This is symbolic of how we document our experiences and remember things.
The group tried not to get the discussion too involved with the politics of immigration, but pointed out some noteworthy thoughts about this issue that occurred in the story. Separation is one key issue. While traveling through part of the Midwest and Southern states, the Apaches learn that families are being split up while crossing the border. Even today, not all family members are able to come to this country at one time.
More interestingly, the author wrote this book over a number of years and the group had questioned some of the immigration policy topics that were written. The group thought it would have been nice had the author updated his writing to make the comments more current to today’s society. Today, you read a lot about the emotional family response as opposed to the reaction of the policies that are being made. Immigration is one of those issues that will continuously change in the world no matter the dynamics of tomorrow.
For next month, the group will be reading two books. The first is Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl. It’s a memoir about the ins and outs of magazine publishing at Conde Nast. The second book is The Vacationers by Emma Straub, a story detailing a family adventure to Mallorca.
Rachel Slaiman is a published freelance writer of several articles in both print and online as well an editor and copy editor of aspiring author’s manuscripts. She is currently the co-recording secretary for the WNBA and co-chair for the Brooklyn Book Festival. Rachel holds a B.A. in Communications and a M.S. from Pace University. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and writing short stories.
