“Lost Children Archive” by Valeria Luiselli (Mexico)
Winner of the Dublin Literary Award 2021

Synopsis

A mother and father set out with their two children, a boy and a girl, driving from New York to Arizona in the heat of summer. Their destination: Apacheria, the place the Apaches once called home. Why Apaches? asks the ten-year-old son. Because they were the last of something, answers his father. In their car, they play games and sing along to music. But on the radio, there is news about an “immigration crisis”: thousands of kids trying to cross the southwestern border into the United States, but getting detained – or lost in the desert along the way.

As the family drives – through Virginia to Tennessee, across Oklahoma and Texas – we sense they are on the brink of a crisis of their own. A fissure is growing between the parents, one the children can almost feel beneath their feet. They are led, inexorably, to a grand, harrowing adventure – both in the desert landscape and within the chambers of their own imaginations. Told through several compelling voices, blending texts, sounds, and images, Lost Children Archive takes us deep into the lives of one remarkable family as it probes the nature of justice and equality today.

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Review

“Lost Children Archive” is a novel that can feel dense and difficult to follow at first, weighed down by an overload of cultural and archival references. The bite-sized chapters in the opening make it accessible early on, but the fragmented structure and unnamed characters can feel contrived and even alienating. Much of the narrative reads like being inside the mother’s head – introspective, distant, and at times frustratingly aloof – while certain stylistic shifts, including a stream-of-consciousness passage, may not fully land for every reader.

Yet the book grows in power as it unfolds. Many readers found themselves increasingly drawn in, especially when the boy’s raw and visceral voice takes over – his perspective bringing emotional clarity and depth that contrasts with the mother’s detachment. The road trip structure builds a quiet sense of dread, culminating in an engaging and harrowing story that becomes deeply moving and disturbing by the end. While some elements can feel far-fetched or uneven, the novel ultimately leaves a strong impression, pulling hard on the reader’s emotions. Overall, it’s a book that inspires mixed feelings but is often quite liked for its ambition and emotional impact.

This third book of Season 26 scored 7.25 out of 10.

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Nicola’s Book Club reading list

Season 26 – Book Award Winners (Nov 2025 – May 2026)

“Against The Loveless World” by Susan Abulhawa (Palestine) – Winner of the Palestine Book Award 2020
“A Brief History of Seven Killings” by Marlon James (Jamaica) – Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2015
“Lost Children Archive” by Valeria Luiselli (Mexico) – Winner of the Dublin Literary Award 2021
“The Garden of Evening Mists” by Tan Twan Eng (Malaysia) – Winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize 2012