JOURNAL ARTICLE

The Limits of Latinx Representation.

  • Published In: American Literary History, 2023, v. 35, n. 1. P. 216 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Nugent, Carlos Alonso 3 of 3

Abstract

This essay analyzes the novel Lost Children Archive (2019) by Mexican-born writer Valeria Luiselli as a response to crises in both the literary form of the novel and the political form of democracy, particularly regarding unauthorized migration in the US–Mexico borderlands. Luiselli's work challenges traditional narratives by highlighting the impossibility of fully representing migrant experiences, critiquing the homogenizing category "Latinx," and questioning the legitimacy of divisions between citizens and migrants within a so-called representative democracy. Drawing on her experiences as a volunteer interpreter for child migrants and engaging with broader migrant imaginaries, the novel employs multiple voices and metafictional techniques to confront the limits of storytelling, media representation, and political action in addressing migrant suffering and exclusion. Lost Children Archive thus reimagines democratic possibilities by fostering dialogue across differences rather than offering definitive solutions or singular perspectives.

Additional Information

  • Source:American Literary History. 2023/03, Vol. 35, Issue 1, p216
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Literature and Writing
  • Publication Date:2023
  • ISSN:0896-7148
  • DOI:10.1093/alh/ajac232
  • Accession Number:162272346
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