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Texas Matters: Valeria Luiselli Writes About Lost Children In The Time Of Trump

Valeria Luiselli’s 2017 book “Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions”  is an accounting of the author’s time working as an immigration courtroom interpreter in New York City.  Like many of us, she was preoccupied with the border surge that occurred in 2014 and perplexed at the plight of the unaccompanied children, some 80,000, who made the perilous journey from the violence and despair of their home countries in Central America.  

Luiselli follows up with her latest book, a novel, Lost Children Archive.  This is a story of a blended family making their life in America with the immigration crisis as a looming and vexing part of life.  The protagonist in this work of fiction confronts the realities of an unimaginable problem that colors her work, her home life, her marriage, and even her own children. 

Author Valeria Luiselli spoke to Texas Public Radio contributor Yvette Benavides about her most recent books, borders, and her writing life.

David Martin Davies can be reached at dmdavies@tpr.org and on Twitter at @DavidMartinDavi