If ever a book screamed Booker Prize, this is it - uniquely structured, thought provoking and really really depressing. Four people set out on a trip from NYC to Arizona - 2 adults and 2 children. The adults are married. The boy child came to the marriage with the man. The younger girl child, with the woman. They are never named. They are identified by the role they play in the narrative - mother, child sister, husband, lover..etc. The adults are documentarians. They met recording sounds and languages of the city. But that project has ended and now they are each pursuing a different path - a path away from each other. He is recording "echoes" of Geronimo and the Apache nation. She is focused on the lost children attempting to cross our southern border. Among their luggage are seven boxes which introduce various sections of the book.. Four are all the notes and history gathered for his project. One is the beginnings of her research including a small red book that appears to be both historical and prophetic. Boxes six and seven belong to the children and are empty at the beginning. The boy hopes to fill them with the images he is capturing with his new Polaroid camera. His lack of technique often produces hazy almost ghostly images. The girl is too young to record anything but memories. With the marriage unraveling, the tension in the car is punctuated by conversations about Native American genocide and the tragedy at the border. At one point the children get lost and the young boy records their journey on 20 pages of thoughts and observations unhindered by any "full stop" punctuation. It is a book I kept reading because it was so highly recommended. Not something to read if you are looking for a cheery tale.
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