A moving, eye-opening polemic about the US-Mexico border and what happens to the tens of thousands of unaccompanied Mexican and Central American children arriving in the US without papers

‘We are driving across Oklahoma in early June when we first hear about the waves of children arriving, alone and undocumented, from Mexico and Central America. Tens of thousands have been detained at the border. What will happen to them? Where are the parents? And why have they undertaken a terrifying, life-threatening journey to enter the United States?’

Valeria Luiselli works as a volunteer at the federal immigration court in New York City, translating for unaccompanied migrant children. Out of her work has come this book – a search for answers and an urgent appeal for humanity and compassion in response to mass migration, the most significant global phenomenon of our time.

‘So true and moving that it filled me with hopeless hope’ Ali Smith

‘Harrowing, intimate, quietly brilliant’ New York Times

‘The first must-read book of the Trump era’ Texas Observer

‘Angry and affecting. A slight book with a big impact’ Financial Times

‘There are many books addressing the plight of refugees. Tell Me How It Ends – lucid, plain-speaking and authoritative – is one of the most powerful’ Big Issue

In this top-rated book, Luiselli explores the complex interplay of race, rights, and emigration. Her essays, a compelling critique of social and political issues, shed light on the discrimination faced by many and call for a more compassionate world.

For fans of Jon Fosse (A Silent Language — WINNER OF THE 2023 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE), Annie Ernaux (A Woman's Story – WINNER OF THE 2022 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE), Georgi Gospodinov (The Story Smuggler), Deborah Levy (The Position of Spoons), and Maggie Nelson (The Red Parts).

Tell Me How it Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions

Tell Me How it Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions