The Book of Unknown Americans; Cristina Henriquez
| published March 6, 2015 |

Book review by Kristy Webster
Thursday Review contributor

The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez, is stunning and powerful portrait of the immigrant experience during some of the most turbulent times in recent American history. Alma and Arturo have just journeyed thousands of miles, leaving behind their comfortable home and successful construction business in Mexico to live in a one bedroom, drafty ridden apartment in Delaware. They’ve left their country in hopes that Evers, a private school for children with disabilities and special needs, will help rehabilitate their daughter Maribel, who suffered severe brain damage as a result of an accident.

They share an apartment building with various Hispanic American immigrants from Mexico, Panama, Venezuela and more. While the novel focuses primarily on two families and the budding romance between their two teenage children, the reader becomes privy to the fascinating, heartbreaking and courageous backstories of various neighbors. This is a beautiful novel, filled with stories of survival, perseverance and hope.

Published by Knopf, 2014; paperback reprints by Vintage, 2015.

Related Thursday Review articles:

All My Puny Sorrows ; Miriam Toews; review by Kristy Webster; Thursday Review; February 27, 2015.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian; Sherman Alexie; review by Kristy Webster; Thursday Review; August 25, 2014.