The Book of Unknown Americans

The Book of Unknown Americans is filled with the fiercest kinds of love - of a boy for a beautiful girl, of stricken parents for an injured daughter, of an immigrant community for an impossible America. In this powerful novel, Cristina Henríquez gives us unforgettable characters, whose destinies are shaped by forces - senseless, random, political - far beyond their control, and yet whose resilience yields a most profound and unexpected kind of beauty -- RUTH OZEKI * * author of A Tale for the Time Being * *
The strength of the book is in the quiet details . . . lit by sharp observations * * Guardian * *
A striking original . . . With a simple, unadorned prose that, in the end, rises to the level of poetry, Henríquez achieves the seemingly impossible: Without a trace of sentimentality, without an iota of self-indulgence or dogma, she tells us about coming to America * * Washington Post * *
Cristina Henríquez's novel is a triumph not just of storytelling, but of American storytelling, a novel whose breadth and power blow open any traditional definition of 'American.' Henríquez pulls us into the lives of her characters with such mastery that we hang onto them just as fiercely as they hang onto one another, and their dreams. This passionate, powerful novel will stay with you long after you've turned the final page -- BEN FOUNTAIN * * author of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk * *
Gripping, memorable . . . A novel that can both make you think and break your heart * * San Francisco Chronicle * *
A sweeping and ambitious work, with the point of view shifting among a dozen different characters * * LA Times, Faces to Watch 2014 * *
Wonderful. If most novels, or at least most good ones, are songs, then The Book of Unknown Americans is a choir. In a multiplicity of voices, each one distinct and authentic, Cristina Henríquez tells a whole community of stories, and the book that emerges is warm, wise, and unfailingly generous. It never seems to strive for profundity or grasp at poignancy, and yet page by page, as naturally as can be, it rouses the conscience and touches the heart -- Kevin Brockmeier * * author of The Brief History of the Dead and The Illumination * *
The Chicago writer's highly anticipated novel tells the love story of a Pananamian boy and Mexican girl-the latter of whom suffers a near-fatal accident-and the language, racial and cultural obstacles their families face in America * * Time Out, Book to Read in 2014 * *
Here is an important story about family, community and identity, told with elegance and compassion. The Book of Unknown Americans is unforgettable -- Jami Attenberg * * author of The Middlesteins * *
A symphonic love story between these immigrants and an impossible America. Told in a multiplicity of voices, the novel manages that rare balance of being both unflinching and unsentimental. In doing so, it rewrites the definition of what it means to be American * * The Millions: The Great 2014 Book Preview * *