“The Book of Unknown Americans” by Cristina Henriquez is the story of many immigrants who live in one apartment complex.
Alma and Arturo Rivera are from Mexico and have brought their daughter Maribel to the United States to go to a special school for children with neurological damage. She had fallen off a ladder her mother had been holding as Arturo was fixing the roof. Rafael Toro and Celia are from Panama living with their son Mayor who is attracted to Maribel. His brother Enrique is away at college. Quisqueya Solis is a single woman, a gossip from Venezuela, and Gustavo Milhojas and Isabel are from Guatemala. Isabel died early in their trip and Gustavo works at cleaning theaters.
Adolfo Fito Angelino is from Paraguay and he owns the building they all live in. Nelia Zafon is from Puerto Rico, a dancer, and she forms a theater company called The Parish Theater. Benny Quinto works at Burger King and is from Nicaragua. Micho Alvarez is a photographer from Mexico. He says he’s an “unknown American.” He fights for what he believes in. All these immigrants live near to one another at the apartment house.
Henriquez captures the essence of being in a strange land. Arturo tells Alma to forgive herself. Maribel’s fall off the ladder was not her fault. Arturo picks mushrooms with other Spanish-speaking workers and has no chance to learn English. Classes are mostly during the day when he is working or at night when he must be home with Alma. Henriquez puts us into the characters’ shoes with magic moments. When the heat was off at Christmas time, all the families got together in one apartment and warmed the atmosphere with their bodies. They cooked special dishes to remind themselves of home.
Garret Miller is the only “gringo” in the story. Alma catches him as he tries to rape Maribel, and chases him away with a kitchen knife. We know he is trouble and foreshadows more trouble. Is the author using him as a metaphor for the problems that face immigrants to this country?
One day when it is snowing, Mayor brings Maribel to the ocean and the snow. She is improving at her school and feels free to talk and be with Mayor. The snow on the ocean and in the sky is like magic to her. She is gone from home for a long time and her parents worry. Alma goes to Garret’s house, thinking she might be there. She isn’t. But when she is gone overnight, her father goes again to Garret’s and is confronted by Garret’s father. The “gringos” live in a different section of Delaware and it is obvious this is a better section of town with fancy houses and Christmas decorations still up.
This is a story about the importance of “community.” What happens when Maribel’s father goes to confront Garret? Does the Hispanic community come to the aid of Alma and Maribel? Do Maribel and Mayor remain friends? Find this tender story on the fiction shelf of your local library.
