Listening is only the beginning.ДЇull Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy from Knopf, so my pull quote may differ slightly from the finished edition. Cristina HenrГquezвЂ™s characters are among us, and they contribute to our national conversation. This isnвЂ™t a Savior story, and this isnвЂ™t poverty tourism either. So when we talk about reading more diversely, about seeking out narratives that are different from our own, The Book of Unknown Americans is one of many books where we might do so. I didnвЂ™t want to spend any more time with it.) Boyle, a book I hated so much, I didnвЂ™t fully write about it. (For instance, the authorial-masturbestion-fest that was Tortilla Curtain by T.S. This book is infinitely better than some of the other вЂњMexican family comes to the U.S.вЂќ stories IвЂ™ve read. They are just living their lives, workingВ with what they have and trying to do right by each other.

If these peopleВ had to be thrust into the English-speaking world, why should the Spanish be made more comfortable for non-Spanish speaking readers? Though the characters experience racism - both casual and overt - their existence does not functionВ as a learning opportunity for white people. I appreciated that she did not over explain or italicize the Spanish words peppered throughout. HenrГquez uses the multiple points-of-view excellently and without confusion, which gives a more personal, detailed view of theВ larger cast of characters. Some stories are tragic, others are peppered with arrogance or gossip, but the point remains: There is no one immigrant story.Д«etween job struggles, health issues and ideas of what one is вЂњsupposedвЂќ to do in terms of family and raising teenagers, the two familiesвЂ™ relationship is wonderfully complex and grounded. We see them mentioned elsewhere in the book, either in passing or as a supporting character, but HenrГquez wants to give them a moment to speak. Interspersed throughout the main story of the Riveras and Toros are short chapters from the perspective of other residents in the building. Still, Mayor is transfixed byВ her and the two soon strike up a friendship-turned-romance. вЂњ I never would have guessed it,вЂќ he thinks. Within a few minutes, he discovers that she goes to what the other kids call the вЂњTurtle School,вЂќ the mentally handicapped school. Size X-Small.вЂќ I shuttled the package behind my back.

In case there was any question, across the front of the plastic in big, black letters, it was labeled вЂњBoxer Shorts. Then I remembered the package of underwear I was carrying. My heart was jackhammering so hard I thought people from the next aisle were going to start complaining about the noise. Forget about how she was dressed - white canvas sneakers straight out of another decade and a huge yellow sweater over leggings - and forget about the fact that her black hair was mussed like sheвЂ™d just woken up and the fact that she wasnвЂ™t wearing any makeup or jewelry or anything else that most of the girls in my school liked to pile on. Celia now takes it upon herself to be friendly to the Riveras, and for Mayor, itвЂ™s love at first sight: The family left PanamГЎ during the Noriega era when the children were small. CeliaвЂ™s husband, Rafael, is a line cook at a diner, and they also have a grown son, Enrique. One afternoon at the Dollar Tree, they meet their neighbors, Celia Toro and her son Mayor. Still, they came so that Maribel could get better, and heвЂ™s willing to keep at it.

Arturo received sponsorship from a mushroom farm, and although he was the owner of his construction business in PГЎtzcuaro, here he is just another non-English speaking employee expected to work in poor conditions. After their daughter MaribelвЂ™s head injury at a construction site, her parents, Arturo and Alma, want her to attend a good school that can give her the care and education she needs. Ideally, this would not be unusual in a novel, but in a literary landscape that is still struggling with diversity, itвЂ™s refreshing to read her insightful take on the American Dream.ДЄnd what is the вЂњAmerican Dream,вЂќ anyway? Different economic classes might answer in specific ways, but at the root of every response is the wish, вЂњ Can life be a little easier?вЂќ The goal posts keep changing, and HenrГquez writes about the struggles and victories experienced by a group of Central and Latin American families.ДЄfter traveling from PГЎtzcuaro, MГ©xico, the Rivera family have arrived at an apartment building in Delaware that is populated by other immigrant families. Cristina HenrГquezвЂ™s newly published The Book of Unknown Americans, is not about immigrantsвЂ™ relationship to white people.

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