Author’s Corner: Cristina Henríquez

Saludos todos! I’m popping in to share with you some information about Cristina Henríquez, the author of our November book group title, The Book of Unknown Americans. According to her personal website, The Book of Unknown Americans “was a New York Times Notable Book of 2014 and one of Amazon’s Top 10 Books of the Year.” In addition, “It was the Daily Beast Novel of the Year, a Washington Post Notable Book, an NPR Great Read, a Target Book of the Month selection, and was chosen one of the best books of the year by BookPage, Oprah.com, and School Library Journal. It was also longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.”

Henríquez earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and participatedin the the Writer’s Workshop at the University of Iowa. She currently lives in Illinois, and is a prolific writer for various literary magazine and journals. Some of her other works include The World In Half (a novel) and Come Together, Fall Apart: A Novella and Stories, which was a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection.

Our Next Good Read: The Book of Unknown Americans

Join us November 14 at Tractor from 5:00-7:00 pm to discuss our next book.  We are reading The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez.

Here’s a sneak peek into the book (from the publisher):

A dazzling, heartbreaking page-turner destined for breakout status: a novel that gives voice to millions of Americans as it tells the story of the love between a Panamanian boy and a Mexican girl: teenagers living in an apartment block of immigrant families like their own.

After their daughter Maribel suffers a near-fatal accident, the Riveras leave México and come to America. But upon settling at Redwood Apartments, a two-story cinderblock complex just off a highway in Delaware, they discover that Maribel’s recovery–the piece of the American Dream on which they’ve pinned all their hopes–will not be easy. Every task seems to confront them with language, racial, and cultural obstacles.

At Redwood also lives Mayor Toro, a high school sophomore whose family arrived from Panamà fifteen years ago. Mayor sees in Maribel something others do not: that beyond her lovely face, and beneath the damage she’s sustained, is a gentle, funny, and wise spirit. But as the two grow closer, violence casts a shadow over all their futures in America.

Peopled with deeply sympathetic characters, this poignant yet unsentimental tale of young love tells a riveting story of unflinching honesty and humanity that offers a resonant new definition of what it means to be an American. An instant classic is born.

Be sure to get entered in our drawing for a free copy of the book!! All you have to do is comment on any blog post by November 7th!

We’ll also be raffling off a copy of December’s featured book, The Farming of Bones.  Join us that evening to be entered!

We hope to see you on November 14!

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Book Giveaway: Book of Unknown Americans

We’re giving away a copy of Book of Unknown Americans  written by Cristina Henríquez–our featured novel for our November book group meeting!! Check out the following from Kirkus Reviews:

A family from Mexico settles in Delaware and strives to repair emotional and physical wounds in Henríquez’s dramatic page-turner.

The author’s third book of fiction (Come Together, Fall Apart, 2006; The World in Half, 2009) opens with the arrival of Arturo and Alma Rivera, who have brought their teenage daughter, Maribel, to the U.S. in the hope of helping her recover from a head injury she sustained in a fall. Their neighbors Rafael and Celia Toro came from Panama years earlier, and their teenage son, Mayor, takes quickly to Maribel. The pair’s relationship is prone to gossip and misinterpretation: People think Maribel is dumber than she is and that Mayor is more predatory than he is. In this way, Henríquez suggests, they represent the immigrant experience in miniature. The novel alternates narrators among members of the Rivera and Toro families, as well as other immigrant neighbors, and their stories stress that their individual experiences can’t be reduced to types or statistics; the shorter interludes have the realist detail, candor and potency of oral history. Life is a grind for both families: Arturo works at a mushroom farm, Rafael is a short-order cook, and Alma strains to understand the particulars of everyday American life (bus schedules, grocery shopping, Maribel’s schooling). But Henríquez emphasizes their positivity in a new country, at least until trouble arrives in the form of a prejudiced local boy. That plot complication shades toward melodrama, giving the closing pages a rush but diminishing what Henríquez is best at: capturing the way immigrant life is often an accrual of small victories in the face of a thousand cuts and how ad hoc support systems form to help new arrivals get by.

A smartly observed tale of immigrant life that cannily balances its optimistic tone with straight talk.

It looks like another interesting read–a great addition to any personal or classroom library! To be entered in the giveaway, just comment on any post on the blog by November 7.  Everyone who comments between October 4 and November 7 will be entered in the drawing.  If your name is chosen, we’ll email you ASAP about mailing the book to you.

Don’t forget, we also raffle off a copy of the following month’s featured novel at each book group meeting.  So if you’re an Albuquerque local, join us for a chance to win!

Good luck!