The Book of Unknown Americans: A Novel

Author: Cristina Henríquez

Publisher: Knopf

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.

這本小說一經出版就引起了轟動：它講述了一個巴拿馬男孩和墨西哥女孩的愛情故事，他們住在一棟全是移民家庭的公寓樓里。里韋拉斯一家在女兒馬里貝爾經歷一場致命的車禍后，離開墨西哥來到了美國。他們在特拉華州某個公路邊的一棟兩層煤渣砌的雷德伍德公寓樓住下，這才發現治愈馬里貝爾——一個他們把所有希望都寄托了的美國夢——并沒那么容易。語言，民族和文化障礙都讓他們舉步維艱。