Reading guide for Cristina Henriquez’s The Book of Unknown Americans
(2014)
1. How does Alma’s perspective in the novel’s first chapter illustrate her and her family’s hopes for
their new life in America? Take another look at her statement after the trip to the gas station:
“The three of us started toward the road, doubling back in the direction from which we had come,
heading toward home” (11). What are the meanings of “home” here, and how does this scene
show how America meets and differs from the Riveras’ expectations of it?
2. Mayor describes how he’s bullied at school and his general feelings of not fitting in. How do you
think this draws him to Maribel? What do they have in common that perhaps those around them,
including their parents, cannot see on the surface?
3. How is the scene where the Riveras sit down for a dinner of oatmeal a turning point for the family
and for the book? Discuss the role of food in the novel, especially how it evokes memories of
home and establishes a sense of community. Are there any other cultural values or traditions that
do the same thing?
4. What are some key differences in the way that the women in the novel respond to challenges of
assimilation compared to the men? How does Alma’s point of view highlight these differences?
5. What brings Alma and Celia together as neighbors and friends, and how does their relationship
change by the end of the book?
6. What are some of the signs throughout the novel that Maribel is getting better? Consider the
scene in the pizza restaurant in particular, and her response to Alma’s joke. How does laughter
here, and in other places in the book, evoke feelings of nostalgia and change?
7. How does Alma’s lingering guilt about Maribel’s accident affect her choices and interactions
when she’s in America? Do you think that she still feels this way by the end of the book? What
does she have to do, and realize within herself, to move beyond her feelings?
8. Do other characters besides Alma struggle with guilt? How does this emotion echo throughout the
book, even among the varying narrators/voices?
9. How would you describe the atmosphere of the impromptu Christmas party in the Toros’
apartment (p. 137)? What brings the residents of the building together, as a group and in more
intimate settings? Why do you think Cristina Henríquez brought all the characters together during
this particular holiday?
10. Discuss Quisqueya’s role in what happens to Mayor and Maribel. Without her intervention, how
might have their relationship, and ultimately the novel, ended differently?
