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The Book of Unknown Americansby Cristina Henríquez
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- Overview
- Editorial Reviews
- Product Details
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- Read an Excerpt
- What People Are Saying
- Meet the author
"A triumph of storytelling. Henríquez pulls us into the lives of her characters with such mastery that we hang on to them just as fiercely as they hang on to one another and their dreams. This passionate, powerful novel will stay with you long after you've turned the final page." —Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
A boy and a girl who fall in love. Two families whose hopes collide with destiny. An extraordinary novel that offers a resonant new definition of what it means to be American.
Arturo and Alma Rivera have lived their whole lives in Mexico. One day, their beautiful fifteen-year-old daughter, Maribel, sustains a terrible injury, one that casts doubt on whether she'll ever be the same. And so, leaving all they have behind, the Riveras come to America with a single dream: that in this country of great opportunity and resources, Maribel can get better.
When Mayor Toro, whose family is from Panama, sees Maribel in a Dollar Tree store, it is love at first sight. It's also the beginning of a friendship between the Rivera and Toro families, whose web of guilt and love and responsibility is at this novel's core.
Woven into their stories are the testimonials of men and women who have come to the United States from all over Latin America. Their journeys and their voices will inspire you, surprise you, and break your heart.
Suspenseful, wry and immediate, rich in spirit and humanity, The Book of Unknown Americans is a work of rare force and originality.
Editorial Reviews
In Henríquez's latest, Arturo and Alma Rivera move from Pátzcuaro, Mexico, to Delaware in hopes of securing a good education for their beautiful teenage daughter, Maribel, who has suffered a traumatic brain injury. Alone, isolated by language and poverty, the Riveras struggle to get by: Arturo works 10 hours a day at a mushroom farm, while Alma worries about predatory men taking advantage of her daughter. In the same apartment building lives Mayor Toro, the misfit son of Panamanian immigrants, who soon falls in love with Maribel. The budding romance, however, threatens to tear their families apart. Meanwhile, Henríquez (The World in Half) gives space to the voices of other immigrants—men and women who have fled their South American and Central American homes to make a better life in a country that, as often as not, refuses to acknowledge their existence. Evoking a profound sense of hope, Henríquez delivers a moving account of those who will do anything to build a future for their children—even if it means confronting the fear and alienation lurking behind the American dream. Agent: Julie Barer, Barer Literary. (June)
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.
"Powerful. . . . Moving. . . . [Henríquez has] myriad gifts as a writer." —The New York Times
"Passionate, powerful. . . . A triumph of storytelling. Henríquez pulls us into the lives of her characters with such mastery that we hang on to them just as fiercely as they hang on to one another and their dreams." —Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
"Gripping, memorable. . . . A novel that can both make you think and break your heart." —San Francisco Chronicle
"A remarkable novel that every American should read." —Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Unfailingly well written and entertaining. . . . [Henríquez's] stories illuminate the lives behind the current debates about Latino immigration." —The New York Times Book Review
"Lyrical. . . . This is a book about love, about how we seek to help those we love, sometimes with unforeseen and tragic consequences." —The Dallas Morning News
"Powerful. . . Henríquez gives us unforgettable characters . . . whose resilience yields a most profound and unexpected kind of beauty." —Ruth Ozeki, author of A Tale for the Time Being
"There's an aura of benevolence in these pages. . . . Henríquez's feat is to make the reader feel at home amid these good, likable people." —The Wall Street Journal
"Characters are as vivid as they are resilient. . . . [The] story is told from Alma and Mayor's points of view, but their voices are interlaced with tales of dreams deferred from the other tenants." —Elle
"A lovingly woven portrait of how friendships sustain people, how people support one another, and how people make a home in unlikely places. . . . Henríquez offers up stories we need to hear and lets us sit with her characters in communion and even friendship." —Christian Science Monitor
"Unforgettable: an important story about family, community, and identity, told with elegance and compassion." —Jami Attenberg, author of The Middlesteins
"Passionate." —O, the Oprah Magazine
"Henríquez distills the vast sea of immigrant stories into a small apartment building community in Delaware. . . . Through Henríquez's unadorned prose, these immigrants' struggles ring clear, their voices rising above that din of political debate." —USA Today
"An exquisite and profound novel of love, longing, and the resilience of the human spirit. . . . [These characters] leave an indelible mark on the heart." —Gilbert King, author of Devil in the Grove
"Henríquez allows the characters to speak for themselves. . . . The politics of immigration, while never explicitly argued, remain subtly in play, as do more existential matters affecting immigrants, such as the mixed national and cultural allegiances and affiliations between the generations." —Chicago Tribune
"Distinctively compassionate and original. . . . Extraordinary." —Heidi Julavits, author of The Vanishings
"[Henríquez is] a world-class stylist." —Chicago Reader
"Beautiful . . . Cristina Henríquez introduces us to . . . vibrant lives, to heartbreaking choices, to the tender beginnings of love, and to the humanity in every individual. Unforgettable." —Esmeralda Santiago, author of Conquistadora
Product Details
- 9780385350846
- Publisher:
- Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
- Publication date:
- 06/03/2014
- Pages:
- 304
- Product dimensions:
- 5.90(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.20(d)
Read an Excerpt
We heard they were from México.
"Definitely," my mom said, staring at them through our front window as they moved in. "Look at how short they are." She let the curtain fall back in place and walked to the kitchen, wiping her hands on the dish towel slung over her shoulder.
I looked, but all I saw was three people moving through the dark, carrying stuff from a pickup truck to unit 2D. They cut across the headlights of the truck a few times, and I made out their faces, but only long enough to see a mom, a dad, and a girl about my age.
"So?" my dad asked when I joined him and my mom at the dinner table.
"I couldn't really see anything," I said.
"Do they have a car?"
I shook my head. "The truck's just dropping them off, I think."
My dad sawed off a piece of chicken and stuffed it in his mouth. "Do they have a lot of things?" he asked.
"It didn't seem like it."
"Good," my dad said. "Maybe they are like us, then."
We heard from Quisqueya Solís that their last name was Rivera.
"And they're legal," she reported to my mom over coffee one afternoon. "All of them have visas."
"How do you know?" my mom asked.
"That's what Nelia told me. She heard it from Fito. Apparently the mushroom farm is sponsoring them."
"Of course," my mom said.
I was in the living room, eavesdropping, even though I was supposed to be doing my geometry homework.
"Well," my mom went on, clearing her throat, "it will be nice to have another family in the building. They'll be a good addition."
Quisqueya took a quick look at me before turning back to my mom and hunching over her coffee mug. "Except . . . ," she said.
My mom leaned forward. "What?"
Quisqueya said, "The girl . . ." She looked at me again.
My mom peered over Quisqueya's shoulder. "Mayor, are you listening to us?"
I tried to act surprised. "Huh? Me?"
My mom knew me too well, though. She shook her head at Quisqueya to signal that whatever Quisqueya was going to say, she'd better save it if she didn't want me to hear it.
"Bueno, we don't need to talk about it, then," Quisqueya said. "You'll see for yourself eventually, I'm sure."
My mom narrowed her eyes, but instead of pressing, she sat back in her chair and said loudly, "Well." And then, "More coffee?"
We heard a lot of things, but who knew how much of it was true? It didn't take long before the details about the Riversa began to seem far- fetched. They had tried to come into the
United States once before but had been turned back. They were only staying for a few weeks. They were working undercover for the Department of Homeland Security. They were personal friends with the governor. They were running a safe house for illegals. They had connections to a Mexican narco ring. They were loaded. They were poor. They were traveling with the circus.
I tuned it all out after a while. School had started two weeks earlier, and even though I had told myself that this would be the year the other kids stopped picking on me, the year that I actually fi t in for once in my life, things already weren't going exactly as planned. During the first week of school, I was in the locker room, changing into my gym shorts, when Julius Olsen tucked his hands into his armpits and started flapping his arms like wings. "Bwwaak!" he said, looking at me. I ignored him and cinched the drawstring on my shorts. Actually, they were my older brother Enrique's shorts that had been handed down to me, but I wore them because I thought that maybe they would make me seem cooler than I was, like maybe some of Enrique's popularity was trapped in the fibers and would rub off on me. He'd been a senior the year before, when I was a freshman, and every single person in the school had adored him. Soccer stud. Girlfriends by the dozen. Homecoming king. So opposite of me that when I tried to earn points with Shandie Lewis, who I would have given just about anything to hook up with, by telling her that I was Enrique Toro's brother, she said that was a really stupid thing to lie about.
"Bwwaaaak!" Julius said louder, jutting his neck toward me.
I balled up my jeans and shoved them into my locker.
Garrett Miller, who had basically made picking on me last year his special project, pointed at me, laughed, and said, "Fucking chicken legs." He flung his boot at my chest.
Julius snorted.
I took a deep breath and shut my locker. I was used to this kind of abuse. Last year, whenever Enrique caught wind of it, he'd tell me to stand up for myself. "I know you don't want to fight," he said once. "But at least have the balls to tell them to fuck off." And in my head I did. In my head, I was Jason Bourne or Jack Bauer or James Bond or all three of them combined. But beyond my head, the most I ever did was ignore it and walk away.
"How do you say 'chicken' in Spanish?" Garrett asked.
"Pollo," someone answered.
"Major Pollo," Garrett said.
The kids at my school loved changing my first name to English and then tacking insults onto it. Major Pan (short for Panamanian). Major Pan in the Ass. Major Cocksucker.
Julius started cracking up, and he squawked at me again. A few of the other guys in the locker room snickered.
I started walking— I just wanted to get out of there— but when I did, I bumped Garrett's boot, which was on the floor in front of me.
"Don't touch my shoe, Pollo," Garrett said.
"Kick it over here," Julius said.
"Fuck you," Garrett snapped. "Don't tell him to kick my shoe."
"Don't worry," Julius said. "He can't kick for shit. Haven't you seen him out there after school trying to play soccer? He's a total fuckup."
"Major fuckup," Garrett said, stepping in front of me to block any hope I had of leaving.
Garrett was thin, but he was tall. He wore a green army coat every single day, no matter what the weather was, and had a tattoo of an eagle on his neck. The year before, he'd spent a few months in juvenile detention at Ferris because he beat up Angelo Puente so bad that by the end of it, Angelo had two broken arms and blood pouring out of his nose. There was no way I was going to mess with him.
But when the bell rang and the other kids started fi ling out into the gym, Garrett still didn't budge. The locker room was in the school basement and it was so quiet right then that I could hear water coursing through the pipes. There wasn't anywhere for me to go. Garrett took a step closer. I didn't know what he was going to do. And then Mr. Samuels, the gym teacher, poked his head into the room.
"You boys are supposed to be out in the gym," he said.
Garrett didn't move. Neither did I.
"Now!" he barked.
So that was one thing. The other thing, as Julius had pointed out, was soccer. The only reason I'd gone out for the team in the first place was because my dad had forced me into it. For him, the logic went something like: I was Latino and male and not a cripple, therefore I should play soccer. Soccer was for Latinos, basketball for blacks, and the whites could keep their tennis and golf as far as he was concerned. He'd applied the same reasoning to my brother, too, except that in Enrique's case, it had actually worked out. Enrique had been the fi rst player in the history of our school to make varsity as a freshman, and when he got a full- ride soccer scholarship to Maryland, it was like my dad had been vindicated. "See?" he'd said, waving around the offer letter when it came in the mail. "You were meant to do this! The next Pelé! And this one," he'd said, pointing at me, "the next Maradona!"
Enrique might have been the next Pelé, but I wasn't even in the same galaxy as Maradona. Two weeks into practice, I had bruised shins, a scabby knee, and a scraped elbow. Coach even pulled me aside once to ask whether I was wearing the right size cleats. I told him they were size seven, which was my size, and he patted my shoulder and said, "Okay, then. Maybe you should just sit it out for a while," and directed me to the sidelines.
In the past few days, a flock of girls had started coming to our practices, sitting in the empty stands and pointing at us while they texted and talked. Word got around that they were new freshmen. They didn't look like any freshmen I knew, in their skimpy tank tops and lacy black bras they wore underneath, but what I did know was that our team got a hell of a lot better after those girls showed up. Everyone was running faster and kicking harder than before. I felt like a loser, hanging around the sidelines all the time. Whenever the girls broke out in laughter,
I was sure they were laughing at me. One day, I asked Coach if I could go back in, even if just for a few drills. When he looked ambivalent, I lied and said, "I've been practicing with my dad at home. Even he thinks I'm getting better." Coach worked his jaw from side to side like he was thinking about it. "Please?" I said. Finally he gave in. "Okay. Let's see what you got."
We set up a star drill where guys spread out into a circle and dribbled the ball a few paces into the middle before passing to a teammate who took the ball and repeated the sequence. Each time I ran through and got back in line, I looked up at the girls in the stands, who weren't laughing anymore, just watching. Maybe I got overconfident. Maybe there was a divot in the grass. The next time I ran into the middle to get the ball, my ankle turned. Ethan Weisberg was stepping toward me, waiting for me to pass to him. I was so eager to get the dribble going again that when I went for the ball with my other foot, I rolled my cleat up over it instead. The ball was still spinning, and I stumbled again just as Ethan, impatient and frustrated, finally came at me and tried to spear his foot in to swipe the ball out for himself. When he did, I fell. His leg caught under mine. And before either of us knew it, I had taken him down, both of us landing on top of each other in the middle of the field. "What the fuck, Mayor!" Ethan yelled. My hip throbbed. Coach blew his whistle and jogged in to untangle us. The girls erupted in laughter.
What People are saying about this
"Henríquez distills the vast sea of immigrant stories into a small apartment building community in Delaware. At the center are two star-crossed teens, Mayor and Maribel . . . Through their friendship and budding romance, Mayor becomes a hero, protecting Maribel from a dangerous boy. He starts to bring her out of her shell [and] Maribel begins to reconnect with her former self. Their doomed love is just one of the Romeo & Juliet twists in the bookHenríquez threads that theme through the relationships between parents and their children, husbands and wives, the immigrant community with their home countries and their new one . . . Through her unadorned prose, these struggles ring clear, voices rising above the din of political debate." Korina Lopez, USA Today
"Gripping . . . genuinely devastating. Henríquez has found a memorable way to open up complex topicsdiscrimination, love and grief in family life, and the experiences of being displaced or feeling at home. A novel that can both make you think and break your heart." Sarah Stone, San Francisco Chronicle
"Reminiscent of the chorus of voices that made Oscar Lewis's The Children of Sanchez so memorable, and Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things so profoundly humane, Henriquez's tale about coming to America is a striking original . . . It's no easy trick to pull a good story from the classic immigrant chronicle, the striver's tale. But this novel about the Riveras and their hastily cobbled world is sure to bring Henriquez many readers. It is a deeply stirring story about a budding romance between two unlikely lovers, but also a ringing paean to love in general: to the love between man and wife, parent and child, outsider and new¬comer, pilgrims and promised land. With a simple, unadorned prose that rises to the level of poetry, Henríquez achieves the seemingly impossible: Without a trace of sentimentality, without an iota of self-indulgence or dogma, she tells us about coming to America. The Book of Unknown Americans leaves you in thrall to its vivid characters and its author's sure hand." Marie Arana, The Washington Post
"In a TED talk titled 'The Danger of a Single Story," Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie noted that 'the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.' Henríquez's big-hearted novel challenges the 'single story' by exploring a wide range of Latino experiences. The Book of Unknown Americans is a welcome contribution to a broadening literary conversation that features immigrants from all across the Americas, and all walks of life. As Henríquez shows, theirs is a story composed of many stories." Ashley Hope Pérez, Texas Observer
"There's an aura of benevolence in these pages that feels honestly come by, stemming in part from Mayor and Maribel's innocent romance but mostly from the steady support and encouragement among the familiesthe charismatic residents of the Redwood Apartments in Delaware. 'Who comes to the U.S. and ends up in Delaware?', one [character] jokingly wonders . . . Henríquez's feat is to make the reader feel at home amid these good, likeable people. Be warned: The price of this closeness is the book's tragic conclusion." The Wall Street Journal
"Textured, resonant . . . rich, human. The Book of Unknown Americans ramps up like a rainstorm then releases across the landscape, and once you look outside, touches absolutely everything. It is a graceful examination of the American immigrant experience from the oft overlooked perspective of the immigrant herself . . . It's easy to become lost in the young love story, [but] Alma's parenting checks readers back into the fear and newness inherent in life on unfamiliar turf, with the inability to communicate . . . The novel's last line is bone-chilling. A secret peek into livesan unknown lifeto which we are not often privy. To walk away without learning something from its pagesmost of all, empathywould be an opportunity squandered. But leave it to the feeling in your chest on your chest when you reach the last page to tell you that." Meredith Turits, Bustle (June fiction pick)
"I didn't want to read another book about the immigrant experience. So ubiquitous in literature, the theme can feel tired and unoriginal, even to those of us who've lived it. But the first few paragraphs of Henríquez's prosewords whose simplicity belies their weightseduced me with beauty and the promise of a rich tale. And Henríquez delivered. This is a book about love, about how we seek to help those we love, sometimes with unforeseen and tragic consequences . . . Henríquez ignites the tension in the first few pages and lets it simmer and pull the story along . . . Lyrical . . . There is beautiful writing in these pages [that] illustrates the full ethnic range of the Americas and how so many people south of our border ended up here. I'm not spoiling it to say that Henríquez brings the story to a heart-crushing explosion of an end fueled by secrets, love, fear and ethnic tension. Bottom line, if you read only one more book about the immigrant experience, make it this one." Beatriz Terrazas, Dallas Morning News
"Observant . . . a bighearted ensemble of a story. Set at a scrappy apartment complex in Delaware, The Book of Unknown Americans is a pan-Latino novel, with characters from Panama, Venezuela, Mexico and Puerto Rico, among other nations. In love and locked out of any reasonably cool social scene in high school, Mayor Toro and Maribel Rivera are the teens at the heart of the novel. Interspersed among their tentative, fumbling love story are chapters devoted to the back stories of the other residents of the complex. Henríquez covers the gamut of the immigrant experience: how they arrived in America, why they came, what they think of their new home, whether they miss their first home. In other words, she captures an experience at the heart of this country's history that is often a cursory, incomplete story in the media . . . Poor and at the mercy of forces they do not entirely understand, her characters nonetheless experience victories that no one but their families and the fellow residents of their complex share. 'I hope this book can play a small role in maybe opening Americans a bit more to empathy,' Henriquez says." Claiborne Smith, Kirkus
"Remarkable . . . the narrative of our two central families could easily sustain the novel, but Henríquez has taken it further. The Book of Unknown Americans gives voice to an entire society of people who struggle and work for the hope of better livesbut these lives don't necessarily turn out as they may have dreamed. These people live days steeped in uncertainty and sometimes fear, and the sacrifices that are made in a move toward a better lot in life are huge. Henriquez opens the doors to this experience. Amid the grit and shadows, doubt and desperation, Henríquez finds beauty in community, in love, in family, in perseverance. And lucky uswe have the beauty, too, that is Henríquez's writing." Kristin Fritz, Everyday eBook
"With eloquence, grace and, yes, sorrow, Henríquez creates an ensemble cast that speaks for millions of people who live among us but whose voices are rarely heard. This is a remarkable novel that every American should read." Meganne Fabrega, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Enrapturing and heartbreaking . . . a stunning cross-cultural love story under the guise of a narrative about Latino families trying to make their way in America . . . Like a music master at the harp, Henriquez elegantly plays with human heart strings as she illustrates the complexities of the immigrant experience through the story of two families, as well as the company with whom they surround themselves." Morgan Ribera, Bustle
"The stories you hear about immigration are the ones that generate sensational headlines: sheriffs patrolling the border with shotguns, finger-pointing on Fox News, red-hot rhetoric in political campaigns across the country. But as Henríquez was reminded a few years ago, there are plenty of stories that are told rarely, if ever . . . At the center of The Book of Unknown Americans are Arturo and Alma Rivera, who have immigrated legally from Mexico to enroll their daughter in a special-needs school because she has suffered a brain injury. When Mayor Toro, a young naturalized citizen originally from Panama, falls in love with her, the Rivera and Toro families become forever intertwined . . . The Riveras' vulnerability increases [and] ultimately the story spins toward tragedy. Along the way, Henríquez allows the characters to speak for themselves . . . The politics of immigration, while never explicitly argued, remain subtly in play, as do more existential matters affecting immigrants, such as mixed national and cultural allegiances and affiliations between the generations . . . Henríquez's most ambitious book yet." Kevin Nance, Chicago Tribune
"A novel told in many voices of Latin American people who come to this country and live in one apartment building in Delaware: a book about the love affairs and various things that go onbut it's really about what it means to be an American, and what it means to have come herewhat it cost them and what you get." Sara Nelson, on CBS This Morning, Amazon's "Must-Have Titles for Your Summer Reading List"
"Henríquez's best yet . . . The notion of homewhere we make it, how we define it, and why we leave itlies at the heart of The Book of Unknown Americans. Gut-wrenching." Rachel Bertsche, Chicago Magazine
"Poignant and profound . . . Beautiful, heartbreaking, hopeful and enlightening. Each character in The Book of Unknown Americans tells their story of how they came to America. How much they wanted to become part of this wonderful country with so many opportunities . . . Little did they know that leaving Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Panama, Guatemala or Nicaragua, each with their own unique heritage, food, language and culture, they would all be lumped together as a group of immigrants that were not welcomed or wanted. [But] these strangers soon became friends, something of a newly established family . . . Candid, thoughtful . . . This book had to be written. And needs to be read. A copy should show up on each politician's desk, teacher's desk, in each American citizen's hands." Marisa Robinson, The Daily Dosage
"A novel crowded with characters as vivid as they are resilientfamilies and neighbors who have bravely chosen hope over fate. The Book of Unknown Americans begins with a vivid vision of promise. [But] Hollywood hopes sink like L.A. smog when Alma Rivera, her husband, Arturo, and their daughter wind up in a dingy apartment with found furniture, and Arturo, who owned a construction firm in Mexico, finds work as a mushroom picker. The Riveras come seeking better care for their daughter, Maribel, but they find camaraderie and destiny in their apartment complex, which teems with other immigrant clanssuch as the Panamanian Toro family, whose gawky son, Mayor, falls hard for Maribel. Their collective story is interlaced with tales of dreams deferred from the other tenants, [including] a Puerto Rican dancer who could well be a proxy for anyone from far away with an American-size appetite to dream." Jennifer Arellano, Elle
"A novel as disturbing as it is beautiful: a testament to the mixed blessings our country offers immigrants, who struggle against bigotry and economic hardship while maintaining just enough hope to keep striving for something better. A narrative mosaic that moves toward a heartrending conclusion." Daniel A. Olivas, The Los Angeles Review of Books
"Passionate . . . Henríquez imagines the sweetand bitterreality of coming to America, giv[ing] voice to the unheard stories of people who have quit their native countries for what they hope will be a better life. Alternating points of view bring to life nine families living in an apartment building in Delaware who have fled their birthplacesdusty towns in Panama, Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Paraguayto begin anew in the States . . . The Riveras arrive at dusk, unfolding themselves from the back of a red pickup truck after a days-long journey from Mexico. They are here legally, desperately hoping that an American school will restore their daughter, Maribel, who has suffered a traumatic brain injury, to the outgoing girl she used to be . . . The Toros offer their new neighbors friendship; their son, Mayor, is smitten with Maribel from the moment they meet. As the novel unfolds, the two share a tender love. Through her characters' fears, their robust affection for one another, and their resilience, Henríquez illuminates the disparity between the lives they've given up and the benefits they've gained. For some, the struggle to find new identities as Americans yields rewards; for others, the transition is too difficult, and they return home the waythey came: 'out of one world and into the next.'" Abbe Wright, O, The Oprah Magazine
"Henríquez borrows both the epic scope and the immediacy of oral history in The Book of Unknown Americans, taking readers inside the private anxieties of immigrantsstrangers in a strange land. The final crashing together of all the [story's] forces is devastating, as is the deftness with which Henriquez handles both the dramatic conclusion and the aftershocks. (Yes, I cried.) The book's structure contributes greatly to the emotional impact: Hearing the stories told in Alma's and Mayor's own voices brings us inextricably close to them. Dividing their tales is a chorus of voices in which other inhabitants of the building tell their stories. The effect is that of both bridge and ballast: the stories enrich the experience with their depictions of the delicate line between heartache and triumph. Henríquez is a world-class stylist." Jonathan Messinger, Chicago Reader
"On a cold, bewildering night, the Riveras, who have just left their happy lives in Mexico, are dropped off at a dilapidated apartment building [in] Delaware. Alma Rivera worries about their beautiful 15-year-old daughter, Maribel, who has suffered a brain injury; her parents have sacrificed everything to send her to a special school. Their building turns out to be a sanctuary; as the Riveras' dramatic tale unfolds, Henríquez brings their generous neighbors forward to tell the compelling stories of why and how they left Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, and Paraguay. As one man says, 'We are the unknown Americans,' those who are feared and hated. As Maribel opens up to the infatuated boy next-door, terror of the unknown becomes a tragic force. Each scene, voice, misunderstanding, and alliance is beautifully realized and brimming with feeling in the acclaimed Henríquez's compassionately imagined, gently comedic, and profoundly wrenching novel of big dreams and crushing reality, courageous love and unfathomable heartbreak." Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred)
"Evoking a profound sense of hope, Henríquez delivers a moving account of those who will do anything to build a future for their childreneven if it means confronting the fear and alienation lurking behind the American dream." Publishers Weekly
"Distinctively compassionate and originala moving portrait of people who often pass before our eyes under a veil of invisibility. Gorgeously woven of both hope and delusion, and of the many kinds of love, this is a novel in which characters' assimilations and aspirations are as much to a new country as to something even broader: to other, finer versions of themselves. As a reader I felt assimilated too, forever altered by the extraordinary world Henríquez creates." Heidi Julavits, author of The Vanishings
"Spectacular . . . highly believable and poignant . . . A well-written story set among 'unknown Americans,' ostensibly Hispanic but in many ways any family adjusting to a new culture and way of life, regardless of ethnicity." Lawrence Olszewski, Library Journal
"Cristina Henríquez has written an exquisite and profound novel of love, longing, and the resilience of the human spirit. Her characters may be invisible souls on the American landscape, but their stories leave an indelible mark on the heart." Gilbert King, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Devil in the Grove
"The Book of Unknown Americans is filled with the fiercest kinds of loveof a boy for a beautiful girl, of stricken parents for an injured daughter, of an immigrant community for an impossible America. In this powerful novel, Cristina Henríquez gives us unforgettable characters, whose destinies are shaped by forcessenseless, random, politicalfar beyond their control, and yet whose resilience yields a most profound and unexpected kind of beauty." Ruth Ozeki, author of A Tale for the Time Being
"Wonderful. If most novels, or at least most good ones, are songs, then The Book of Unknown Americans is a choir. In a multiplicity of voices, each one distinct and authentic, Cristina Henríquez tells a whole community of stories, and the book that emerges is warm, wise, and unfailingly generous. It never seems to strive for profundity or grasp at poignancy, and yet page by page, as naturally as can be, it rouses the conscience and touches the heart." Kevin Brockmeier, author of The Brief History of the Dead and The Illumination
"Here is an important story about family, community and identity, told with elegance and compassion. The Book of Unknown Americans is unforgettable." Jami Attenberg, author of The Middlesteins
"Some of the characters in The Book of Unknown Americans were born in the United States, others came as adults or were brought here from Central and South America. Their stories speak to us, involve us in their lives. They dream, meet challenges, and dare to live on hope. Sometimes they cry, but they also laugh, dance, make love. In this beautiful book, Cristina Henríquez introduces us to their vibrant lives, to heartbreaking choices, to the tender beginnings of love, and to the humanity in every individual. Unforgettable." Esmeralda Santiago, author of When I Was Puerto Rican and Conquistadora
"Cristina Henríquez's novel is a triumph not just of storytelling, but of American storytelling, a novel whose breadth and power blow open any traditional definition of 'American.' Henríquez pulls us into the lives of her characters with such mastery that we hang onto them just as fiercely as they hang onto one another, and their dreams. This passionate, powerful novel will stay with you long after you've turned the final page." Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
Meet the Author
Cristina Henríquez is the author of the story collection Come Together, Fall Apart, which was a New York Times Editors' Choice selection, and the novel The World in Half. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The American Scholar, Glimmer Train, Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, TriQuarterly, AGNI, and Oxford American, as well as in various anthologies. She lives in Illinois.
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please read this book...you will not be sorry...I read all the time...everything...so trust me when I tell you this book will stay in your heart...
An insightful look at the lives of Hispanic immigrants from many countries, Well written and an accurate look at their different cultures, the reasons they come and what they encounter and endure in our country! It lead to a lively discussion at Book Club and we will look for more books by this author.
LOVED IT LOVED IT LOVED IT I saw this book listed in the Oprah Magazine and had to buy it! Sure glad I did, read half the book the first day. In 1985 I visited Patzcuaro, Michacan, beautiful little town, so I can understand how Alma & Arturo felt coming to the US, not knowing the language or anybody to help them, but parents will do whatever it takes for their children, sad but also inspiring story. I highly recommend this book, you don't have to be an immigrant to read this story you just have to be a human being.
I read this book for my bookclub. I loved it!
If I remember correctly this is a debut book by this author. Not a page turner in the usual sense, yet still I stayed up late turning pages. These are vignettes that are held together by time, place and circumstance. It is a story of immigrants that we white people ignore, persecute, and for some of us the word "hate" is not too strong. A story we know, and need to be reminded of. Take a chance, this is a readable book that may just get under your skin.
This book was ok. It did not deserve all the raves about books of the year, etc.... I rely less and less on critics because half of the time the postings are inaccurate such as this one. It wasn't a waste of time but I was disappointed.
This is not a story about immigration but intertwined stories about immigrants whose stories draw parallels to stories my grandmother and grandfather told of their own experiences in the 19th the common experience of fitting in and making a better life staying true to yourself and your culture
I found the individual stories interesting but the writing style was more for a YA book. As a urban adult, I am familiar with the struggles of immigrants from Mexico and South America.


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Club Tengo Hambre Los Angeles
Club Tengo Hambre is a private supper club/food tour that has been running in Baja California and Mexico City for the past several years. They've just started running tours in Los Angeles (first one is Saturday, July 9th), and I got to go on a sneak peak a few months ago of some of the potential stops they may make on these new tours. Leading this preview tour was one of the founders of Club Tengo Hambre, Bill "Street Gourmet LA" Esparza himself!
(Yes, I know I still owe a write-up on this year's Tacolandia that Bill curated for LA Weekly, but I'm a little behind. In the meantime, hope my Top Ten Tacos of Tacolandia 2016 piece for L.A. TACO will tide you over.)
One of the most popular taco trucks in L.A. is Mariscos Jalisco in Boyle Heights, and they were our first stop! They're known for their tacos dorados de camaron, or crispy shrimp tacos. No, the shrimp aren't crispy, rather it's the tortilla that's fried to a hearty crisp, with flavorful minced shrimp stuffed inside. To borrow a potato chip slogan, you can't just have one!
Taco Dorados de Camaron at Mariscos Jalisco. First stop of Club Tengo Hambre's LA preview tour. @mariscosjalisco @montejo @clubtengohambre @streetgourmetla @mustacherides #tacodoradosdecamaron #shrimptaco #shrimp #taco #clubtengohambre #cth #cthlosangeles #cthinla #mustacherides #mariscosjalisco #boyleheights #losangeles #theoffalo
Next, Bill brought us to Tamales Elena in Watts where we had, not one, but two special treats, both Club Tengo Hambre exclusives! First were tamales with trompa or pork snout, and second was probably the best pozole I've ever had, made with meat from the head of a pig.
Next, in Compton, Querétaro-style cactus and steak quesadilla from Quesadillas La Chinita, the kind of place where people not in the know would drive by without even noticing they were passing amazing, simple, delicious food.
The Mercado Olympic, a street market in downtown L.A. that springs up every weekend, was our penultimate destination. You could find just about anything there, agua frescas, big bag of chapulines (grasshoppers) to snack on, and freshly made, piping hot churros!
Last, but certainly not least, we were driven up to a non-descript house in East L.A. that served the most delicious goat birria!
We were told not to share the location more specifically, and you would likely not find this place without someone like Bill, or one of the other guides at Club Tengo Hambre, unless you're from the neighborhood. This kind of special, curated, exclusive experience is what you can expect from Club Tengo Hambre. Check out their LA tours of various themes (Best of LA, Eastside Essentials, South Central Outlaw Street Food, etc.) at http://clubtengohambre.com/losangeles/.
July 2016 Food Events in Los Angeles
Can't believe it's already July! Starting with one big 3-day food festival at toward the beginning of the month and then four different food events happening the last weekend of the month, you should be able to find something that suits your fancy in July!
July 8-10, 2016 – LA Food Fest: Rebranded from its original name, the LA Street Food Fest, this year makes a major expansion and changes to the event. Instead of one day at the Rose Bowl, LAFF takes place over three days at Exposition Park. Participants include Button Mash (Starry Kitchen), El Coraloense, Howlin' Ray's, Knuckle & Claw, Ricebar, and more! There's a series of special chef-hosted Rose Garden events. The usual unlimited-samples food festival experience has been dubbed the VIP Golden Hour, even though it includes 2 hours of access, while a more affordable a la carte general-admission MRKT option has been added. Tickets range from $18 to $160+ depending on what experience you're after.
July 15, 2016 – East LA Meets Napa World Tour: This annual fundraiser benefitting AltaMed, a non-profit healthcare provider that supports underserved communities in Southern California is going global this year with celebrity international chefs including Ana Quincoces, Ingrid Hoffmann, Doreen Colondres, Katsuji Tanabe, Hamlet Garcia, and more. Early Bird tickets are available for GA at $175; regular price is $200. VIP access is $300.
July 29, 2016 – Luckyrice: The pan-Asian-themed food event is being hosted this year by the folks behind Seoul Sausage, brothers Ted and Yong Kim and chef Chris Oh, at Vibiana in DTLA. Participants include Ayara Thai, Hinoki and the Bird, Komodo, Lao Tao, Parks BBQ, Starry Kitchen, and Tatsunoya. Tickets are $88 for GA or $150 for VIP w/one hour early entry.
July 30, 2016 – Burgers & Beer: Featuring over 30 restaurants including Barrel & Ashes, Fritzi, Plan Check, Terrine, and more, as well as breweries such as 21st Amendment, El Segundo Brewing Co., Firestone Walker, Lagunitas, Pizza Port, and others, the second annual beer and burger fest should be a blast. Take the Expo Line to the Coliseum so you don't have to worry about the drive. Tickets are $95 for VIP w/early entry, $75 for GA, or $219 for a "Buddy Pack" of 4 GA tickets ($55/person).
July 31, 2016 – Live & Dine LA: Moving to the summer this year, this event at the posh Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica has an impressive line-up including The Arthur J, Broken Spanish, The Cannibal, Herringbone, Little Sister, Moruno, Redbird, Trois Familia, Union, Viviane, Wolf, and more! Tickets are $95 + fees.
July 31, 2016 – Stu and The Kids: This fundraiser for orphaned children in Thailand draws top-notch talent to support the cause, including The Bellwether, Mare, Night+Market, Playa Provisions, Pok Pok LA, Republique, Spago, and more. Hosted at Vibiana, the chef Neal Fraser and his crew at Redbird should have their hands full considering they're also at Live & Dine LA happening the same day! Tickets are $125 for GA, $195 for VIP, which includes a special cooking demo by chef Jet Tila 90 minutes before the event starts.
Top of the Line Cooking Competition by The Line RTA
Last month I got to attend a dinner quite unlike any I had attended. The Line RTA, a restaurant talent agency, has been quietly holding semi-regular cooking competitions since late last year. Line cooks from popular restaurants around town put their budding reputations on the line to compete against each other and be judged by respected chefs such as Bruce Kalman (Union), Jason Fullilove (Barbara Jean LA), and Ricardo Zarate (Rosaliné). The competitions are held at The Park Restaurant in Echo Park.
For the May competition, the contestants were line cooks William Pentecost (.ink), Juan Agustin (Olivella), and Shad Newton (Trois Mec). The judges were none other than chefs Evan Funke (Felix), Vartan Abgaryan (71 Above), and Ben Ford (Ford Filling Station). The cooks have to put out two dishes each to the three judges and 40 or so guests. Dessert is provided by The Park. It works out to a seven-course meal for $52, a fabulous deal if it could be found at any of the above-mentioned chefs' restaurants, but would what these young line cooks make be worth our while?
First up was William Pentecost, who served two bold-looking dishes: raw scallops with foam and nori and hanger steak topped with enoki hay. .ink is known for dishes that incorporate molecular gastronomy, and certainly William's dishes seem to take the most risks. Not all of it worked, the foam for example, but the enoki hay was a definite highlight for me!
Scallops, grapefruit, heart of Palm, shallot marmalade, by .ink's William Pentecost for The Line RTA's cooking competition. @willietwocheeks @mvinkla @thelinerta @theparkonsunset #scallops #williampentecost #mvinkla #thelinerta #topofthelinecookingcompetition #cookingcompetition #theparkonsunset #echopark #losangeles #theoffalo
Hanger steak, spring onion, maitake, shishito chimichurri, enoki hay, by .ink's William Pentecost for The Line RTA's cooking competition. @willietwocheeks @mvinkla @thelinerta @theparkonsunset #hangersteak #steak #williampentecost #mvinkla #thelinerta #topofthelinecookingcompetition #cookingcompetition #theparkonsunset #echopark #losangeles #theoffalo
Next was Juan Agustin, who put out two rather more refined-looking plates: a gnocchi and morels dish and a duck breast with spring vegetables. Juan's dishes paired classic ingredients together–pasta and mushrooms, duck with a sweet sauce–but executed at a very high level.
Gnocchi, ramp cream, morels, pancetta, parmesan, by Juan Agustin of Olivella at The Ojai Valley Inn for The Line RTA's cooking competition. @chef.juan_ @thelinerta @theparkonsunset #gnocchi #juanagustin #olivella #thelinerta #topofthelinecookingcompetition #cookingcompetition #theparkonsunset #echopark #losangeles #theoffalo
Duck, spring vegetables, carrot purée, cherry citrus sauce, by Juan Agustin of Olivella at The Ojai Valley Inn for The Line RTA's cooking competition. @chef.juan_ @thelinerta @theparkonsunset #duck #juanagustin #olivella #thelinerta #topofthelinecookingcompetition #cookingcompetition #theparkonsunset #echopark #losangeles #theoffalo
Last was Shad Newton, who served two deceptively-simple looking dishes: an asparagus salad and a Santa Maria-style tri-tip. The salad was actually quite complex with Shad trying to do a deconstructed sauce gribiche, with a very interesting smoked egg yolk, but the components didn't "reconstruct" too well on the plate. The tri-tip was a bit tough for me, but salt-baked potatoes were a crowd favorite.
Delta asparagus, brioche croutons, smoked egg, sauce gribiche, baby lettuce, by Trois Mec's Shad Newton for The Line RTA's cooking competition. @shadsfc @troismecla @thelinerta @theparkonsunset #asparagus #saucegribiche #shadnewton #troismecla #thelinerta #topofthelinecookingcompetition #cookingcompetition #theparkonsunset #echopark #losangeles #theoffalo
Santa Maria style tri-tip, salt baked fingerling potato salad, Vidalia onions, bagna cauda, by Trois Mec's Shad Newton for The Line RTA's cooking competition. @shadsfc @troismecla @thelinerta @theparkonsunset #santamariatritip #tritip #steak #shadnewton #troismecla #thelinerta #topofthelinecookingcompetition #cookingcompetition #theparkonsunset #echopark #losangeles #theoffalo
The most interesting part of the competition was when the judges gave their feedback openly to each cook after tasting each of their two courses. All three judges were quite honest and tough with their criticism, but Evan was definitely a little more Simon Cowell. But the comments were also fair and, more importantly, very constructive, and when they complimented the aspects the line cooks did well, you could tell it really meant something to them.
The judges actually tied in trying to determine a winner, and it came down to William Pentecost and Juan Agustin. In the end, by audience vote, Juan Agustin took top spot. The prize? A $250 check, a bottle of liquor, and bragging rights! The judges applauded all three cooks for putting themselves out there–Evan said he wouldn't have had the confidence to do what they did, and wouldn't have put out dishes as well conceived, when he was at the same stage of his career.
Get your tickets for Monday June 27th. 7 course dinner at www.thelinerta.com/events Prepared by 3 of LA's finest cooks.. #industrynight #redemption #dtla #atwatervillage #cookingcompetition #eeeeeats #lafoodie #laeats #dinela #foodie #infatuationla #feedfeed #lagram #LAtimesfood #hungryinla #buzzfeast #thedailybite #huffposttaste #nomnom #laweekly #eaterla #eater #thebestfood #truecooks #linecooks #lachefs
If this sounds like an interesting way to spend an evening, The Line RTA is hosting its next competition on Monday, June 27th. The judges this time around are Wes Avila (Guerrilla Tacos), Eddie Ruiz (Corazon y Miel), and Matt Wilson (Augustine Wine Bar). The competitors are David Bowles (The Bellwether), Oscar Molina (NeueHouse), and Marcos Guillen (A.O.C.). Find out what each are serving, and how to get in on the fun, here: http://thelinerta.com/events
Taste of the Nation Los Angeles 2016
On Sunday, June 5, 2016, dozens of top Los Angeles chefs and restaurants descended upon Media Park in Culver City for Taste of the Nation LA, a fundraising event for No Kid Hungry, the Share Our Strength campaign to end childhood hunger in the United States. Chef Bruce Kalman of Union and Knead fame, and soon (by the end of this year) to have a restaurant on the Westside in Culver City itself, curated the event, and picked some amazing participants.
Some of my favorite bites included The Bellwether's heirloom tomato salad, The Cannibal's morcilla, The Culver Hotel's grilled apricot and burrata, Kali Restaurant's yellowtail crudo, and Sotto's crispy lamb belly. Alas, I didn't get a great shot of Kali's dish, so I can't show you their offering.
The Bellwether's heirloom tomatoes, Greek sausage vinaigrette, pita crumble. @thebellwether_la @tedhopson @ms_sassafras #heirloomtomatoes #thebellwetherla — From Taste of the Nation Los Angeles. @totnla @nokidhungry #totnla2016 #totnla #nokidhungry #shareourstrength #citidining #citigiving #culvercity #losangeles #theoffalo #offalototnla2016
The Culver Hotel's grilled apricot, burrata, almond, herb salad. @culver_hotel #apricot #burrata #almond #culverhotel — From Taste of the Nation Los Angeles. @totnla @nokidhungry #totnla2016 #totnla #nokidhungry #shareourstrength #citidining #citigiving #culvercity #losangeles #theoffalo #offalototnla2016
Other highlights included Birch's cod tikka masala, Hatchet Hall's crawfish boil, Sweetfin Poke's yellowfin tuna poke, and Upper West's lamb tacos.
Birch's cod tikka masala. @birchlosangeles @chefbrendancollins #codtikkamasala #cod #tikkamasala #birchlosangeles — From Taste of the Nation Los Angeles. @totnla @nokidhungry #totnla2016 #totnla #nokidhungry #shareourstrength #citidining #citigiving #culvercity #losangeles #theoffalo #offalototnla2016
A strong presence at the event was the Bombet Hospitality Group, with four restaurants participating: Faith & Flower, Hanjip, Terrine, and Viviane. I particularly liked Hanjip's and Terrine's dishes, and Stephan Bombet and François Renaud of the restaurant group were kind enough to host the after party at Hanjip.
Hanjip's galbi jjim, kimchi polenta. @hanjipbbq @chefchrisoh @misterfrancois @frenchyfoody #galbijjim #kimchi #polenta #hanjip — From Taste of the Nation Los Angeles. @totnla @nokidhungry #totnla2016 #totnla #nokidhungry #shareourstrength #citidining #citigiving #culvercity #losangeles #theoffalo #offalototnla2016
Terrine's pork rillettes. @terrinerestaurant @krismorningstar @frenchyfoody @misterfrancois #porkrillettes #rillettes #terrinerestaurant — From Taste of the Nation Los Angeles. @totnla @nokidhungry #totnla2016 #totnla #nokidhungry #shareourstrength #citidining #citigiving #culvercity #losangeles #theoffalo #offalototnla2016
Bulgogi on the grill (and a huge serving of Hanjip's galbi jjim & kimchi polenta dish from the event in the back) at the Taste of the Nation after party at Hanjip! @hanjipbbq @misterfrancois @frenchyfoody @chefchrisoh #bulgogi #galbijjim #hanjip — From Taste of the Nation Los Angeles. @totnla @nokidhungry #totnla2016 #totnla #nokidhungry #shareourstrength #citidining #citigiving #culvercity #losangeles #theoffalo #offalototnla2016
Believe it or not, what I've shown above isn't even half of everything I tried at the event–I sampled over 25 dishes–so please check out my hashtag for the event, #offalototnla2016, on Instagram.
I really enjoyed myself at Taste of the Nation LA 2016. Media Park is like a little wooded oasis in the middle of bustling downtown Culver City. The crowds were lively, the lines never got too long, and the attendees seemed happy! A great event for a great cause! If you missed this event but still want to help, and eat great food, check out the fundraising dinner this Thursday in Chinatown from chefs Alvin Cailan and Michael Hung for No Kid Hungry's Chefs Cycle.
Los Angeles Food Events & Festivals for June 2016
Before I get to the regularly scheduled June food events round-up, here's one last May event that's on my radar:
Sunday, May 29, 2016: Spin Public Relations and the Main Street Business Improvement Association is holding its annual MAINopoly on Main Street in Santa Monica from 3pm-8pm this Sunday. Get a taste of Main Street Santa Monica restaurants and shops including Ashland Hill, Aussie Pie, Bareburger, Knuckle & Claw, Pressed Juicery, and more! Tickets are $25/$30 (in-advance/day-of) for GA, and $40/$50 (in-advance/day-of) for VIP, which includes access a VIP lounge with more food and drink and games and more!
And now back to your regularly scheduled June food festival round-up:
Sunday, June 5, 2016 – Taste of the Nation LA: As mentioned in a previous post, Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign is throwing its annual fundraiser at Media Park in Culver City. Tickets are $110/$160/$25 for GA/VIP/Kids. If you go to the ToTNLA page, click Buy Tickets, then the "Enter a Promotional Code" link, and use OFFALO10, you'll save 10% on GA/VIP prices. This event has an all-star line-up of chefs/restaurants including Mary Sue Milliken (Border Grill), Josiah Citrin (Charcoal, Melisse), Steve Samson (Sotto, Rossoblu), Bruce Kalman (Union, Knead), Susan Feniger (Mudhen Tavern, Blue Window), just to name a few!
Taste of the Nation LA 2016 is on June 5th, featuring some of the best chefs and restaurants in town! Tickets are on sale now, and you can get 10% off by using promo code OFFALO10. Go to ce.strength.org/losangeles and click Buy Tickets. Help raise money to end child hunger with Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign! @totnla @nokidhungry #totn #tasteofthenation #tasteofthenationla #totnla #totnla2016 #nokidhungry #shareourstrength #theoffalo
Saturday, June 11, 2016 – Tacolandia: This year's Tacolandia event, by LA Weekly and Bill "Street Gourmet LA" Esparza, promises to be bigger than ever, with over 130 restaurants/chefs/taco makers descending on El Pueblo de Los Angeles near Union Station in DTLA. Participants include Corazon y Miel, Galaxy Tacos, Guerrilla Tacos, Katsuji Tanabe, La Guerrerense, Mariscos Jalisco, Petty Cash, Primera Taza, Revolutionario, Taco Maria, Tacos Punta Cabras, and so many more! GA tickets are currently $45, but goes up to $50 on May 30th.
I know there are many more events happening in June, including a pair of beer-related festivals: Vegan Beer Fest and LA Beer Week, both on June 18th, but I won't be able to attend those. The Line RTA will also be hosting another cooking competition on that date as well, but details aren't set yet (look for a write-up of the May cooking competition here on the blog soon). Any other food events that I missed or that you think I might be interested in, please let me know!
(Festivals to look out for in July and August: LA Street Food Fest, East LA Meets Napa, Luckyrice, Burgers & Beer, Stu and the Kids, Plate by Plate, LA Food & Wine, and more!)

subset: commoncrawl


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Enter your stay dates and any discounts you qualify for to see Kawaihae, HI rates found only on HotelPlanner!
Lodging near Mauna Kea Beach are shown in the list below in the order of their distance (closest first). Explore our hotels to find accommodations near Mauna Kea Beach (Mauna Kea Beach) for your leisure or corporate trips.We show the best lodging close to Mauna Kea Beach so you can review the Mauna Kea Beach lodging options below and securely reserve the perfect hotel.
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The official Twitter feed of U.S. Harper's Bazaar
Face Tags
Michael Douglas popped up front row at Michael Kors, but left his best accessory at home -- Catherine Zeta-Jones! #NYFW
Models backstage @toryburch this a.m. hamming it up for the camera. Collection looks amazing! Love this mini pink suit. #NYFW
Hit up Indochine last night. Thank you Vladimir & Giorgio! #NYFW
The shoes at Rodarte were killer, when you could see them through the dry ice! #NYFW
Studded footwear on Bazaar editors are the word this fashion week! These are serious shoes. #NYFW
Seen looking lovely at #NYFW Dennis Basso: Joan Rivers! Joan says she loves Harper's Bazaar (and we love her right back)!
Seen looking lovely at Dennis Basso: Joan Rivers! Joan says she loves Harper's Bazaar (and we love her right back)!
Guess who turned up at Max Azria? Just like in his film, he was fighting the crowd. Yep, that's Mickey Rourke. #NYFW
Can you spot Madonna in this snap from the Marc Jacobs show last night? Everybody else was trying to find her, too! #NYFW
Douglas Hannant
Kelly Bensimon in the new Alaia ballet flat boot. So chic! #NYFW
RT Sick shoes at J. Mendel! #NYFW
Sick shoes at J. Mendel!
Our sr. fashion market ed. Joanna and sr. accessories ed. David cooling their heels between shows in Bryant Park (and sporting a strong fall trend -- grays!). Joanna's wearing a Zara jacket and Moschino skirt, if you're interested.
Polaroid is SO last season! Mulberry had the latest FUJI instant photo camera on all the tables -- here's our fun little collage. Not a shy group! Fuji is the word! Get one here: http://bit.ly/2Xmun
RT: Y-3 closed the show with a model kick-off! W/ a lucky photog in the goal, Irina L & co. took turns scoring. He didn't stand a chance!
Two of our fashion eds w/Victoria Beckham at her presentation..She joked that since she and a model were wearing the same style dress, she was representing the 'real' woman's body. After an eruption of laughter, she added, 'Well, sort of.' Indeed!
Gwen Stefani with Joanna, our senior fashion market editor. #NYFW
Gwen Stefanio with Joanna, our senior fashion market editor. #NYFW
Gwen gets a clap-off from her models at L.A.M.B. #NYFW
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Star Tracks
Richie and her stylish son Sparrow, 19 months, step out in West Hollywood. Plus: Kellan Lutz, Kate Middleton, Jennifer Hudson and more
Credit: GSI Media
Published: Wednesday Apr 20, 2011 | 04:30 PM EDT
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I'm looking to use Twilio to
- Receive a call
- Transcribe the voice
- Text the user back with the transcribed recording
I've got this nicely setup but the transcribing on Twilio is of a bizarrely low quality. It could be that it can't understand my Yorkshire accent (it's a Califorian company after all) but there are complaints from others with presumably clearer speaking voices that it is truly awful.
I have an idea that I could swap out their own transcription service and use a third party. I reckon I can grab the mp3 file that is generates. So what i need is
- A third party transcription service callable via a webservice or similar
- The service generates a callback when done
- The service consumes mp3 files
- The service actually transcribes reasonably. It doesn't need to be perfect as the text will go back to the user for correction but it does need to be fairly good.
Does anyone have experience of such a thing? I'm not committed to Twilio - I'm still at proof of concept so a complete alternative would be of interest as well.
Does that seem like a reasonable thing. Have I gone mad event trying it? Thanks for all response.
Just for completeness - I'm using an MVC 3 architecture with a Razor engine but I don't think that's hugely relevant.
Many Thanks


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You may have fantasies of whipping up a feast of glamorous hors d'oeuvres, but your reality probably doesn't allow for mini-quiche baking.
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George W. Benefiel, farmer; P. O. Etna; is the son of Robert and Nancy Benefiel; was born in Lawrence Co., Ill., on the 18t day of July, 1817. He was married to Jane Ryker the 23d day of January, 1838, and moved to Coles Co. Oct. 19, 1855; names of children, boys-Robert N., James H., John S., Peter R., Francis M.; girls-Sarah A., Amy A., Ida M. His wife, Jane Benefiel, died Sept. 7, 1867. His son John S. died in the army March 1, 1863, and his daughter Ida died Dec. 4, 1873. He served in the late war as Wagonmaster and Battalion Sergeant in Co. E, 5th I. V. C. He was married to his second wife, Diantha F. Smith, of Coles Co., Ill., Feb. 6, 1868. Mr. G. W. Benefiel is one of the oldest settlers of Lawrence Co., Illinois, and the second white child born in that county; his father was one of the three first settlers of this State; was in Government service.
Biographical Sketch of George W. Benefiel
MLA Source Citation:Chapman Brothers Portrait and biographical album of Coles County, Illinois Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1887. AccessGenealogy.com. Web. 23 July 2016.
https://www.accessgenealogy.com/illinois/biographical-sketch-of-george-w-benefiel.htm- Last updated on Oct 11th, 2011
This page is part of a larger collection. Access the full collection at Biographical Sketches Coles County Illinois.


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I am using the Nancy Web Framework in my C# Console Application to basically create a Web Administration panel for my software. I have opted to use the Spark View Engine, as it is basically just HTML. I basically want to create a chatbox, except pull the data written to my application's console every X seconds and display it in a box instead.
I have very little experience with JQuery and AJAX, but they aren't overly complicated from the examples I have seen. The issue I am running into is that ALL of the chatbox and shoutbox examples use PHP.
I basically just need something like this...
The only difference is I need to pull the information from my application instead. I can use basic C# methods inside of the HTML (and probably inside of javascript but I haven't tried this). What would be the best way to do this, and are there any examples floating around that don't use PHP?


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"He was so much more than an engineer," says the V&A's Zofia Trafas White, who co-curated the show with Maria Nicanor. We are walking through a corridor of the Dane's dreamy doodles, which forms a slightly surreal start to the show [...]
"Designing," Arup said, "is defining a sensible way of building." Noticeably, all the projects on show trumpet their engineering credentials at full volume, as the (seemingly) logical expression of how they were made. — Oliver Wainwright | the Guardian
For more on Ove Arup and his firm, check out these links:Ove Arup celebrated with new show at the V&AOur cities must adapt to climate change and growing populations within a single generation, according to the head of ArupArup Germany/SolarLeaf, Studio Tamassociati, and Elemental win in... View full entry »
When is a garden bridge not a garden bridge? When it's a bridge garden, according to Allies and Morrison, the Southwark-based architects who have come up with a cheap and cheerful alternative to the eye-wateringly expensive, contractually dubious proposal by Thomas Heatherwick and Joanna Lumley for a floating forest across the Thames. — theguardian.com
Read related news here:London's garden bridge, the saga continuesWhy are Heatherwick's proposals succeeding in New York but tanking in London?Sadiq Khan investigates troublesome details in Thames garden bridge projectIs London experiencing a brick boom? View full entry »
The show, curated by the V&A's Maria Nicanor and Zofia Trafas White, is a fascinating exploration of the 20th century engineer's life and work, and how it has influenced today's practices in his field. Arup, fittingly argue the curators, was a true pioneer, championing real collaboration with architects, using a computer for the first time during the Sydney Opera House project in the 1960s – a hefty but fascinating machine called 'Pegasus', on display at the show. — wallpaper.com
Read more UK news here:This week's picks for London architecture and design eventsMuseum of London design shortlist revealedAuthor of 'Interactive Architecture' on the built environment in the age of ubiquitous computing View full entry »
This post is brought to you by Splendid 4D Studio.The team at Splendid 4D Studio is partnering with architects and real estate companies to develop flawless apps for showcasing projects and properties. Leveraging virtual reality integration, Splendid 4D Studio takes presentations to the next... View full entry »
China is speeding up efforts to design and build a manned deep-sea platform to help it hunt for minerals in the South China Sea, one that may also serve a military purpose in the disputed waters.
Such an oceanic "space station" would be located as much as 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) below the surface, according to a recent Science Ministry presentation viewed by Bloomberg. — Bloomberg
For more news from the South China Sea, check out these links:China is busy building islands in the South China SeaNew satellite images show progress in China's island-building projectChina plans to build a fleet of floating nuclear power plants View full entry »
The National Security Agency is researching opportunities to collect foreign intelligence — including the possibility of exploiting internet-connected biomedical devices like pacemakers, according to a senior official.
When asked if the entire scope of the Internet of Things — billions of interconnected devices — would be "a security nightmare or a signals intelligence bonanza," [Richard Ledgett, the NSA's deputy director] replied, "Both." — the Intercept
For more on the world of the Internet of Things, check out these links:Don't get smart with me: reassessing the "Internet of Things" in the homeEnlisting the Internet of Things against California's historic droughtMap Plots the World's Internet DevicesTraffic Lights are Easy... View full entry »
Scientists think they have found a smart way to constrain carbon dioxide emissions - just turn them to stone.
The researchers report an experiment in Iceland where they have pumped CO2 and water underground into volcanic rock.
Reactions with the minerals in the deep basalts convert the carbon dioxide to a stable, immobile chalky solid.
Even more encouraging, the team writes in Science magazine, is the speed at which this process occurs: on the order of months. — BBC
It feels rare to hear good news from the climate front these days. Here's some more:Copenhagen divests from fossil fuelsArchitect turned sea-flooding specialist keeps Panama City afloatSan Francisco to mandate solar panels for new constructionsThe scientists trying to harness the power of waves View full entry »
"For us it's a prototype. For us, a prototype means it will have another life,"
"Right now, our summer house operates at a scale of something maybe like furniture or something like a small building, but a prototype is something that has a resonance, it's something that lives beyond its four months here, that will occur on a different scale, in a different place." — Archinect
Barkow Leibinger's Summer House is constructed with four structural bands made from plywood and timber. The piece is grounded by a bench, then strengthened by three central curves with a double layered free flowing cantilevered roof. The duo known for their research-led process and playful... View full entry »
Architects Michael Fox (FoxLin) and Miles Kemp (Variate Labs and Series Design/Build) put together the first version of Interactive Architecture in 2009, as a "process-oriented guide" to creating spaces that, with the help of emerging technologies, could interact with inhabitants in a variety of... View full entry »
Copenhagen has become the first city in the world to attempt to monetize its, and others', data through a city data market.
Traffic snarl-ups, home break-ins, whether it rained or snowed, and how much electricity the city dwellers use each day is among the data to be traded for cash, city officials announced. Interestingly, the city, which is partnering with Hitachi on the project, also wants to incorporate others' data. — Network World
"Not all data will have a price tag—some of it will be free, but it will be anonymized anyway."Relatedly, in a recent conversation with Joseph Grima, co-founder of Space Caviar, the architect suggested, "...the home is becoming a factory of data to the point that one could pay one's rent through... View full entry »
The growing interest in blockchain has morphed its concept into something new. Before, the blockchain was simply the spine of the bitcoin network, but today the technology is being used on a burgeoning list of distributed ledgers with varying degrees of openness, security and complexity.
Ethereum, a public blockchain platform created by Russo-Canadian programmer Vitalik Buterin...proposes to do away with middlemen everywhere, not just in finance. — Wired
"Ethereum is a blockchain on steroids designed for more than trading cryptocurrency units or 'coloured' assets: developers can use it to build programs that interact with the world based on public rules enshrined in so-called smart contracts."Some architects are already working on utilizing... View full entry »
Hackers may be pickin' up good vibrations from your phone. All the better to surveil you with, my dear.
Researchers at the Electrical and Computer Engineering school of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign discovered that the vibration motor in your devices can operate like a microphone, according to the researchers' paper. That means, if a hacker rewires your vibration motor (which TechCrunch reported could be executed "in a minute or two"), they can listen to what you're saying. — Medium
In related news:University of Calgary pays $16K to recover data held hostage by ransomware attackersNYPD admits to using "Stringrays," military tech that sweeps up cell dataWelcome to the Hudson Yards, c. 2019: the world's most ambitious "smart city" experimentIf houses had airplane modes: an... View full entry »
So a lot of us own or lease cars...But when the talk turns to autonomous cars – and it always does – I sigh. Our overcrowded highways really could use a break from human stupidity, and that human factor is behind nearly all of the fatalities and injuries and property damage we see strewn across our roads every day. Get rid of the human behaviour to save the human body! This is where autonomous cars make sense; but not all the world is a crowded, urban highway. — driving.ca
More on Archinect:What are the ethics of self-driving cars?A look at the history and future of the American commuteGoogle, Uber, Lyft, Ford and Volvo join forces to lobby for autonomous vehicles View full entry »
Writer and BLDGBLOG founder Geoff Manaugh's latest book, A Burglar's Guide to the City, isn't just a set of case studies on bank vaults and getaway routes—it's a dialectic for public and private space. It's definitely the first book I've come across classified jointly under... View full entry »
With the new mayor focusing our attention on smart development and social equality, 2016 will be a banner year for the London Festival of Architecture. Election watchers will be familiar with many of this year's hot topics: community spaces, social housing, docklands renewal. But considering the theme this year is 'community', there will be something for every tribe of Londoner. Out of 300 events, we've picked the 10 must-sees. — thespaces.com
See related news here:This week's picks for London architecture and design eventsLondon's Natural History Museum to create outdoor exhibition spacesZaha Hadid's repertoire is a stunning display in Venice's Palazzo Franchetti View full entry »
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what is the width for the chair opening?
I like the desk, the size and the style were what I was looking for. The assembly would be just fine for most. I am 'challenged' in this area so it took me much longer than it would some (I had the drawer rails in every which way before figuring it out), but I still have it assembled and in place. It is my 'talent' at this sort of thing that is lacking more than the complexity of the product. It is solid and stylish....
Oakcrest Espresso Deskby Southern Enterprises
ITEM#: 13108106Two storage drawers highlight this espresso writing desk. The open lower shelf allows for additional display and storage.
- Materials: Veneer, MDF
- Finish: Espresso
- Drawers: 2
- Drawer dimensions: 3 inches high x 8 inches wide x 12 inches deep
- Lower open cubby dimensions: 4 inches high x 23 inches wide x 8 inches deep
- Lower open shelf measures: 46 inches wide x 8 inches deep along the back
- Lower open shelf measures: 10 inches wide x 18 inches deep above each drawer
- Dimensions: 31 inches high x 48 inches wide x 18 inches deep
Assembly required
|MDF, Oak
|Desk Type
|Writing Desks
|Assembly Required
|Black, Brown
|31 in. H x 48 in. W x 18 in. D
|1 year Manufacturer
|Model Number
|Country of Origin
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Customer Reviews
Most Recent
Nice size and style
I like the desk, the size and the style were what I was looking for. The assembly would be just fine for most. I am 'challenged' in this area so it took me much longer than it would some (I had the drawer rails in every which way before figuring it out), but I still have it assembled and in place. It is my 'talent' at this sort of thing that is lacking more than the complexity of the product. It is solid and stylish.Read More
Sturdy desk
Good sturdy desk and easy to put together. Great for students or for an at home office.Read More
Great item foe the money
I needed this for an accent piece, and it is exactly what I needed in the space alloted. Would recommend this for anyone needing just a touch of a non-descript wood useful accent.Read More
Photo is true to life
Desk arrived in a timely manner & wasn't that heavy. My husband put the desk together on a Saturday... Had he followed the entire set of easy to follow directions he would have finished in about 2-3 hiours instead of the entire afternoon. Note to all those guys who only "glance" at the directions...Read them carefully & actually follow them. Other than the delay of assembly; the desk looks great in my small office, it's functional and was nicely priced.Read More
Nice desk
This desk was relatively easy to assemble. One of the legs sent had the pre-screwed holes in the wrong place. I called the phone number on the instruction sheet and the manufacturer sent a new leg no questions asked and within a week. After that easy peasy and it looks great!Read More
Most Helpful
Keep looking...
Arrived with one cracked shelf. I could live with that but the build directions are abyssmal. You're left trying to work in a tight space with the drawer guides and, because the directions are so poorly written, you may have to take the entire set apart to get the alignment holes set properly.Read More
Overall the desk is very nice looking and functional. I am very good at putting things together but this was pretty difficult. The directions just weren't detailed enough and I ended up having trouble with the drawers, being that they were near the last of completion fixing the issue would mean taking the entire desk apart and starting over just to move two pieces, not gonna happen, so I improvised. This could have been alleviated with a few better instuctions. Because of that I would not recommend. If the directions had been more detailed I would have given at least 4 starsRead More
Not completely Satisfied
First, when assembled, the product does look nice due to its dark color and design. However, the assembly was awful because the directions were poorly written. Now I wish I had read reviews about the assembly before purchasing the item. Also, we've only had the desk for a week, and already the lining of the desk is starting to peel away. Like the wood is actually coming apart along the edges, and I take care of my things. Not to mention, the desk arrived with a few scratches and dings. I would send it back if my husband hadn't already spent such a long time putting it together. I could only imagine what a hassle it would be to take apart and return. Definitely not satisfied.Read More
Perfect for a child's first computer desk
The desk meets our needs perfectly. We wanted to replace the small table and chair that our daughter outgrew as her computer desk, but didn't want to spend a lot on a piece until she was older. This piece is a nice solid good looking addition to her room. The only problem that we ran into was with the directions. My husband had to remove and reinstall the slides for the drawers. Other than that it went together well, and we're very happy with it.Read More
decent value
Directions were less than helpful in putting it together. Drawers were the only big issue as you really have to figure it out on your own! Nice look, seems sturdy.Read More
Questions & Answers
From the product details, the chair''s opening is 23 inches wide.
Does this desk have a finished back or would it have to be placed against a wall?
The back of the item has the same finish as the front of this item.
The image shows no wires. Is there a whole on one of the top corners for computer cords/printer cord to go through?
Unfortunately, this item does not have holes to accommodate wires.
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