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Pages 3 – 66

• NOTE: Due to the structure of this novel, the book has been divided according to chapters based on page numbers. This study guide specifically refers to the 2014 Borzoi Book/Alfred A. Knopf hardcover edition, sixth printing, January 2015.

• The Book of Unknown Americans has a unique narrative style wherein each chapter is dedicated to the first-person perspectives of several characters. Chapter delineations are indicated by the name of the character relating his/her story.

• In the first Chapter, Alma Rivera addresses the reader, describing the arrival of her, her husband Arturo, and their daughter Maribel in Delaware. The Riveras have come from Patzcuaro, Mexico.

• The family has been driven from the border at Laredo by a quiet, chain-smoking driver in a red pickup truck.

• The Riveras have traveled over 3,000 kilometers to reach their destination: a town in Delaware on the outskirts of Wilmington and Newark.

• The truck drops...

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