No story is as deserving of an oral history as the immigrant’s tale; even the quietest one is, in its own way, epic. Something drives a family or individual out of the country they know, they make a sometimes-perilous journey to an unfamiliar land, and upon arriving the dangers—both real and imagined—seem even more insurmountable. Leo Tolstoy famously said, “All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.” But the immigrant’s story actually blends both of those archetypes into one almighty Voltron of storytelling, which is maybe why Studs Terkel included so many expats throughout his volumes of oral history.
Mayor and Maribel’s initially innocent friendship is forever played against the tense strings of their parents’ anxieties. Shortly after the Riveras’ arrival, a menacing American teen named Garrett has started harassing Maribel, moving Alma’s threat alert from orange to red; she insists on watching Maribel leave the family’s apartment and walk with Mayor to his. Both begin to strain against the short leash, just as both Rafael and Arturo find themselves at the whims of their American bosses.
Family secrets fill Julia Glass’s successor to the National Book Award-winning Three Junes.
Kathleen Rooney’s O, Democracy! is rooted in a disillusioning job in Illinois politics.
Colson Whitehead takes on the World Series of Poker in The Noble Hustle.
Four local authors with upcoming books share their writing secrets.
