"Riveting. Reyes possesses a sly self-awareness of class and a sharply critical view of linear immigrant success stories. Across the relatively short length of Archive of Unknown Universes, there is always a whirring sense of invention, weirdness and bold creative swings. Reyes mines the physical and emotional borders between Central America, the Caribbean, California and Cambridge. But, with high-wire artistry, he also manages to convey deeply moving truths about the borders between past lives and future possibilities." -- Washington Post "A remarkably self-assured and thrilling debut novel.The book starts with a Cambridge couple whose relationship is on the rocks, until one of them decides to explore all the alternate storylines her own ancestors could have lived, bouncing from Cuba to El Salvador to the US. War, revolution, forbidden loves, and complications abound, and the result is a deliriously fun read.
" -- Boston Globe "Luminous." -- People "Stunning." -- Shelf Awareness "Marvelous.Reyes powerfully excavates the rippling effects of the Salvadoran civil war on his characters. Equally remarkable is his depiction of tech's alluring yet dangerous frontier, which also affords the narrative a bit of fun. Readers will be riveted." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Pitch-perfect dialogue, propulsive prose, fast-paced flashbacks, and epistolary interludes.A gripping family history with a fresh speculative edge and timely resonances with the currently unfolding timeline.
" -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Reyes mixes historical fiction and sci-fi, arguing that the choices we make in this life are the ones that matter and that love can cross generations and time. Recommended for those interested in left-wing revolutions, alternate history, and family dramas and for readers of Gina María Balibrera and Colson Whitehead who want to view the meaning of romance from many angles." -- Library Journal (starred review) "Excellent." -- BookPage "Archive of Unknown Universes is a rare, unforgettable feast of a novel: a love letter, a lamentation, a wish. A technology-infused, literary-historical sliding doors about revolution and empire, what we leave and what we keep, family secrets and the infinite possibilities of interrupted love. Ruben Reyes Jr. is an important writer of brave and tender imagination; we are lucky to live in his timeline." -- Katie Gutierrez, bestselling author of More Than You'll Ever Know "Pay attention, world: Ruben Reyes Jr.
has written a novel of deep conviction. Archive of Unknown Universes is a playful, inventive, and deeply empathetic debut novel about the meaning of borders and belonging. Through multiverses and two families irrevocably changed by the Salvadoran Civil War, Reyes Jr. investigates the allure of alternative lives in the face of painful secrets, complex love, hidden histories, and the brutality of empire." -- Crystal Hana Kim, author of The Stone Home "A deliciously written novel with rich history, memorable characters, and heart." -- Debutiful "This is a genre-blender exploring displacement and loss, but also belonging and love, and one that asks big questions about what could have been." -- Bookriot.