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The Other Americans: A Novel
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST - ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME - Timely, riveting, and unforgettable, The Other Americans is at once a family saga, a murder mystery, and a love story informed by the treacherous fault lines of American culture. Late one spring night in California, Driss Guerraoui--father, husband, business owner, Moroccan immigrant--is hit and killed by a speeding car. The aftermath of his death brings together a diverse cast of characters: Guerraoui's daughter Nora, a jazz composer returning to the small town in the Mojave she thought she'd left for good; her mother, Maryam, who still pines for her life in the old country; Efraín, an undocumented witness whose fear of deportation prevents him from coming forward; Jeremy, an old friend of Nora's and an Iraqi War veteran; Coleman, a detective who is slowly discovering her son's secrets; Anderson, a neighbor trying to reconnect with his family; and the murdered man himself. As the characters--deeply divided by race, religion, and class--tell their stories, each in their own voice, connections among them emerge. Driss's family confronts its secrets, a town faces its hypocrisies, and love--messy and unpredictable--is born. Winner of the Arab American Book Award in Fiction
Finalist for the Kirkus Prize in Fiction
Finalist for the California Book Award
Longlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize
A Los Angeles Times bestseller
Named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, Time, NPR, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Dallas Morning News, The Guardian, Variety, and Kirkus Reviews
Finalist for the Kirkus Prize in Fiction
Finalist for the California Book Award
Longlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize
A Los Angeles Times bestseller
Named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, Time, NPR, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Dallas Morning News, The Guardian, Variety, and Kirkus Reviews
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Community Reviews
A very timely and important book to see âthe other Americansâ in America. I shared a recent conversation with my son recently on how to address my nationality. Do I call myself a Korean American or American Korean? I replied, âAsian American.â What makes me an American? Was I born here? What experiences did I endure as being a person of color? In this uneasy political climate, as this nation is divided, I reflected on those questions. Then I happened upon a Goodread's review from a fellow GR extraordinaire, about this book and decided, I had to read this book, like now. Serendipity, as this book was calling out to me.
Note: This book is told by 9 narrators and their point of view of life as an American: Nora, Jeremy, Efrain, Maryam, Driss, Coleman, Anderson, A.J., and Salma.
This book centers around the hit and run of Driss Guerraoui, a Morrocan father who has escaped Casablanca to come to America (Mojave Desert of CA) with his wife, Maryam, and his daughter Salma. Nora was born in America. They are all shocked by the hit and run but later, Nora discovers the bad blood between Anderson and her father caused by Andersonâs bowling alley and her fatherâs diner, The Pantry. Conflicts with the family and neighbors, discrimination, and self-worth are evident throughout the book on everyoneâs part. This book even shows those born in America, thereâs discrimination between religions and nationalities. It even illuminates one who served in the Iraq war, how he feels, after coming back and knowing what the soldiers were like and what they did in the war.
This book would make a great book discussion as it covers all the conflict and turbulence with family strife, how others view you, how you view yourself as an American, and how some are racist blatantly while others are more subtle about it.
Note: This book is told by 9 narrators and their point of view of life as an American: Nora, Jeremy, Efrain, Maryam, Driss, Coleman, Anderson, A.J., and Salma.
This book centers around the hit and run of Driss Guerraoui, a Morrocan father who has escaped Casablanca to come to America (Mojave Desert of CA) with his wife, Maryam, and his daughter Salma. Nora was born in America. They are all shocked by the hit and run but later, Nora discovers the bad blood between Anderson and her father caused by Andersonâs bowling alley and her fatherâs diner, The Pantry. Conflicts with the family and neighbors, discrimination, and self-worth are evident throughout the book on everyoneâs part. This book even shows those born in America, thereâs discrimination between religions and nationalities. It even illuminates one who served in the Iraq war, how he feels, after coming back and knowing what the soldiers were like and what they did in the war.
This book would make a great book discussion as it covers all the conflict and turbulence with family strife, how others view you, how you view yourself as an American, and how some are racist blatantly while others are more subtle about it.
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