One story told from alternating view points. A family moved here long ago from Morocco and has two daughters. They are different, look different, eat different things, etc. The father opens a diner and one night, late at the dinner, he is struck by a car and killed. A hit and run. This tells his story but it's also more the story of family and daily lives of these characters and the people that come into their lives.

Told from different viewpoints with different narrators, this is a powerful and enjoyable read.

Laila Lalami’s sensitive fourth book of fiction is in part an investigative thriller, but its main concern is to explore the ripples that local Moroccan business owner and father Driss’s death sends out through Yucca Valley, a small town in the Mojave desert, California. She is settled on an ambitious structure to tell the many stories in The Other Americans, shifting between nine narrators.

The novel is told from multiple viewpoints: Nora, Driss’s composer daughter; Jeremy Gorecki, an Iraq veteran and Nora’s former classmate; Erica Coleman, the newly arrived police detective investigating the killing; Anderson Baker, a bowling alley proprietor who owns the property adjacent to the family’s diner; the widowed Maryam Guerraoui; and even the deceased Driss himself. Some characters are not well rounded and at times the medley can feel as if Lalami is too consciously striving to include every type of outsider voice. Some, though, are immensely strong, and Lalami has used them to fashion a moving and exceptionally rich portrait of a modern American community, one that is much more far-reaching than just a saga of immigration.

The tessellated structure of The Other Americans means that the narrative sometimes loses focus, and the emerging love story is not altogether convincing; but the multiple viewpoints give it the breadth of a family saga with the suspense of a mystery and, finally, the satisfying resolution of a thriller.

"Growing up in this town, I had long ago learned that the savagery of a man named Mohammed was rarely questioned, but his humanity always had to be proven."

There were many, many points in this book at which I could feel so palpably my disappointment with this world, and many in which I was reminded of the every day, often overlooked kindness it is for someone to choose to allow their preconceptions about others to shift - maybe not 180 degrees, but a little bit, every day. Humankind is a work in progress.

There was a point in this novel that truly got me though. One of the older men who acts as a voice for some chapters of the book is discussing how in his day 'accidents' were accepted as something for which blame does not need to be apportioned. In a world of health and safety gone mad, at the start you can sort of see his point. However, then, his example becomes something along the lines of 'for example, once a few years back the runner in the bowling alley fell down by accident and one of my workers lost two toes - it was an accident, no one was mad. Now you can't accidentally speed up to, run over and kill a man in a racially motivated attack and have everyone believe that it's an accident and you aren't to blame - the world's gone mad!'

Sadly, for many people, this is the belief. That the loss of two toes on a white man is the same kind of tragedy as the loss of an Arab man's life. Just *think* about that for a second. It is terrifying.

This book explores such buried racism, and the ties that bind a community together. It explores how different someone can be against your stereotype of an entire people - I could not have been rooting more for two of the main characters as they fell in love - Nora had to try and understand why this man she saw such good in had participated in killing people that look like her in Iraq, whilst Jeremy had to question why he had been so able to demonise an entire race in order to kill them and yet go on to fall in love with a girl that was of that race.

And it is these changes over the ourse of a lifetime, these shifts in perspective, understanding and openness which give us hope. Whilst we still live in the hope that one day we won't be a work in progress, however, this novel is an incredible work showcasing the inherent complexity and peculiarity of humankind's relationship with racial differences.

This book is firmly rooted in small town America, and so I do think that some of the difficulties and situations depicted in the novel didn't quite have the emotional impact on me that they would have on an American reader. That said, this is a book which I savoured, in which I was never fed up of reading the perspective of the current chapter in the long roll call of townspeople that tell their side of the story, and in which I got lost in a sea of sheer desperation that people that look like me can be so profoundly, so incorrectly unjust in the way that they view those that don't. This is an incredibly important and well written book.

The novel is based on the experiences of a Moroccan family who move to the USA in the early 1980s to escape political repression.

The narrative weaves between the family members, childhood acquaintances now in adulthood (one of whom served in Iraq), neighbours and undocumented migrants.

Using the tragedy of a hit-and-run incident in a small town in the Mojave; the author has created authentic voices for the variety of protagonists in the novel.

Many writers have attempted to explore the impact of 9/11 and the subsequent invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan on the US psyche and relationships between different communities. This is one of the rare novels to successfully achieve this.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

This book starts off as the search for the driver of a hit and run in a quiet American town. However, it turns into something much more than this as the victim, his family and others involved tell their story. It has a depth that is almost all within the bare narrative that the characters relate and which examines racism of creed and colour in an innovative way that stays in the memory of the reader. The solving of the crime is, in some ways almost incidental to the unravelling of the events. There is nothing in this book of the cliff hanger variety and yet it is a book that you cannot put down. Beautifully told it covers many human emotions and describes grief and love as it is lived.

Laila Lalami is definitely an author i will read again

This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year it did not disappoint.
I loved the intertwining points of view and the development of every character.
Its multiple layers made me feel joy, sadness, hope, and heartache. I will not forget this book in a hurry.

An enjoyable multi-perspective novel. The Other Americans examines the fallout from a hit and run accident where an elderly Moroccan/American restaurant owner is killed. His daughter is convinced it must be deliberate and we see how the incident impacts on the lives of the remaining family and neighbours. Themes of hostility to immigrants and how this affects both relationships in a family as well as subsequent relationships make this an intriguing story. Some of the voices are less convincing than others and the denouement is signalled too well to come as a satisfying conclusion, but overall this is a novel worth reading.

Really enjoyed this one. Very well written and a page turning, timely story. The story is told from several points of few, which makes it even stronger in my opinion. Highly reccomend it.

‘Memory is an unreliable visitor.’

A Moroccan immigrant, Driss Guerraoui, is killed in a hit-and-run incident in California. The ripple effects of his death, and the actions of those involved, are the focus of this multi-layered novel from Laila Lalami. Chapters alternate between the main characters involved: his daughters Nora and Salma; his widow Maryam; Jeremy, a former classmate of Nora’s, now a police detective; Efrain, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who witnessed the incident; Coleman, the detective in charge of the case; and various other voices who crop up. As events are slowly unfolded, everyone has a secret to reveal, everyone has pain and hurt to share, and everyone is changed by what has happened.

Where the novel succeeds is in a vision of a deeply divided America, one in which everyone is somehow the ‘other’ American, from the alt-right anger at being side-lined, to the former soldiers who, having returned from Iraq, feel ignored and betrayed, and of course to the struggles of immigrants to maintain their own identity whilst trying to settle in a new country (as Salma says at one point: ‘You still speak Arabic, but you no longer dream in it’). Lalami reveals things gradually, dropped in to thoughts and conversations that slowly build a bigger picture and we start to see how everything fits together. As the investigation unravels, Nora finds herself doing a lot of the legwork, and the culprit is finally found. Nora and Jeremy start a relationship, and the family start to heal their wounds.

So, in scope and ambition this is a worthy read. But, for me, it just somehow doesn’t work. The polyphonic nature of the narrative feels like a gimmick, there is little to distinguish one voice from another – certainly not noticeably enough for me. And the fact that everyone (and I mean everyone) in the book is emotionally damaged wore a little thin. It was unremittingly bleak. OK, maybe that was the intention, but it was just too much. Which made the ending, for me, utterly at odds with what had preceded the previous 300 pages; its message of love conquering all was a little too schmaltzy, a little too Mills and Boon, a little too neat and tidy.

An ambitious novel, yes, but for me it got tangled up in its attempt to create such a multi-layered approach. Lalami is certainly an excellent writer, and others may love this book, but I could only see its faults, and found it only a so-so read. I wish I could have liked it better.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of the book.)

Moroccan-American novelist Leila Lalami is a multiple award-winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist; here, she has essentially written a story exploring the secrets families keep and the diverse, multicultural cast were a joy to behold. However, my primary issue was the ever-changing point-of-view switching between about ten different characters which was unnecessarily complicated, and what made it worse was that they each sounded the same and could not be differentiated from one another. Very monotone, sadly.

Although it broaches some ubiquitous first-world problems of which literary fiction is alive right now I also felt as though it spelt everything out in extensive detail when that wasn't entirely necessary; that lead to me being able to predict from early on where it was heading. Introduced are topics of migrant America, racism, cultural differences and post-combat PTSD. Written in a linear, accessible fashion I did enjoy it but not as much as I'd hoped. Lalami is a proficient storyteller, but I felt it was lacking that special something. Recommended to those who love compassionate family stories.

Many thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing for an ARC.

Well, this is a book you can really get your teeth into - there is so much going on!

When Driss Guerroaui dies following a hit-and-run outside his restaurant after locking up for the day, it brings his daughter Nora back to the family home. Determined to fight for justice for her family, she is shocked at how both her mother Maryam and her married sister Salma deal with his death. These two were always close, leaving Nora to feel like an outsider who was much more a Daddy's girl. His death brings shocks - and not all of the kind to be expected . . .

 I've enjoyed reading this novel over two days - twice as long as it usually takes me - as it is packed with detail. As each chapter is written from a different character's point of view, it took me a little time to get settled into the rhythm of the book, but this is one you don't want to rush. There is such a lot to learn about each and every person, both in the present and the past, making it a compelling read. I found myself thinking about it even when my ereader wasn't in my hand, but never did I think that things were going to pan out the way they did!

The family dynamics are riveting (and familiar); the mystery is twisted and very puzzling, right up until almost the very end. The lives of others are both interesting and fascinating, and a couple of chapters from the deceased man's point of view clears up any lingering doubts. I love reads which encompass different cultures, and this does just that. A very observant and thought-provoking read with honest, down-to-earth characters and I thoroughly enjoyed every word of it. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. It's a really stimulating and satisfying read, and certainly worthy of a full five stars!

My thanks to publisher Bloomsbury for my copy via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

Now THAT is what I call a page-turner! Lalami's polyphonic novel revolves around the death of a Moroccan immigrant who got hit by a car in front of his restaurant - was this an accident and the driver (who fled the scene) didn't see his victim because it was already dark, or did he intentionally kill the man? For me, the appeal of the story lies in the changing points of view, as every chapter is told from a different perspective: The main protagonists are the dead man's daughter Nora, who tries to make it as a composer in the Bay Area but heads back to the Mojave when she hears about her father's passing, and Jeremy, Nora's former classmate, an ex-Marine who now works as a policeman in their hometown. But we also hear from Nora's mother and sister, the investigating detective and other townfolk - this narrative is extremely well built and the changing perspectives really add to the scope and the suspense of the story. I have a hunch though that people who don't like that kind of thing (e.g. those who felt like There There had too many characters) will struggle with "The Other Americans".

As the title indicates, one main theme of the book is America as a melting pot: Nora's family has Moroccan roots and her parents have fled the unrest in their home country, Jeremy was deployed in Iraq and reflects upon his attitude towards foreigners as enemies versus Nora as his love interest, the investigating detective is black, and there are of course some white peole who have forgotten that they, too, are the descendants of immigrants. But as the characters talk about their own experiences, we also hear about life as a soldier and a policeman, the inner dynamics of families, what it feels like to be an immigrant, the opioid crisis, unfaithfulness etc. - yes, it's a broad scope, but I didn't feel like it was too much. Life is complicated, and Lalami does a good job showing a multi-layered cast of people. I also enjoyed how she illuminates the dynamics of insecurity and denial from different angles.

So all in all, this book is fun, intelligent and well-worth reading.

Nora Guerraoui’s father Driss has just died, mowed down in a hit-and-run outside his family business, The Pantry. There are no witnesses to the accident, or are there? And was it an accident?

As the pieces of the picture come together revealing the truth of Driss’s last moments, many other things come together too. Nora’s relationship with her mother, which has always been flaky, starts to reach a place of deeper understanding; her thoughts about her sister Salma, the model daughter, reveal cracks in her sister’s perfection; and the father she had always seen as a constant family patriarchal figure is not the man she thought he was.

Developing a relationship with Jeremy Gorecki, a former schoolmate, and now a policeman involved with the hit-and-run case, Nora is forced to re-evaluate the direction of her life.

A good story, told through first person narrative of a whole host of the main characters. Have to confess I didn’t find it particularly gripping, and given all that the characters were going through, I didn’t really care for them that much.

A tale about belonging and not belonging; wanting to leave but wanting to stay; looking from the inside out and then from the outside in. It is about prejudice and isolation in a community and within a family unit and even inside a marriage.
With no fewer than 9 first person accounts, Lalami unfolds the story of, Moroccan immigrant, Driss who is rundown outside his restaurant one night-apparently without witnesses. At its heart, the book appeals to readers' understanding of the struggles people experience as they attempt to carve their place in the world. Tricky enough without the multitude of obstacles that the characters here have to grapple with: racism, drug addiction, infidelity, bullying, PTSD inclusive.
Lalami's observational skills do not disappoint: there really is nothing quite like a family analogy that raises a new lens through which to view relationships both in the book and in the real world. And, like an optician, Lalami adjusts and switches that focus until that vision is 20/20 and the edges crisp; "We were like a thrift-store tea set, there was always one piece missing."
Less successful is the persistent use of first person narratives, where the perspective changes but the voices vary very little. Moreover, the regular introduction of yet another character's story of struggle and hardship drowns out the central characters and dramatically slows the pace. So altogether, too noisy.
I am grateful to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Circus for an advance copy of this book in return for my honest review.

The Other Americans was an all round pretty solid read, which missed the mark a little for this reader.

The story hinges around the death of a Moroccan man, Driss, killed in a hit-and-run accident in the U.S., where he had lived for the past few decades with his family. We follow the investigation into his death and the impact it has on his youngest daughter, Nora. The story is told from a number of viewpoints (too many for me - it got a little confusing at times) of key characters in the narrative, but mainly from Driss, Nora and Jeremy's point of view.

Overall I found the story relatively engaging and quite readable, but ultimately it was a little too message heavy for me - almost every plot point or development in the story felt like it was only there to "say something", make a point about issues within society today, for example. This got a bit much for me, and I think it got in the way of the storytelling at times. Additionally, while this is categorised under general and literary fiction on Netgalley, I wouldn't say the writing blew me away.

"The present could never be untethered from the past, you couldn't understand one without the other."

As is the case with the quotation above, this book tells us things that are true but that are hardly original or novel in any way. Part love story, part excavation of family secrets, the plot is precipitated by the hit and run death of Driss, a Moroccan immigrant to America and the father of Nora, one of the main characters.

It's not hard to see where the whole thing is going from the outset, and the revolving 1st person narratives are all spoken in the same voice. Standard lit-fic issues of racism, of what is means to be a migrant in today's USA, ex-soldiers with anger issues and an inability to settle back at home after combat are all here with some predictability. The writing is straightforward. I guess I expected something more from someone with Lalami's reputation. If this is not exciting, it is solid story-telling with warmth and heart. Good if you like family relationship stories with a politicised flavour.

Interesting book. Some well developed characters and I enjoyed reading from each of their perspectives.
Thank you for the advance copy

This story hinges on a hit-and-run involving a Morrocan immigrant man. It is told by multiple narrators, some of which does make it rather confusing at some points. The part I enjoyed most was Nora and her experience of dealing with the death of her father.

Laila Lalami sets herself a formidable challenge in The Other Americans, which focuses on the hit-and-run killing of an elderly Moroccan man in California. The novel is narrated by no fewer than nine first-person point-of-view characters (with one random jump into second person): Driss, the hit-and-run victim and his wife, Maryam; their two adult daughters, Nora and Salma; Nora's old school friend, Jeremy, back from fighting in Afghanistan; Efrain, an undocumented immigrant who witnessed Driss's death and is afraid to come forward; Anderson, the driver of the car, and his son, A.J.; and Coleman, an African-American female police officer investigating the incident. These narrators don't even exhaust the number of significant characters in the novel, as other figures, such as Fierro, Jeremy's ex-army comrade, also play substantial secondary roles. With so many narrators, it would be nearly impossible to give them all individual registers, but Lalami doesn't even seem to try; the mass of voices is a device to give us all the different sides of the story, rather than an experiment in ventriloquism. It's especially frustrating when certain narrators, such as Salma and Anderson, pop up just to resolve unanswered questions or throw in red herrings. Through Salma's chapters, for example, we learn that she's addicted to prescription medication, which helps us to read some of the tensions in certain conversations she has with Nora; but was this a fact that really needed to be conveyed to us?

Like Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You - although with less elegant prose - The Other Americans is a novel that's so afraid that its readers might miss something that it insists on spelling everything out. The numerous narrators ensure that we aren't left wondering about any aspect of Driss's life or death, which rather robs the book of its power. Nora's decision to investigate what really happened, after her father's death is initially ruled accidental, gives the plot some sense of direction, but this thread pops up well into the book and is resolved before the end. Lalami also explores the micro-aggressions that Driss and his family have suffered during their arrival in the States, but these, too, are dropped in so pointedly that they feel schematic, rather than integral to the characters' understanding of themselves. This is another problem created by the large cast - Salma's recognition that her lighter skin has made her path much easier than that of her darker-skinned sister's could have been subtle and interesting, but it's simply said and then forgotten about, as the book doesn't have enough time to explore the relationship between the sisters in depth. Axing much of the secondary cast to focus more closely on the Moroccan family at the heart of this novel would have allowed Lalami to achieve the emotional impact she seeks.

I have posted a short version of this review to Goodreads, and will post my longer review nearer to publication date.