The original people who lived there were, of course, Native Americans. It's an arresting way to remind readers that all of the residents in Yucca Valley 'just came,' too. You float away, free.'Īuthor Interviews 9 First-Person Perspectives Give Voice To 'The Other Americans' One character on his dogs: 'They're a fantastic breed - smart, trainable, completely devoted.' Another, in stream of consciousness: 'You take a Vicodin. She's superb at creating different cadences on the page, recognizing that even when speaking in a relatively similar tone, people's voices carry. The many perspectives (there are still others) reminded me that the Pulitzer-nominated Lalami ( The Moor's Account) holds a doctorate in linguistics. Others we hear from: Jeremy Gorecki, a new cop Efraín, a Mexican immigrant without papers and Coleman, a detective a few rungs above Gorecki. When Driss dies in a hit-and-run accident, Nora wants answers, maybe even revenge, while her mother and her sister Salma have much more passive reactions - for different reasons. The first narrator in this many-voiced book is Nora Guerraoui, a young composer born and raised in California by Moroccan immigrant parents Driss and Maryam. You're in the hands of a maestra of literary fiction, someone who has combined a riveting police procedural with a sensitive examination of contemporary life in California's Mojave Desert region. You won't want to get up from your chair for some time, maybe even until you've reached the last page. How?Ĭarve out some reading time before you pick up Laila Lalami's new novel The Other Americans. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title The Other Americans Author Laila Lalami

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