Reviews

The Other Americans by Laila Lalami

dvo19's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

kaxla's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

The ending felt rushed and tacked on, I didn't love the romance part of it, although it was better done than I would have expected. Overall my least favorite book I've finished this year so far (may)

marsie110's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

katielong84's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

caseyjayner's review against another edition

challenging emotional relaxing tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

bobeetle's review against another edition

3.0

C’est une belle histoire mais sans plus. Plus j’avançais dans la lecture, moins j’avais une envie de continuer.

Je reste tout de même insatisfait après la lecture de ce livre. Comme un goût d’inachevé ou de quelque chose qui manque. La relation entre Salma et sa sœur me paraissent toujours floue. Celle avec sa mère à la fin du livre n’est pas bien différente de son état au du livre…

daaani's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

jessehersh's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia

nogayourbroga's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Very, very close to being a favorite. Especially for literary, Lailami's prose is incredibly readable; I found myself unable to put this book down.

That said, the premise of the ensemble cast could have been handled a bit better. Nora was undeniably the main focus, being the daughter of the victim, but she and Jeremy sort of hogged the attention—to a point where there wasn't time to resolve other characters' arcs. In particular,

Efraín and Coleman

were left a bit by the wayside, with no real resolution—not even an ambiguous ending. It kind of feels like their stories end right before they resolve. I can kind of understand why, artistically, but it just feels like a letdown.

Then there's the cop stuff. For an author who ended her previous novel with the main character abandoning a system that would never accept him, seeing how the police were handled here really surprised me. Police brutality is addressed to an extent, but it's painted as "a few bad apples" rather than a corrupt system that needs drastic overhaul, if not abolition. And

Nora's decision to stay with her cop boyfriend who was, at the very least, a complicit witness to war crimes—that didn't sit right with me, especially since it's framed from his POV as then just having to work through their differences.

IDK, maybe I'm just too much of a leftist to fully enjoy this book. The resolution to the actual hit and run mystery is nicely done, though, as are the dynamics of the Guerraoui family. I like that it ended with Nora and her mom, too.

Ultimately, I think this book is best enjoyed if you voted for Biden and believe that we can reform our way to justice; those of you lefter than Bernie, though, should turn your brain off for a bit.

tdesy20's review

adventurous challenging mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0