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mandirigma's review
5.0
Wow. Wow wow wow. What a book.
The summary: A Moroccan business owner in the Southern California desert is killed in a hit and run accident by his restaurant late one night. The novel tells the story -- of his surviving family members, neighbors, the police, and a lone witness reluctant to come forward -- trying to get to the bottom of his death. The story is told masterfully in multiple points of view, and manages to weave together the political tensions of our time without being heavy handed.
This is going to sound bad, but as a testament to how well it was written, the book really triggered a lot of anxiety for me. The characters were diverse but each of them mapped to a person I knew in real life. The setting is also kind of local to me, and it felt very true to the area.
I don't know what else to say except this is one of the best books I've read so far this year.
The summary: A Moroccan business owner in the Southern California desert is killed in a hit and run accident by his restaurant late one night. The novel tells the story -- of his surviving family members, neighbors, the police, and a lone witness reluctant to come forward -- trying to get to the bottom of his death. The story is told masterfully in multiple points of view, and manages to weave together the political tensions of our time without being heavy handed.
This is going to sound bad, but as a testament to how well it was written, the book really triggered a lot of anxiety for me. The characters were diverse but each of them mapped to a person I knew in real life. The setting is also kind of local to me, and it felt very true to the area.
I don't know what else to say except this is one of the best books I've read so far this year.
mekowaletti's review against another edition
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
stephand2449's review
3.0
3.5 stars
This book started out so strong for me and I got excited thinking that this could be a 5 star book based on how it was going...but it just went downhill in terms of character development and lost focus for me.
SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT!
Once Driss’ affair was revealed, I kind of felt an ominous “oh no” come upon me that I wouldn’t like the rest of the book as much as I had in the beginning, and unfortunately I felt correctly. I wanted to love this book so much more than I did. I really did love the “outsider” theme that ran throughout the book. But, by the end, it felt like this book couldn’t decide what it wanted to be: a cultural piece, a family drama, a romance, a war/political piece...And the characters just deflated the further on it went. I was sad to see many characters (like Nora’s sister) remain undeveloped. And the closer it got to the end, the more obvious the “outsider/other” descriptions became.
Again, I really wanted to love this so much more than I did and even considered re-reading to see if my thoughts changed if I thought about the details and writing more, but here’s where I’m at with it right now.
This book started out so strong for me and I got excited thinking that this could be a 5 star book based on how it was going...but it just went downhill in terms of character development and lost focus for me.
SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT!
Once Driss’ affair was revealed, I kind of felt an ominous “oh no” come upon me that I wouldn’t like the rest of the book as much as I had in the beginning, and unfortunately I felt correctly. I wanted to love this book so much more than I did. I really did love the “outsider” theme that ran throughout the book. But, by the end, it felt like this book couldn’t decide what it wanted to be: a cultural piece, a family drama, a romance, a war/political piece...And the characters just deflated the further on it went. I was sad to see many characters (like Nora’s sister) remain undeveloped. And the closer it got to the end, the more obvious the “outsider/other” descriptions became.
Again, I really wanted to love this so much more than I did and even considered re-reading to see if my thoughts changed if I thought about the details and writing more, but here’s where I’m at with it right now.
sammitch2157's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
2.75
Lots of loose ends and story lines left unfinished, but i DID like the author's writing style! I just wish the big reveal could've been teased earlier with a bit more tension & depth. The mystery definitely fell in the background while the character's lives and personal development was at the forefront... which I would have liked if she had dug deeper into topics instead of glazing over many. So basically either more mystery and/OR more character growth would have set this off :) instead both were kinda eh.
lking3's review
4.0
3.5 I liked it. I think it’s well-written and engaging. I appreciated the many issues the author touched naturally as the story went on. There were a lot of heavy situations from grief, to racism, to ptsd, to infidelity, to mental health, and more. But it was written in a way that wasn’t heavy handed, it’s just how life can be at times. I wanted to know what was going to happen and I liked how it ended. I’m pretty sure the main reason I didn’t enjoy it more is just the genre. For some reason literary and contemporary fiction don’t usually do it for me. It was also written from many points of view, which isn’t my favorite either, though this was a really good version of multi-perspective storytelling.
sreadabook's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
nikki_mariya's review against another edition
mysterious
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
3.75
johndiconsiglio's review
3.0
Disguised as a Rashomon-like crime drama (a hit-&-run in the Mojave Desert shatters the lives of several different narrators), this timely, readable novel’s real subject is the post-9/11 schism of an American community—along racial, religious, even family lines. Likeable, but it often feels like the author is checking boxes. There’s a Moroccan immigrant family, an Iraqi war vet, a few ugly racists & a lotta subtle ones. Give it points for an inventive set up—even if the shifting voices kinda sound alike. Its heart’s in the right place.