57 pages • 1 hour read
The Other Americans
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary and Study Guide
Overview
The Other Americans is a 2019 novel by Moroccan-American writer Laila Lalami. The book provides subjective perspectives of the aftermath of a hit and run attack in a small town in California. Themes of race, identity, guilt, and grief are explored and challenged by the overlapping and occasionally contradictory accounts. The book was a National Book Award finalist.
Other works by this author include Conditional Citizens, The Moor's Account, and Hope And Other Dangerous Pursuits.
Plot Summary
A struggling musician named Nora Guerraoui learns that her father Driss has been killed in a hit and run accident outside the diner he owns. She travels back to her small town to mourn with her mother Maryam and her sister Salma. A police officer and former schoolmate of Nora’s named Jeremy Gorecki hears about the attack at work. An undocumented migrant man named Efraín witnessed the attack, but he does not want to come forward because he worries what will happen to his family if he is deported. People visit the Guerraoui household to pay their respects. Jeremy passes by and finds Nora alone on the porch.
Unlock all 57 pages of this Study Guide
Plus, gain access to 8,900+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
