"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."

Nora, a Moroccan American classical composer, returns to her hometown in California's Mojave Desert following the death of her father from a hit and run. Seeking answers about both his death and life, and attempting to come to terms with her grief, she is pulled back into the small-mindedness of a community she thought she had long since left behind.

I loved the premise and the interwoven relationships involving a multicultural cast of characters in this National Book finalist. "The Other Americans" portrayed a true slice of the America I am from. That alone made it an enjoyable read.

Unfortunately Lalami's execution left me a little wanting. The large number of point-of-view characters was distracting, as was the depth of so many different back stories that weren't relevant to the plot or main storyline. This, coupled with a number of unresolved or unanswered threads, kept me from fully latching on to or rooting for any one of the people in this book. Also, I thought it was an interesting choice to have a deceased character answering for things that were happening after their death.

Point of view is one of the most powerful tools an author has, and I experienced a number of issues regarding Lalami's choices. I did experience this as a page turner, for I certainly wanted to know what happened, but found the end predictable. I will certainly read more by this author, who is quite a skilled storyteller, but would love a focused story that digs deeper and not as wide.