The Other AmericansThe Other Americans
Score Modern
What it's about
Late one spring night in California, Moroccan immigrant Driss Guerraoui is hit and killed by a speeding car. His death brings together his daughter Nora, his wife, an undocumented witness afraid to come forward, an Iraq War veteran and a detective.
Why it's worth reading
It was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction.
You'll love it if you liked
The Moor's Account
Little Fires Everywhere
The SympathizerGood to know
It has a large cast of characters.
By the numbers
- Readers19 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics30 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller6 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz10 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #565 of the 623 mysteries and thrillers we rank
- #1506 of the 1,647 modern books we rank
- #2820 of the 3,056 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Gripping
More by Laila Lalami
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Mysteries and thrillersTop 25 · 623 ranked
Modern booksTop 25 · 1,647 ranked
Books of the 2010sTop 25 · 751 ranked
Fantasy booksTop 25 · 504 ranked
Literary novelsTop 25 · 325 ranked
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelsTop 25 · 63 ranked
Memoirs and biographiesTop 25 · 290 ranked
Science fiction booksTop 25 · 333 rankedQuick answers
Is The Other Americans worth reading?
Yes. It was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction. It ranks #2,820 of the 3,056 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 56.5 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Other Americans about?
Late one spring night in California, Moroccan immigrant Driss Guerraoui is hit and killed by a speeding car. His death brings together his daughter Nora, his wife, an undocumented witness afraid to come forward, an Iraq War veteran and a detective.
How long does it take to read The Other Americans?
About 8 hours (320 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The Other Americans?
If you liked it, try The Moor's Account by Laila Lalami, Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng or The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen.