When her Moroccan migrant father, Dris, is killed in a hit-and-run accident, jazz musician Nora Guerraoui returns to her home town on the edge of the Mojave Desert. Yucca Valley is the very place she was so desperate to leave, but now for the foreseeable future, will be her home again while she seeks to understand the mystery around her father's death.
Multiple narrators offer a variety of perspectives, from family members and Dris himself, through to the perpetrator and the detective investigating the case, all the while revealing the challenges of pursuing the American Dream in small town USA.
As well as its thoughtful use of language and its credibly fallible characters, this absorbing story provides insightful commentary on the lives of immigrants.
Pages
301
Year
2019
Reviews
AUCK 265
18-08-2022
Everyone enjoyed this book. Well-written with interesting and believable characters. Hard to concentrate and read thoroughly because of the different voices.
CHCH 125
08-02-2022
An enjoyable read - well paced. Some felt characterisation not quite believable and ending disappointing.
TEAWA 004
10-01-2022
A good read, enjoyed by all.
CHCH 299
08-11-2021
Most members enjoyed this book and saw it as an interesting exploration of the immigrant experience in the US. Many enjoyed the way the writer used multiple points of view to tell the story, which mostly takes place over just a few days. Those who didnt enjoy it said it was more due to personal taste than any fault with the book.
WAIKA 004
22-10-2021
We all thought the book's characters were really authentic voices. Provoked a lot of discussion from our childhoods ( for most of us - 60 or so years ago!) of discrimination against the other in NZ society.
ASHB 001
18-10-2021
Very good - all but one person enjoyed this book.
MOTUE 005
01-10-2021
Beautifully written with each character finely drawn. All outsiders with interesting stories of exile, new beginnings and uncertain futures. Small group at our meeting but we all enjoyed the book. One of our group looked up and read the author's newest book.
WELL 018
23-08-2021
Well liked.
TAUR 004
13-07-2021
Everyone enjoyed the book which explored immigrants' situations from a different perspective.
CHCH 037
25-06-2021
An interesting and easy read. Some good discussion. a multi-layered novel with degrees of interest for the whole group. A clever writer.
MAST 003
11-06-2021
We had a lively conversation about the book and people's lives.
GISB 005
21-05-2021
Enjoyable read, great characterisations of individuals. The more we discussed, the more it unravelled to raise aspects sometimes missed at first glance.
