I got this several months ago from <a href="https://modernmrsdarcy.com/bookofthemonth" target="_blank" >Book of the Month</a>, but my husband beat me to this one. Now he keeps encouraging me to take my turn, which is always a good sign. This is the fictional "memoir" of one of the first Africans to set foot in the United States, an African slave native to Morocco. My husband assures me the strong story, solid plotting, and beautiful writing will make this worth my while—and then we can talk about it.

My husband Will is a longtime fan of Pulitzer Prize-finalist Lalami; this 2019 novel was the first of her now-many works I’ve read. The story begins when a Moroccan immigrant is hit and killed by a speeding car not far from his home in a small town in the Mojave Desert. What follows is part procedural, part family saga, part love story, and part American origin story, intriguingly told from nine different perspectives.

From the publisher: "The debut of Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist Laila Lalami, evokes the grit and enduring grace that is modern Morocco. The book begins as four Moroccans illegally cross the Strait of Gibraltar in an inflatable boat headed for Spain. What has driven them to risk their lives? And will the rewards prove to be worth the danger? There’s Murad, a gentle, unemployed man who’s been reduced to hustling tourists around Tangier; Halima, who’s fleeing her drunken husband and the slums of Casablanca; Aziz, who must leave behind his devoted wife in hope of securing work in Spain; and Faten, a student and religious fanatic whose faith is at odds with an influential man determined to destroy her future. Sensitively written with beauty and boldness, this is a gripping book about what propels people to risk their lives in search of a better future."