Moroccan-American Novelist Laïla Lalami’s "The Other Americans" Shortlisted for National Book Award

This book, published in the spring by Pantheon New York/Penguin Random House, had been widely acclaimed by critics as one of the "most anticipated" books of 2019.

The writer’s novel is one of the five selected out of a total of 397 applications. The authors of the five selected works, for various criteria, will learn their fate on November 20 during a ceremony in New York.

The Moroccan novelist must defend her pen against four other authors, including the 2015 "Booker Prize" laureate, Marlon James for "Black Leopard, Red Wolf", Susan Choi, a "Pulitzer Prize" finalist, for "Trust Exercise", and two other debut writers who, according to the newspaper, represent the hope of the literature of their country.

They are Kali Fajardo-Anstine, with the novel "Sabrina & Corina: Stories", and Julia Phillips, with her work "Disappearing Earth".

But what is Laïla Lalami’s novel about to force the admiration of a highly coveted contest? This fourth novel tells the story of a Moroccan immigrant living in the United States.

But he was unlucky, as he was killed by a car while crossing a poorly lit intersection. The novel features characters deeply divided by ethnicity, religion and social class.