People Like Them

by Samira Sedira, Lara Vergnaud (Translator)

The Perfect Nanny meets Little Fires Everywhere in this stylish, intense psychological suspense novel inspired by a true story about a couple in an insular French village whose lives are upended when a family of outsiders moves in.

People Like Them is disturbing and powerful. It explores the topics of racism and jealousy in a very subtle way. I loved it. --Leila Slimani, bestselling author of The Perfect Nanny

Everything started one Saturday in July of 2015...

Anna and Constant Guillot live with their two daughters in the peaceful, remote mountain village of Carmac, largely deaf to the upheavals of the outside world. Everyone in Carmac knows each other, and most of its residents look alike--until Bakary and Sylvia Langlois arrive with their three children.

Wealthy and flashy, the family of five are outsiders in the small town, their impressive chalet and three expensive cars a stark contrast to the modesty of those of their neighbors. Despite their differences, the Langlois and the Guillots form an uneasy, ambiguous friendship. But when both families begin experiencing financial troubles, the underlying class and racial tensions of their relationship come to a breaking point, and the unthinkable happens.

With piercing psychological insight and gripping storytelling, People Like Them asks: How could a seemingly normal person commit an atrocious crime? How could that person's loved ones ever come to terms with it afterward? And how well can you really know your own spouse?

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, France, Audiobook

192 pages, Paperback

First published July 6, 2021

About the author

Samira Sedira is a novelist, playwright, and actress who was born in Algeria and moved to France with her family when she was very young. In 2008, after two decades of acting for film and the stage, she became a cleaning woman, an experience that inspired her autobiographical novel L'odeur des planches (The Smell of the Stage). People Like Them is her fourth novel and the first to be translated into English.

Reviews

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is shocking, blasting, jaw dropping, shaking you to the core kind of unconventional read!

It’s questioning how far the boiled and bottled up anger, the resentment, envy can push a regular person to commit brutal crimes!

When you think you lost everything in your life: your dreams, your financial stability, your pride, your dignity, what will you do? Blaming others, being obsessed to avenge , resenting the other people’s lives may result with deadly consequences!

The book opens with the pastoral depictions about soothing, remote, peaceful town named Carmac: those remarkable depictions also warn us something terrifying is about to come out like the silence before the storm.

Well, at another chapter you find out an old athlete who lost his dreams at a deadly accident, a coach: Constant Guilliot : a regular member of the town committed a vicious crime: he massacred an entire family: starting with three kids and then he waited for the parents’ arrival, shooting them at their back! Those people were his neighbors! He ran away from the place and wash his bloody hands at the frozen pond and he came back to steal regular belongings of his neighbors including cds, dvds because he was still thinking those people stole everything his family needed!

Why a man commits such a brutal, wild crime! How his inner circle didn’t see it coming! How his wife didn’t realize the insanity slowly took control of her husband ?

We’re going back and forth between the trial of Constant and the moving of Bakary and Sylvia Langlois’ moving to the next house to Guilliot family. We see how their children become friends and his Bakary and Constant hang out after work, Langlois’ gorgeous parties at their well designed, modern, grandiose chalet.

Everything seems peaceful around the small town and they seem to get along with the outsiders. What did instantly change ? Why did those people turn into enemies?

The book is definitely captivating one sit read! You just witness the rooting of humanity in your own eyes. It’s scary, thought provoking, confusing!

The story is narrated by Constant’s wife Anna: who is left behind and whose life is tainted by this brutal crime. You can easily relate with her and see the events from her eyes and perspective.

The ending was heart wrenching as you may imagine. But it may be the best written ending to a complex story!

After finishing this book, I think I’ll keep thinking this story for a few weeks. This is one of the books haunt you forever and the author did a brilliant and stunning job to create this claustrophobic, intense, dark atmosphere of small town by building high tension and sharing the remarkable small town people portraits.

Special thanks to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP for sharing this remarkable digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

[Ends of the Word · Rating 4 out of 5]

In an author’s note at the end of her book, Samira Sedira tells us that People Like Them (originally published in French as Des Gens comme Eux) is inspired by an event of “true crime” – a homicide committed in 2003 in a village in France’s Haute-Savoie region, in which a man killed a family of five. Sedira observes that a point which the media had not picked up was that the father of the massacred family was black and that the murder was committed in an area totally unused to so-called “foreigners” – even those born and bred in France. Sedira’s novel is an exploration of the factors which may have led to the murder, including the explosive mix of casual racism and class discontent. To this end, she weaves elements from the real-life murder into a fictional account narrated by the murderer’s wife Anna Guillot.

At under 200 pages, People Like Them is a quick read, but it is hard-hitting and thought-provoking even while delivering the excitement of a thriller (credit for this also goes to Lara Vergnaud, whose translation feels entirely fluid and authentic) . The novel is particularly effective because, being told from the perspective of Anna, it presents a nuanced portrait of Anna’s husband Constant Guillot. The narrative does not try to whitewash the victims, especially the charismatic but scheming Bakary and his wife Sylvia who is portrayed as a classist snob. Indeed, at some points we’re drawn into sympathizing with Constant. And that’s precisely where the genius of the novel lies. I am a middle-aged white reader who thinks of himself as open and tolerant, but these moments of sympathy with Constant and his lot immediately raised an uncomfortable and guilty reflection. Was I rooting for a mass murderer? Am I tainted by unconscious racism? Worse still, could I have ever acted like Constant were I placed in his position?

Sedira herself spells out this point in her conclusion: Criminals – even murderers – serve as mirror images; they reflect our own fallibility. Viewing them as monstrous aberrations prevents us from understanding human nature. There’s no such thing as monsters. Only humans.

https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/20...

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

People Like Them is French-Algerian novelist, actor and playwright Samira Sedira’s English language debut and an award-winning work of psychological suspense inspired by a true story in which a couple in an insular French village have their lives upended when a family of outsiders moves in and significantly alters the neighbourhood dynamic. When the Langlois arrive in Carmac, this village lost in a mountainous valley where everyone knows and looks alike, they have the effect of an apparition. People like them, so rich, so happy, we don't hang out with them. They have an impressive chalet built, opposite Anna and Constant's modest house. Between the two couples, an ambiguous relationship is formed, made of fascination, embarrassment, soon jealousy, perhaps racism. Because Bakary Langlois is black. Nothing, however, that suggests that Constant could come to murder an entire family.

Inspired by the horrific 2003 mass homicide in Haute-Savoie, Samira Sedira makes us listen to the assassin's wife, this Anna who bears the reproach of not having guessed or prevented anything. During the trial, she tries to understand the hellish mechanics that led Constant, her lifelong love, to such murderous madness, and also explores the confinement of a small village community living behind closed doors where the other - by his condition - social status, his skin colour, his appetite for life - subjugates and disturbs until murder and mayhem ensue. This is brutal, shocking and thought-provoking—it both horrified and gripped me with its compulsively readable narrative. Dark, shocking and deeply unsettling, it explores class, race and prejudice in an incisive fashion and juxtaposes the picture-postcard provincial French village life and the ugliness of simmering racial tensions in a powerful and piercing way. Highly recommended.

[Tooter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

[Ruben · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5
I highly recommend this excellent French novella that fictionalises a truly horrific murder that took place in an isolated village in 2003, where a relatively young father of two butchered the entire family living next door. It reminded me of Carrère's 'the Adversary'. The graphic description of the slaughter in the first chapter almost made me want to put the book away, but I am glad I persisted. What follows is an expertly crafted, factual, yet very subtle, psychological account of the events leading up to the murder alternated with flashes from the trial. Everything is told from the perspective of the wife. There are no unnecessary digressions, just a minimal, very subtle description of the handful of events that appear to have triggered the incredible outrage. It very lightly touches on race and class in an effort to explain the inexplicable. The only minor point of criticism is the afterword by the author in which she starts explaining the book – this was not at all necessary and better left to the reader I thought.

[Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars for People Like Them (audiobook) By Samira Sedira translated by Lara Vangnaud read by Susan Nezaim.

This story is about a horrible crime that was inspired by true events. I’m a little confused as to how much of the story is made up and why the author chose to fictionalize it. I’d rather hear what actually happened and try and understand what led to the crime.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sedira’s novel is based on and inspired by a real murder that occurred in Haute-Savoie, France. I had actually heard of the crime because Curioustystream has a show called Crime Scene Solvers that did an episode about this murder. The victims were the Flactif family – parents and three children. They were new residents to a small village and stood out because of their wealth. One also presumes they stood out because the husband was black, though the show never addresses this. (The show seems to have been French dubbed into English for the British market).

I picked this book up because of the review in the TLS which praised the book and that little part of my mind that was “oh, I remember this crime”.

Seriously, Penguin needs to translate more Sedira’s work pronto because short novel packs a punch.

If you are an American, you might understand if I say this takes some of the points of James Baldwin’s “Stranger in the Village” while telling of a murder in a very small town. Sedira uses the voice of the partner of the murderer, and, therefore, can address the issue that as she says in the afterword was left out in the reports of the murder – racism.

The use of a long time resident of a town, a woman who can see the direct racism in some cases, but not the subtle racism that happens. And so the reader is asked to consider whether the crime and the jealousy that preceded would have occurred if the husband had not been Black and if they had not been outsiders (foreigners in the sense of being new to the village). Anna, the narrator, isn’t portrayed as a outright racist, and at points Sedira

The crime is juxtaposed with the pastoral setting that Sedira describes in such a lovely and powerful way in the opening section of the novel. But then the peaceful and beautiful setting gives way to dark things, much like what happens in the town - the friendship (or what seems like friendship) that gives way to darker impulses that are tied into issues such as class jealousy, racism, and anti-immigration. It’s a brilliant book that does what brilliant books should do -makes you think and examine society and yourself.

[Gayle (OutsmartYourShelf) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carmac is a quiet French village where everyone knows everyone else & life is pretty ordinary until a new family move in. The Langlois family are the first black family to live in Carmac, but they make friends in the community easily, especially with the Guillot family who live nearby. As time goes by, however, fractures in the friendship start to appear, & when both families experience financial problems, it culminates in a violent outburst which leaves the entire village in shock.

Loosely based on a true story, the narrative is told from the view of Anna Guillot, wife of Constant. The book opens with the trial of Constant for the violent outburst (I don't want to give too much away), then it goes back to what happened when the Langlois family first arrived in the village & the events which followed. The subject itself was gripping, but it was quite short & I wonder if that contributed to the characters feeling rather remote from the reader. Although the scenes of violence were genuinely horrifying, I didn't feel as if the book fleshed out the feelings & personalities of the main characters in enough depth for me.

CW: violent scenes, child death, racial slurs.

Thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Bloomsbury Publishing UK/Raven Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

[Jamie Klingler · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s short and readable but just didn’t strike a chord. Sometimes tying something to a true story causes more problems than it is worth. The notes at the end talk about how autobiographical the cleaning for your own social circle was, and I think this felt shoehorned in rather than organic.

[Julie Chamaa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author’s note was more interesting than the text.
Completely underwhelmed.

[Indieflower · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loosely based on a true crime, this story explores why a previously mild tempered man would savagely slaughter his neighbours - a couple and their three children. This was interesting, but though an emotive subject, I found it difficult to feel anything for the characters, they weren't fleshed out enough. The narrative and the way the characters spoke to each other also felt a bit flat, perhaps due to being translated from the original French, and though a short book, it took me longer to read it than it should have. The crime itself is shocking and harrowing, and the complex psychological reasons as to the motive are interesting, how feeling slighted and used, coupled with feelings of inferiority can set off such an awful chain of events. Thought provoking, we never really know who we are dealing with do we?
3 stars.

[Theresa Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspired by a true story of a mass homicide committed in 2003 in a village in France’s Haute-Savoie region (Author Note). What an excellent novel this was. It tells the story of a man who murders the family next door, but as reflected upon by his partner, Anna, who through her narration is clearly trying to make sense of what has happened, if that is even at all possible after such a tragedy. I found Anna’s voice arresting, her story gripping, the way in which she took us back to before, painting a picture of her partner, the man he was before the man he became known as. In doing so, she moves us through the motivation, bears witness to his unravelling, and then finds herself sitting in a courtroom, the facts of the case dissected before her, her partner, the father of her children, unable to fully defend himself, almost unable to even follow his own trial coherently. This novel is very much Anna’s story, of how his crime has impacted upon her life, as well as her children’s and his parents. Her voice is relatable, she is a nice woman, someone I would easily be friends with. Together, Anna and her partner, Constant, were nice people. Everyone said so. No one saw it coming. No one ever does.

‘A murderer’s wife is reproached for everything: her composure when she should show more compassion; her hysteria when she should demonstrate restraint; her presence when she should disappear; her absence when she should have the decency to be there; and so on. The woman who one day becomes the murderer’s wife shoulders a responsibility almost more damning than that of the murderer himself, because she wasn’t able to detect in time the vile beast slumbering inside her spouse. She lacked perceptiveness. And that’s what will bring about her fall from grace – her despicable lack of perceptiveness.’

Casual racism abounds in the village of Carmac and People Like Them is a psychological study on this as a motivator for crime. Bakary Langlois is the only person of colour in Carmac, wealthy, outwardly so, somewhat ostentatious with it. From the outset, he and his wife and their three children are viewed with suspicion. Part of this can be attributed to their wealth, but most can be attributed to the colour of Bakary’s skin.

‘Here, we laughed openly at Germans, because it was allowed – the war gave us that right. Same for the Dutch and the Belgians. We basically viewed them as an extension of the Germans. But we’d never had any Black people in Carmac.’

Bakary’s wife Sylvia is white, but the case is built around the murders being racially motivated. Bakary had stolen money from Constant (and others in the village) under the guise of an investment in a Swiss Banking scheme. When pressed to return the money, it became evident there was no such investment and, there was no longer any money. Constant maintained that this was his motivation: he murdered two adults and three children over the loss of eight thousand euros. The prosecution argued that there was more to it. That Constant felt entitled to murder Bakary and his family over eight thousand euros because Bakary was black and Constant was white. Sylvia and the children were simply collateral damage. For much of the novel, in the parts reflected back upon by Anna, we do see Constant riddled with jealousy over Bakary and all that he possesses, not just materially, but also the social standing and power his wealth affords him. In terms of the financial loss, Constant’s eight thousand euros is the least of the amounts gone; others lost far more and they were not possessed with a murderous rage that they acted upon, suggesting that there were other factors at play for Constant. The themes of entitlement running through this novel are thought provoking. The insidiousness of the casual racism and the way in which wealth created an instant divide; the novel has the most perfect title. It really does convey so much in so few words. You can almost hear the inflection of the sneer as you read it.

‘I don’t know if we’re all capable of killing with as much savagery as you had. I still don’t understand where it could have come from. That mystery will probably haunt me until the end. What I do know, however, is that no one around you was innocent. We stood back and let it happen. Like a chain reaction, each of us contributed to an outcome. A horrific act. A tragedy. Our tragedy. I also tell myself that maybe there were words that would have kept you from sinking, except we didn’t even know that we were losing you; we hadn’t understood that yet.’

The author does not attempt to garner sympathy for Constant, yet, she also doesn’t cast judgment upon him; he is all too human, possessing his own vulnerabilities and motivated by a complex jigsaw of thoughts, disappointments, emotions, and morals, all crashing together in a chaotic symphony of inexplicable tragedy. Anna is the star of this story, for me. I was so invested in her introspective processing of all that is happening and what this means for her life from here on in. People Like Them is another quality translation (I’ve read a few of late), the atmosphere conveyed with what I expect was the author’s intent. Once again, I didn’t feel as though I was reading a translation; this novel read as though it had been written in English. Translators are incredible, as not all words can be easily transcribed from one language to another; they do an immense job for which I am grateful for. We have access to so much more quality fiction on account of their efforts. This one is recommended to fans of crime and suspense, with a focus on the characters and their reactions to the fall out. We know what the crime is and who did it from the get-go. It’s the why that this novel focuses on, and more particularly, the what now for those who are left in the wake of the tragedy. A stunning work of fiction. I’d love to see more of Samira Sedira’s novels translated, her style and the depth within her work is exactly the sort of writing I crave.

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.

[Freddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and quick read. It follows a wife whose husband killed an entire family - the parents and three kids. The story explores the motivation(s) of the killing, linking issues such as racism, class relations, and personal failing, and subtly comments on the fallibility of humans.

[Georgia Muirhead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely easy read to get me back on track for my reading goal!! Simple short story enough to keep anyone entertained x

[Nathalie Vanhauwaert · Rating 5 out of 5]

C'est un court roman puissant que nous propose Samira Sedira. Il est inspiré librement de l'affaire Flactif qui s'est déroulée au Grand Bornand en 2003.

Constant Guillot est dans le box des accusés pour avoir décimé violemment la famille Langlois composée de cinq personnes. C'est Ana, sa compagne depuis seize ans qui à la première personne nous raconte le récit. Elle essaie de comprendre comment son compagnon en est arrivé là et surtout pourquoi elle n'a rien vu venir.

Quelles sont les raisons de son geste ?

D'une part le procès, d'autre part elle revient sur sa rencontre avec Constant et le début de leur histoire.

Les Langlois sont arrivés au village de Carmac situé en pleine montagne en juillet 2015. Bakary Langlois est originaire du Gabon, il a été adopté à l'âge de 4 ans.

Crime racial ? une première piste...

C'est au mariage de Simon qu'ils ont fait connaissance. Il faut dire qu'au village, c'est une communauté qui vit en vase clos, tout le monde se connaît.

Fin juin 2016, Bakary, Sylvia et les trois enfants s'installent juste en face de chez Ana et Constant. Le chalet qu'ils ont fait construire est énorme, limite ostentatoire. Ils le visiteront à la crémaillière. Constant est comme fasciné par la personnalité de Bakary, il s'entend bien avec lui malgré leur différence de mode de vie. Faut dire qu'Ana et Constant ont du mal à nouer les deux bouts et Bakary et Sylvia s'affichent dans le luxe et l'opulence.

Seconde piste : fracture des classes sociales ?

Tout va bien jusqu'au jour où cherchant quelqu'un pour faire le ménage, Ana se propose et Constant se met en colère. Pour quelles raisons ? L'orage commence t-il à couver ?

Crime racial, fracture sociale, jalousie, mépris ? Où la raison de ce quintuple meurtre est-elle à chercher ailleurs?

Samira Sedira avec sa plume fluide et percutante, une écriture ciselée nous propose un récit remarquablement bien construit. Elle nous dresse le portrait d'un homme normal et ordinaire qui soudain bascule en devenant quintuple assassin.

Dans ce portrait, elle apporte beaucoup d'humanité revenant sur des moments du passé, des petites scènes de la vie très heureuses comme le réveillon, la fête au village mais aussi l'accumulation du mépris, le manque de considération qui petit à petit crée une fracture, des failles et amène Constant à l'irréparable.

C'est haletant, percutant. J'ai beaucoup aimé.

Ma note : 9.5/10


https://nathavh49.blogspot.com/2020/0...

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fictional portrayal loosely based on a real-life murder from a few decades back of a French family by a neighbour. There’s never any doubt about what happens. This is all about the why. The opening chapter paints a portrait of an insular French Alpine village of a few thousand people, where not much has changed in—well, forever. Times are tough, with limited options for making a living, and people exist modestly. Much of village life revolves around the bar, where the locals gather to shoot the breeze and tell worn jokes. Chapter 2 cuts abruptly to the murder trial of Constant Guillot, who particularly brutally wiped out his neighbours, a family of newcomers to the village—husband, wife and three young children. Then we backtrack to how things unfolded to that terrible denouement. The wealthy Langloises come to town and start living large, building a flashy villa and driving their three—count ’em, three—posh cars around. The fact that husband Bakary is black is a further irritant in this snow-white place, and the muttered racist slurs are soon heard at the bar. At first, next-door-neighbours Anna and Constant Guillot are friendly with the Langloises, especially Constant, but soon the envy worms its way into his thinking, and relations become strained. The story is told in the first person from Anna’s point of view, a deliberate choice by the author, as we are never in Constant’s mind, only Anna’s, who is left to wonder what could drive her husband to such a monstrous act and whether she ever truly knew her husband. The author is principally interested in this very thing: what could drive a seemingly “normal” man to savagely attack and kill an entire family. She states in the afterword that she is convinced that racism played a part, but in her portrayal of events that element is so subtle as to leave me wondering how much of a role it had. Chilling and haunting.

[Ceeceereads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Garden parties, parenting, privilege, and quiet, simmering rage.

I picked up this book while browsing in the book store as it caught my eye, when I saw on the front cover that Leila Slimani said it was ‘disturbing and powerful.’ I’m glad I took a chance on it. It had an understated and intelligent writing style: detached, subtle, and twisted. Despite devastating events early on, this is more than a dramatic whodunnit. The real story is in the quiet unravelling of human behaviour. Skirting delicately round the edges of greed, envy, superiority, and anger. The complexity of which is constructed against an idyllic, slow-paced life in a picturesque country village.

I also enjoyed the author’s note at the end which conveyed the meaning and motivation for writing it and which I felt was vital to the story. 5 stars, disturbing indeed.

[Nidda (Bücherkarawane) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Das Buch wird in der Perspektive von der Frau des Mörders geschrieben. Eine fünfköpfige schwarze Familie wird in einem Dorf rassistisch und brutal umgebracht. Der Verlauf, soll die Perspektive und die Sicht der beiden zeigen und wie es eigentlich zu der Tat kam.

Das Buch ist unglaublich triggerend. Eine schwarze Familie wird grauenhaft umgebracht aber die Hauptfigur ist der Täter. Unglaublich, die Geschichte überhaupt so zu lesen. Ich habe mehrere Seiten überflogen, wo seine Gefühle geschildert wurden. Man hätte die Geschichte von dem Mord ganz anders und sensibler erzählen können. Auch ein paar diskriminierende Begriffe wie das N-Wort wurden leider ausgeschrieben. Ich würde dieses Buch nicht weiterempfehlen.

[Hanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die Geschichte hat mich berührt und auch zum Nachdenken gebracht. Sie wird aus der Sicht der Lebensgefährtin des Täters beschrieben. Es wird versucht, zu rekonstruieren wie es zu dieser unglaublichen Tat gekommen ist. Man kann in einigen Punkten auch verstehen, was diesen Menschen getriggert haben könnte, dennoch bleibt man ratlos zurück. Mir hat der Erzählstil gut gefallen und ich bin gespannt, wie lange mir diese Geschichte im Gedächtnis bleiben wird.

[Iris L · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and intriguing read about jealousy, family, class and race.
This is fast paced story slightly based on a true crime.
The novel is tense and it turns dark while explores the facts behind the events.

[Katie Rankine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved seeing the story from the wife's point of view. A quick impactful read

[Natalie Mackay · Rating 1 out of 5]

No

[Aneets · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the kind of book you can finish in one sitting. It is a disturbing read but given the gravity of the crime which lies at the heart of the story felt a little undercooked. I think it is because the story is told from the point of view of the wife of the perpetrator instead of the perpetrator himself. A solid 3 stars.

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking

[Jenny Mitcham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. Didn't realise until the end that it was loosely based on a real event. The writing was good and the characters believable. It was just the right book to take away to Dublin with me. Read it from cover to cover in the space of 2 journeys.

[Megan Stroup Tristao]

This was daaaaaaark. It is very short (under 200 pages) and goes by quickly. I don't think this is one I could recommend widely, but if you enjoyed THE PERFECT NANNY, I'd suggest you pick this one up as well. It's also not really a "mystery" because you know the ending from the beginning, but it is definitely a psychological novel.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free advance copy of this book.

06.01.2021: First English translation from an Algerian-born French author of three previous novels. Inspired by a real-life massacre.

[Marles Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

An atmospheric read, Sedira provides a fictionalised novella to a true-life crime committed in 2003. I ended up reading this over two nights – I could have completed it in one sitting but I needed a break from the unfolding tension. Anna, the wife of the man who murdered their neighbours, tells us two tales. The tale of their family leading up to the crime, and te tale from the courtroom to the first time she is about to see her husband again.

I am not sure about the motive of racism as described in the Author’s Note– yes there was a class struggle, and murders, no less – however I am unconvinced that this was a targeted racist act. Racism was obvious within the conversations of characters at home in a working-class village of Carmac. That is not excusable for these characters, nor anyone, however I am not entirely convinced that it was a motivator for the actions of Constant Guillot. The fact that Constant had entrusted Bakary with everything he had, and it was disregarded because its worth was considered to be so low to those who were so much more entitled. This was more telling about human behaviour. There were many more monsters in this book apart from Constant, and I think that was the message that struck me when I finished reading.

"There's no such thing as monsters. Only humans.”

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow! 🤯 For a short 180ish pages, Sedira sure knows how to leave a lasting impression...

Uniquely narrated from the perspective of the Murderer's spouse in a somewhat open letter to her partner, recounting the events which lead to the inexplicable crime, while she tries to come to grips with the reality of what her partner has done.

I think what made this story so interesting is the fact it is loosely based on the true events of a quadruple family homicide that took place within a small French village in 2003. The elements of truth behind such savagery leaves a lingering weight that is hard to shake.

People Like Them explores the thought-provoking questions behind how and why this heinous crime happened, rather than the who done it, and with that, the author does a tremendous job at delving into the underlying triggers of casual racism and social class... What does it take to push a seemly normal man to breaking point?

The translation by Lara Vergnaud is seamless, truly capturing both the beauty and brutality of Samira's writing. I'd be very interested in reading more of both their work in the future

[Cherise Wolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on a true crime, a quintuple murder in a small French village, in this novel, translated from the French, who killed the well-to-do Langlois family is stated upfront. The village, Carmac, is placid and there are no outsiders, everyone has lived there forever and knows one another. It's a working village, not a lot of education, a lower social class, and when the Langlois family arrives, building a chalet and moving in, they are viewed with some suspicion but mostly welcomed, despite their wealth, their education, their elevated social class, and that Bakary, the husband and father, is Black. The story is told by Anna Guillot, whose husband killed the family. We are with her at the trial, learn of her husband Constant's background, the friendship between Constant and Bakary, and the lead up to the horrific crime. It's a fast read, and interesting, as is seeing the ways of a small French village, but it lacked the punch I was expecting.

[-clarissa weirdgirlliterature · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book felt as though I was reading Sedira’s rough draft. It was a short read, at 171 pages, and honestly that was the only reason I was able to get through it. The ideas were good, the plot was good, the fact it was based on true crime was great, but the execution of the novel was fundamentally unreadable and left me insanely disappointed. The blurb grabbed me, but 10 pages in? I could’ve happily fallen asleep.