People Like Them, Forthcoming July 2021, Is Samira Sedira’s First Novel to Be Translated into English

Samira Sedira’s fourth novel, Des gens comme eux (2020), will be published in English this summer by Penguin Books (North America) and Raven Books (UK/Commonwealth).

The English version, People Like Them, is translated from the French by Lara Vergnaud. The book is the first of Sedira’s to be translated into English.

People Like Them has been described as “The Perfect Nanny meets Little Fires Everywhere.” Leïla Slimani, Franco-Moroccan author of The Perfect Nanny, writes, “People Like Them is disturbing and powerful. It explores the topics of racism and jealousy in a very subtle way. I loved it.”

Here’s a synopsis:

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?