All the ways this country will break your heart, that being American is a fever dream of fear and hope and possibility and regression. That's what this novel is. If you loved Jason Mott's "Hell of a Book," then you already know what to expect. If this is your first introduction to Mott, I'll just say to prepare for the unusual experience of grieving alongside characters as they make a madcap dash through the European countryside. It's irreverent and comedic and heart wrenching, sometimes all on the same page.

Reading this now, in March 0f 2025, I cannot imagine how the central questions of this novel will feel in August, closer to the publication date. Who is American? Can the American be taken out of you? What does it mean to love a country and be of a place, rooted in time and historical context? What does it feel like to be safe, and who gets to achieve that kind of comfort and security?

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

this is not memoir but at the same it feels like it? i guess it's because it has deeply personal connections to the author's life. and while rooted in reality, it explodes with dreamlike experiences that pull a reader in and don’t let go, from the ability to time travel to sightings of sea monsters and peacocks, and feelings of love and memory so real they hurt.

it started off with two Black writers are trying to find peace and belonging in a world that is riven with gun violence. one is on a global book tour after a big prize win; the other is set to give a speech at a school that has suffered a shooting. and as their two storylines merge, truths and antics abound in equal measure: characters drink booze out of an award trophy; menaces lurk in the shadows; tiny French cars putter around the countryside; handguns seem to hover in the air; and dreams endure against all odds.

this book made laugh and cry at the same time, i really ended up being an emotional wreck after. one moment, characters are swigging booze from a literary award, and the next, you’re hit with a line so profound that it feels like an emotional sucker punch. there is a constant push and pull humor and sorrow, joy and pain making the story feel as alive and unpredictable as real life. by the time i turned the last page, I felt <b>changed</b>. this book made me appreciate the fleeting, ridiculous, beautiful mess that is being human. it made me want to hug my loved ones, cry over the weight of the world, and, for some reason, Google “do sea monsters exist?”

if want a book that will make you laugh, make you weep, and make you question reality just a little bit—this is it.

5 ⭐️ thank you Jason Mott and Penguin Group Dutton.
yes, i already preordered a physical copy for me and my husband.

Jason Mott’s new book People Like Us feels like a memoir. We begin by seeing into the life of Jason Mott and his thrill upon receiving the National Book Award. It is a peak behind the curtain that one rarely gets.
There are two characters however, both successful black writers which has one asking “are they the same?”. The book changes direction as fantasy enters into the story through the character of Remus and the addition of time travel. The constant theme throughout is guns and gun violence.
The two characters are both told in the first person. They are both successful black writers. One, Soot, is faced with difficult task of speaking to a group of students right after a school shooting has occurred. They are feeling the fear and pain of just having gone through it.
The other character feels the need to carry a firearm for his protection. It is so strong he illegally brings it into another country. The horror of gun violence is carried throughout this novel be it through mass shootings, an accidental shooting or suicides. We see the long term repercussions it leaves on those left behind.
The book is titled “People Like Us”. That term comes up throughout the book. One of the characters is in Europe on a global book tour which he calls Euroland. Speaking in Italian or French he calls “speaking foreign”. “People like us” would be Americans. Other times it is successful writers, which is a group he is now a part of. Still with others it is “niggas”. Subcategories within categories.
I personally would have enjoyed a memoir more than the fantasy element and this juxtaposition of two characters. I did not think that the unique characters, the fantasy element, and the brutality of the guns deaths blended well. However Jason Mott has put together a multilayered book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

I would like to thank NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. These opinions are my own.