Bookseller Reviews
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Totally engrossing
I know it’s only January, but this is going on my personal book of the year list. Somehow, I didn’t expect to like it, but after a few pages I was complete... READ MORE
Absolutely Riveting
This is a book I am sure will linger with me for a very long time, layered and incredibly thought provoking. It is a phenomenal novel with a kleidoscopic s... READ MORE
Synopsis
Everyone thinks they know what happened...
The Sharaf family is the picture of success. They arrived in America as refugees with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. And now, after years of hard work, they live in the most exclusive neighbourhood, their growing family attending the most prestigious schools. Zorah, the eldest daughter, is the apple of her father's eye.
But when Zorah dies in an unthinkable tragedy, the family is thrust into the court of public opinion. There is talk that the Sharafs' happy household was anything but, and soon the veneer of the model immigrant family starts to crumble.
Those who knew her best - and those who never met her - all have an opinion on who Zorah really was, and what really happened to her...
Told through the chorus of voices surrounding the Sharafs, Good People is a riveting, provocative and unforgettable story of community, family and identity.
Publisher information
- Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
- ISBN: 9780349019437
- Number of pages: 400
- Dimensions: 236 x 156 x 36 mm
- Weight: 620g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allThe American Dream??
The Sharat family has achieved the American Dream. Dirt poor immigrants, in one generation they have become rich and prospered through hard work, living in... READ MORE
To bill this as a murder mystery is to describe just a fraction of the ideas and issues that Sabit explores.
It’s hard to take in that ‘Good People’ is Patmeena Sabit’s first novel, so accomplished is every aspect of this narrative and so brave is its concept. To... READ MORE
Astonishing Debut
this is an astonishing debut, deftly covering so many themes and utilising so many narrative voices. dark but important, "good people" challenges us to con... READ MORE
The power of honour
This is a novel destined for the best sellers list. Its textures and layering are sublime. The voices are those of your neighbours and past acquaintances w... READ MORE
Smart, absorbing and so, so readable
A fantastic read! So many threads, so many angles, yet Good People comes together brilliantly to explore how and why cultures clash and how we react to the... READ MORE
Zorah's story
This is the story of Zorah, her family and her life. Zorah is the daughter of Afghani immigrants living in America.
Her father started with little but has... READ MORE
An impressive debut that will certainly get people talking -
Patmeena Sabit has produced a debut novel that will/ should open up much conversation.
This is a story about family, love , cultural expectations and diff... READ MORE
An impressive debut.
It took me a while to get into this story, in part because the backstory took a long time to get through. Once Zorah had died, it became very engrossing. N... READ MORE
Five stars!
Good People by Patmeena Sabit is a powerful and deeply affecting book that explores identity, family and the weight of cultural expectation. When Zorah Sha... READ MORE
A uniquely written mystery/family story
I enjoyed this book very much, it perhaps wasn't quite how I anticipated it to be written going off some descriptions before I started it. I thought it mig... READ MORE
Compulsive reading
This started slowly but built up a head of steam as it got going and then I couldn't put it down. Understanding the hardships of this family and the commun... READ MORE
RAGS RICHES AND DEATH
PATMEENA SABIT - GOOD PEOPLE *****
What an engrossing, clever tale. This is the story of a family from Afghanistan who move to America, starting out with ... READ MORE
Clever
This was a very cleverly written book, with different versions of the same events by different witnesses.
But unfortunately the writing style left me rath... READ MORE
Original concept
Wow! Good People is probably the most powerful and yet infinitely readable book I've read in a long time. It is such an original concept and touches on so ... READ MORE
One of the best novels I've read this year
The Sharaf family, having left Afghanistan as refugees, begin their climb to economic and social success in the USA. Everything seems golden for the couple... READ MORE
Important and involving
When young Zorah Sharaf dies in what seems to be a tragic accident, her family are devastated. Afghan immigrants who fled to the USA from the Russian invas... READ MORE
Gripping, devastating, and quietly humane.
Having fled war-torn Afghanistan many years before, fearful and penniless, the Sharaf family have become an embodiment of the American Dream. From humble b... READ MORE
They should have swallowed her name before it turned to ashes in their mouths
Good people is the must-read literary debut of February. Patmeena Sabit announces herself with confidence in this explosive and emotionally charged novel a... READ MORE
Good read
Good People is the debut novel by Patmeena Sabit, a kaleidoscopic mystery built almost entirely from fragments of testimony, interviews and commentary. At ... READ MORE
Part mystery, part social commentary
"Good People" is part mystery, part social commentary which will keep people guessing throughout. It tells the story of an Afghan refugee family who settle... READ MORE
Brilliant book
I love a book where you know something has happened but you’re not quite sure what, and you’re not quite sure how, so the magic of the read is chasing the ... READ MORE
A splendid debut
I flew through this one. The kind of book you pick up to read “just a page” and suddenly you’re many chapters deep, telling yourself go on then, one more. ... READ MORE
A book that will inspire a lot of debate.
This was such a good read. Is it a murder mystery? Perhaps. We are told in the blurb that teenage Zorah does in an unthinkable tragedy and that her family ... READ MORE
interesting format
Thoroughly enjoyed the format of this - this is the story of Zorah Sharaf and the circumstances around her death, told through the accounts of her family f... READ MORE
Culture clash of the old and the new.
Good People by Patmeena Sabit Finding refuge in the USA, the Sharaf family attempt to find their feet in the expat Afghan community. Over the years, throug... READ MORE
Timely and distinctive
The now Canadian-based author was born in Kabul, post the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, becoming with her family a refugee in Pakistan from when she was ... READ MORE
A thought provoking story
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.
This is a fascinating read and a fairly chilling exposure to what appears to be ... READ MORE
Thoroughly assured, complex exploration of the Afghan immigrant experience
Patmeena Sabit, as the publisher bio tells us, was born in Kabul some time after the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. Her parents fled the conflict, with t... READ MORE
A hit with bookclubs in 2026
"Good People" by Patmeena Sabit is bound to be a hit with bookclubs in 2026. This debut is told entirely from the perspectives of the family's friends and ... READ MORE
what a powerful book
What a powerful book.Told from many different perspectives. How do refugees integrate and still hold old traditions. Meritocracy and working hard to provid... READ MORE
Great debut
It took me a little while to get into this book because of the writing style and multiple viewpoints provided by a wide selection of characters, but I'm so... READ MORE
A great Book Club pick!
Good People is a thought provoking novel that explores family, identity and the complexities of belonging. The story centres on the Sharaf family who were ... READ MORE