People Like Them
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- Create Date：2021-08-09 06:51:43
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Samira Sedira
- ISBN：0143136275
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Summary
A prizewinning， riveting （The New York Times Book Review） 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。
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？
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？
Reviews
Susan Springer
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French。 A wealthy and successful Black couple move to the small alpine village of Carmac to get away from city life and try to ingratiate themselves to their new neighbors。 A financial deal gone bad causes racial and class tensions to escalate ending in tragedy。
Jennifer
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Disturbing story。 But I like the writing style - a terse and spare way of telling a tale。 In so few pages， I know more about these characters than in far longer， more descriptive books。 That is a true art。
TKP
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Sometimes you read a book and it takes you on a wild ride where you have no idea what is going on， you're just having all this random information thrown at you in a way which makes no sense at all and it's only towards the end of the book that all the threads come together and you see the end result of the tapestry that has been woven in front of you。 I felt this way about Lincoln in the Bardo and I feel the same way about People Like Them。Knowledge of what happened and different views come at y Sometimes you read a book and it takes you on a wild ride where you have no idea what is going on， you're just having all this random information thrown at you in a way which makes no sense at all and it's only towards the end of the book that all the threads come together and you see the end result of the tapestry that has been woven in front of you。 I felt this way about Lincoln in the Bardo and I feel the same way about People Like Them。Knowledge of what happened and different views come at you from all angles in this book and you feel yourself helpless， just on a tide of information that keeps coming whilst your brain tries to figure out what has gone on。Some people like this and some people don't。。I usually don't but with this book I found myself wanting to know more and more and more and then the book finished。3/5 。。。more
Robert Intriago
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3。5。 The narration starts with a trial and the story of the events that follow and preceded it are told by the wife of the man on trial。 An interesting novel loosely based on an actual event。 The novel can be hard to read at times and I did not know if it was the cadence of the story or the translation from the French。 The plot is imaginative and the characters quite good。 The narration goes back and forth between the present and the events that led to the trial。
Theresa Smith
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Review to come。。。
Yonit
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#4 for Women in Translation month。 Crime isn't really my genre but I liked this one。 #4 for Women in Translation month。 Crime isn't really my genre but I liked this one。 。。。more
Celestemcolon
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This is a 3。5 star book because of the Author's note - I really appreciated it！ A short story， quickly read， about a family sitting through the trial for murder。 Partner and children effected by the outcome。 Interesting read as my husband was watching Olympics while the MC is a pole jumper， so was watching the sport while reading about an athlete。 Based on a true story read by the author， this shows a side of seeing the before and after of such a crime。 The translation was well done， and the aud This is a 3。5 star book because of the Author's note - I really appreciated it！ A short story， quickly read， about a family sitting through the trial for murder。 Partner and children effected by the outcome。 Interesting read as my husband was watching Olympics while the MC is a pole jumper， so was watching the sport while reading about an athlete。 Based on a true story read by the author， this shows a side of seeing the before and after of such a crime。 The translation was well done， and the audio book was pleasurable。 。。。more
Sofie
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This was interesting but because it was so short I felt like it didn't have the context it needed for me to bond with any of the characters。 I didn't really understand the point of the book， apart from the fact that it showed a normal person， fuelled with rage can commit a heinous crime。 I struggled to get into the story and found myself pushing to get to the end and now I'm not quite sure what I've read。。 This was interesting but because it was so short I felt like it didn't have the context it needed for me to bond with any of the characters。 I didn't really understand the point of the book， apart from the fact that it showed a normal person， fuelled with rage can commit a heinous crime。 I struggled to get into the story and found myself pushing to get to the end and now I'm not quite sure what I've read。。 。。。more
Jenn Kapitski
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2。5 stars
Anne Carmichael
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As a writer who has researched the mind of serial killers， this wasn't a hide-under-the-covers thriller as such， but it was written in such an ethereal way that I found it easy to finish in one sitting。 As a writer who has researched the mind of serial killers， this wasn't a hide-under-the-covers thriller as such， but it was written in such an ethereal way that I found it easy to finish in one sitting。 。。。more
Jill
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Very good writing--a short and spare book based on a true story。
Stephanie
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Very quick read。 Wasn’t really shocking or suspenseful。 The blurbs about this are misleading。 We know a crime was committed and who did it。 So no real surprises。 This is really a quieter study of how a person can snap。 Didn’t love the writing style。
Rhian Eleri
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If you like a story with a bit of an edge， some deep content and a dark message - then this is for you！ Pick it up！Anna is our unlikely narrator。 She tells the story of how her husband Constant murdered a whole family in what at first seems unprovoked。 We hear Constants' POV through the court room dialog， and I must say， this was quite uncomfortable to read （in a good way） Loosely based on true events， this short novella is quick but prompts very deep conversations！ It touches on racism， but onc If you like a story with a bit of an edge， some deep content and a dark message - then this is for you！ Pick it up！Anna is our unlikely narrator。 She tells the story of how her husband Constant murdered a whole family in what at first seems unprovoked。 We hear Constants' POV through the court room dialog， and I must say， this was quite uncomfortable to read （in a good way） Loosely based on true events， this short novella is quick but prompts very deep conversations！ It touches on racism， but once I had this in my mind， it actually reaked of it， and wasn't as subtle as I first thought。 Provoking and disturbing， with a style of writing that got my attention from the first page。 。。。more
Marianne
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A white man kills a seemingly wealthy Black man， his wife， and 3 children in France。 Race is part of it but the rest of the story is a bit more complicated。 Story is loosely based on an actual murder case in France。
Becky A
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3。5 stars…super fast read， terrifying its based on true events。
Karl O'
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This one sitting novel packs a mighty punch in its small frame。 Extremely readable， tense and disturbing。 Laden with food for thought。
Vicuña
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People Like Them is a book which seems to have slipped under most people’s radar。 It deserves a wide readership as it’s incredibly well written and an incisive condemnation of racism and class divide。 The translation feels sympathetic in that the narrative flows well and feels as if it’s written in English。 So for that， the translator is to be thanked for an excellent job。 The opening section is visceral and graphic in describing the crime。 Samira Semiramis grabs your attention and draws the rea People Like Them is a book which seems to have slipped under most people’s radar。 It deserves a wide readership as it’s incredibly well written and an incisive condemnation of racism and class divide。 The translation feels sympathetic in that the narrative flows well and feels as if it’s written in English。 So for that， the translator is to be thanked for an excellent job。 The opening section is visceral and graphic in describing the crime。 Samira Semiramis grabs your attention and draws the reader in to a the building up to the terrible event。 It’s a very clever construction and the sleepy little French village is in stark contrast to the brutal horror of the opening pages。 I believe the story is based on real events， which makes the narrative even more remarkable。。 it invites the reader to wonder how and why things may go so horribly wrong。 What will cause a seemingly ordinary person to implode and act beyond the bounds。 A remarkable story about ordinary people and it’s still haunting my thoughts。 I urge you to read this and my thanks for a review copy via Netgalley。 I had an audio version and the narration was spot on throughout。 。。。more
Alexandra
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book reminded me of Idaho by Emily Ruskovich。 We never really truly know why the murders happen though there are many more reasons and clues provided。
Collette Mcgaahan
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I think it is especially clever when an author maintains tension in a story despite the fact that the crime you’re reading about has already been described in the first chapter or so。 This is exactly what Samira Sedira does and I loved it。 The characters were so interesting and believable and the sad dark story was told to perfection。I listened to this as an audiobook but I think a written version would be just as good www。netgalley。co。uk/book/229078/revie。。。 I think it is especially clever when an author maintains tension in a story despite the fact that the crime you’re reading about has already been described in the first chapter or so。 This is exactly what Samira Sedira does and I loved it。 The characters were so interesting and believable and the sad dark story was told to perfection。I listened to this as an audiobook but I think a written version would be just as good www。netgalley。co。uk/book/229078/revie。。。 。。。more
Lisa
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I read this with a gifted copy courtesy of publishers Bloomsbury Publishing and as part of a Tandem Collective readalong。 This review represents my own thoughts on the book。This is a relatively short book。 Too long to properly be a novella， but at only 171 pages it’s a very short novel。The story is set in a French village in the aftermath of a horrendous crime。 Everything is told from the perspective of the partner of the perpetrator， which lends both a sense of distance from the crime and an un I read this with a gifted copy courtesy of publishers Bloomsbury Publishing and as part of a Tandem Collective readalong。 This review represents my own thoughts on the book。This is a relatively short book。 Too long to properly be a novella， but at only 171 pages it’s a very short novel。The story is set in a French village in the aftermath of a horrendous crime。 Everything is told from the perspective of the partner of the perpetrator， which lends both a sense of distance from the crime and an uneasiness that we’re not seeing the whole picture。 There’s a reason hearsay evidence isn’t admitted in court， and here we see it play out as Anna talks about how her partner Constant behaved after coming home from visiting their new neighbour， rather than hearing what happened from the first person perspective of Constant。Despite dealing with a horrific murder this is quite a slow， gentle read。 It’s been translated very well by Lara Vergnaud， which makes the reading experience easier than it could have been。I didn’t enjoy it exactly。 It’s an interesting tale， well told， but it’s missing the sense of threat or resolution to make a more gripping tale。 。。。more
Sara
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lo bola que se me ha hecho para ser un libro de menos de 200 páginas 😭
Stephanie Jane
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See more of my book reviews on my blog， Literary FlitsI was very impressed with People Like Them as a novel， especially the foreboding atmosphere that Samira Sedira created within the small village of Carmac。 It reminded me of Pascal Garnier's crime fiction except， in this case， the events at the heart of the novel really did take place。 I loved the idea of being led through the story by the murderer's spouse who， talking in retrospect， is still struggling to come to terms with how they could ha See more of my book reviews on my blog， Literary FlitsI was very impressed with People Like Them as a novel， especially the foreboding atmosphere that Samira Sedira created within the small village of Carmac。 It reminded me of Pascal Garnier's crime fiction except， in this case， the events at the heart of the novel really did take place。 I loved the idea of being led through the story by the murderer's spouse who， talking in retrospect， is still struggling to come to terms with how they could have been so completely ignorant of what their partner was about to do - and even that they were capable of such violence at all。 It's an interesting perspective which， I think， isn't usually given much prominence in the crime fiction genre。Sedira's evocation of small-town attitudes is well-observed and， of course， is by no means a French phenomenon。 I see similar ignorance and casual racism expressed in my own country， particularly it seems by people in predominantly white communities whose preconceived ideas are rarely challenged。 I was intrigued by how Sedira's characters reacted when their notions were upset and how little it actually took to fire up such rage in one particular person。 The question is whether the Langlois family would have been punished so viciously if they were all white？ Sedira deftly shows how deeply ingrained ideas of social status can be and I thought her spare prose style， expertly translated by Lara Vergnaud， suited the novel perfectly。 People Like Them is a fairly short read， but one that packs a punch。 Several days after reading the book I find myself still mulling over the issues it raised。 。。。more
Sarah Threader
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Mr and Mrs Guillot live a happy， modest life in a very quiet town in France。 Mr Guillot kills 5 of his neighbours within the first 15 pages and the book then goes back to explain the build up to the murders。 The book covers racism， elitism and the problems in the social class system all whilst being an easy read in under 200 pages！ 🌲 The book opens with a graphic murder that was written so well it left me feeling nauseous and uneasy。 To find out this book was based on murders that took place in Mr and Mrs Guillot live a happy， modest life in a very quiet town in France。 Mr Guillot kills 5 of his neighbours within the first 15 pages and the book then goes back to explain the build up to the murders。 The book covers racism， elitism and the problems in the social class system all whilst being an easy read in under 200 pages！ 🌲 The book opens with a graphic murder that was written so well it left me feeling nauseous and uneasy。 To find out this book was based on murders that took place in France in 2003 adds an extra heaviness to the story。 🇫🇷 The unusual aspect of this book is that it was told by Mrs Guillot as if she was speaking to Mr Guillot。 I found this hard to get on with at times but many people in our group thought it was written beautifully so this is probably due to me not being used to this particular writing style。 This book shows that even the people you least expect can be capable of monstrous acts。🖊 I would recommend this novella as it’s a fast paced book that I read in one sitting and it’s definitely different to your usual thriller！ 。。。more
Sarah Schoen
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What a strange little novel
Jen
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This atmospheric， high-impact little read sucked me in and I devoured it in one afternoon。 People like Them is a translated fiction read for me （as it was written originally in French） and tells the story of a mass murder in a small French village。 That’s a tantalising enough premise – then I discovered that the story is based on a true crime， so it all became even more interesting。In 2003， in a small village in the Haute-Savoie region of France， a family of five was murdered， the parents and th This atmospheric， high-impact little read sucked me in and I devoured it in one afternoon。 People like Them is a translated fiction read for me （as it was written originally in French） and tells the story of a mass murder in a small French village。 That’s a tantalising enough premise – then I discovered that the story is based on a true crime， so it all became even more interesting。In 2003， in a small village in the Haute-Savoie region of France， a family of five was murdered， the parents and three children。 The family’s neighbour confessed to killing them and a mysterious story emerged from the facts surrounding the case。People Like Them gives us a fictional account of this horrific event， with Anna Guillot taking centre stage as our narrator。 She is the partner of Constant Guillot， the man on trial for killing his neighbours， Bakary， Sylvia and their three young children。I really enjoyed the themes the author explored within this story。 As well as looking into the possible motivation as to why a man would suddenly one day kill the family next door， she looks at events from the POV of a woman who is now blindsided， dealing with the aftermath of discovering the father of her children is capable of such a brutal act: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。Author Samira Sedira is from Algeria and moved to France as a child with her family。 She noted that in the real life murder case， the father of the family who was killed was Black， but racism was not cited as a possible motive in the real trial。 Something she found strange and explores as a possible motive for her character。 Bakary is far more affluent and successful than Constant， maybe not aligning with Constant’s world view， causing devastating consequences。A thrumming sense of suspense is woven through the pages and it makes you take a moment to consider just how delicate human nature， especially when it is fuelled by the unconscious insidiousness of small-town mentality。 A great read。 。。。more
Jennifer Ayre
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This book reminded me a lot of We Need to Talk About Kevin in as much as we knew the ending and learned the background。 I liked it， I enjoyed the duel timelines and duel narrative of both first and second person。 For a novella it was good， gripping and exciting。 For me though， I was let down by the ending which felt a bit neat。 I'd have preferred a twist。 This book reminded me a lot of We Need to Talk About Kevin in as much as we knew the ending and learned the background。 I liked it， I enjoyed the duel timelines and duel narrative of both first and second person。 For a novella it was good， gripping and exciting。 For me though， I was let down by the ending which felt a bit neat。 I'd have preferred a twist。 。。。more
Chloe Newman
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thank you to the Tandem Collective and Bloomsbury for my copy of this book。People Like Them is a novel partly based on 'l'Affaire Flactif' a murder which occurred in 2003 in the Alps region。 A family of five was brutally killed by their neighbour in the Alps region and Sedira extrapolates these events to craft her novel。The novel - narrated by the perpetrator's wife - opens immediately with Mr Guillot's trial and we are immersed from the get go into the horrific nature of the crime。 As the book thank you to the Tandem Collective and Bloomsbury for my copy of this book。People Like Them is a novel partly based on 'l'Affaire Flactif' a murder which occurred in 2003 in the Alps region。 A family of five was brutally killed by their neighbour in the Alps region and Sedira extrapolates these events to craft her novel。The novel - narrated by the perpetrator's wife - opens immediately with Mr Guillot's trial and we are immersed from the get go into the horrific nature of the crime。 As the book develops， we learn about how the murder came to be， the motivations and also Mr and Mrs Guillot's complicated， heartbreaking and ultimately sad past which gives a multi layered aspect to the case。 We get to know intrinsically well the couple， the village， the future victims and as a reader I suppose get to see the human condition and how one could commit a crime this truly brutal。I found the Author's Note at the end of the novel actually extremely insightful in why she chose to wrote this， when news broke in 2003 of the crime， the racial aspect of it - that the man of the family was Black - was entirely overlooked。 In this， she explores this side of the case which was not in the original one， and it really made me reflect on how race comes into play subconsciously in our everyday lives。 If he was white， would any of this had happened？A short punchy novel， and whilst I struggled with the translation as a native French speaker I'm glad I got to learn so much！ 。。。more
Kristine
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Well written and quick read。 I am always a little skeptical of translated novels， sometimes the translation can be sloppy but this one hit the mark for me。 Interesting storyline and the descriptions of the town and people in it really drew me in。 I felt like a fly on the wall of this small village and the 2 families it focuses on。 Enjoyed this and plan on looking into the true story it’s loosely based on。 Wish I knew French so I could read more by this author！
Paradise
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Loosely based on a true story， this book begins with a vivid description of the quiet village of Carmac， where every day is the same。 It seems picturesque， calm and removed from the hustle of modern cities。 And yet， it quickly takes a more gruesome turn。Told from the perspective of Constant’s wife Anna， this book has a poetic brilliance to it。 Sedira’s words are translated beautifully by Lara Vergnaud and the story flows well。The first two chapters suck you in and make you want to keep reading。 Loosely based on a true story， this book begins with a vivid description of the quiet village of Carmac， where every day is the same。 It seems picturesque， calm and removed from the hustle of modern cities。 And yet， it quickly takes a more gruesome turn。Told from the perspective of Constant’s wife Anna， this book has a poetic brilliance to it。 Sedira’s words are translated beautifully by Lara Vergnaud and the story flows well。The first two chapters suck you in and make you want to keep reading。 However， the book’s short length means that the ending is abrupt and disappointing。 We are told upfront of the brutal murders that have taken place， so I was expecting the rest of the book would break down and analyse the characters。 Instead we are left with many unanswered questions， gaps and confusion。This is a shame。 There was a lot more that could have been discussed， especially how the brutal crime affected the rest of the villagers。 How did they react to the murders and what about Constant’s daughters？ The ‘friendship’ between the two families feels forced and awkward and it’s rather confusing when， despite everything they go to the fair together。The narrator is cold and unfeeling， especially at the end where she is almost indifferent to her husband’s fate。 This makes it difficult to trust her version of events。 She knows her husband is jealous of Bakary， but her actions don’t help the situation and instead exacerbate his feelings of unworthiness and inferiority。 Racial motivation relating to the crime is hinted at throughout – and in the book’s title – but it is never fully explored。 We assume that unconscious bias plays a role in Constant’s actions， but perhaps his real drive was money， fuelled by envy。People Like Them is thought-provoking and well-written; however， with more analysis of characters and the psychological effects on them following the crime， it would have been much a much stronger debut。I was provided with a copy of the book by Tandem Collective and Bloomsbury Publishing。 All opinions my own。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=People Like Them
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=People Like Them&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,People Like Them&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0