Boundless Press | Good People: A Novel

How it Works Bookshop

Publishing Team Contact

Log in or Sign up

Good People: A Novel

Patmeena Sabit

Save to Your Books

Bookshop

Amazon

100% of affiliate revenue supports Boundless Press

“Good People is a stunning read. I could not recommend it more enthusiastically. . . . What a spectacular triumph this book is. This is the Afghan novel I have been eagerly waiting for.”—Khaled Hosseini Zorah Sharaf could do no wrong. Zorah Sharaf brought shame upon her family. What’s the truth? Depends on who you ask.The Sharaf family is the picture of success. Prosperous, rich, happy. They came to this country as refugees with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. And now, after years of hard work, they live in the most exclusive neighborhood, their growing family attending the most prestigious schools. Zorah, the eldest daughter, is the apple of her father’s eye.When an unthinkable tragedy strikes, everyone is left reeling and the family is thrust into the court of public opinion. There is talk that behind closed doors the Sharafs’ happy household was anything but. Did the Sharaf family achieve the American dream? Or was the image of the model immigrant family just a façade?Like a literary game of ping-pong, Good People compels the reader to reconsider what might have happened even on the previous page. Told through a kaleidoscope of perspectives, it is a riveting, provocative, and haunting story of family—sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, and the communities that claim us as family in difficult times.

Show more

Get the Bindery app

Posts about this title from Boundless Press

Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Apr 10

all the books I want to read this spring 🌸📚 a long overdue book haul!

open for an exclusive giveaway! 👀

22 books

15

4

Posts about this book from across Bindery

Judging By The Cover\ \ judgingby_thecover\ \ • Jun 21

Join for free

Welcome back to After the Walk, where Link and I return from our Sunday morning stroll, and I attempt to organize my thoughts about everything I've been reading.\ \ This week, some books surprised me by becoming far better than I anticipated. Others never quite became the story I thought I was picking up. And a few spent their entire runtime asking whether we can ever truly know what's happening beneath the surface of another person's life.\ \ As readers, we bring a lot of assumptions with us when we open a book. A familiar story. A compelling premise. A gorgeous cover. A marketing tagline. Sometimes those expectations help a book. Sometimes they hurt it. And sometimes the most interesting books are the ones that refuse to become what we expected at all.\ \ Marion \ \ As a massive Hitchcock fan, I was always going to pick this one up.\ \ Psycho is one of those stories that has become part of our cultural DNA. Even people who have never seen the film know the shower scene. They know Norman Bates. They know how Marion Crane's story is supposed to end.\ \ Emily Rowan understands that.\ \ What makes Marion work so well is that it doesn't simply retell Psycho. Instead, it uses your familiarity with the original as a weapon. Every time I thought I knew where the story was heading, Rowan pulled the rug out from under me.\ \ The novel alternates between Marion and Hannah, an investigator attempting to piece together the mystery. While Hannah's chapters occasionally slowed the momentum, Marion herself was fascinating. Angry, impulsive, frightened, and deeply human, she felt like a woman desperately trying to reclaim control of a narrative that was never supposed to belong to her.\ \ The novel explores revenge, female rage, and the stories we inherit from famous women. It isn't perfect, but it's clever, ambitious, and far more unpredictable than I expected.\ \ The Summer Fun Massacre \ \ This may be my biggest mismatch of the year between the book I read and the book I imagined.\ \ When I saw the title, cover, and premise, I created an entire movie in my head. I expected summer camp horror. Local legends. Campfire stories. Ridiculous camp activities. The literary equivalent of an '80s slasher movie.\ \ Instead, I got a police procedural.\ \ To be clear, that's not necessarily a criticism. There are readers who will probably enjoy this book far more than I did because they actually wanted the story it was trying to tell.\ \ The problem is that I spent most of the novel waiting for it to become something else.\ \ There are horror elements throughout, including some genuinely gruesome scenes, but the investigation remains the primary focus. The folklore and mythology, which I found far more interesting, never fully take center stage.\ \ It's a good reminder that sometimes our disappointment has less to do with a book's quality and more to do with the expectations we carried into it.\ \ Spellcaster \ \ This is one of those books where I spent the entire time seeing potential.\ \ The magic system is genuinely interesting. The school setting works. The family rivalries are compelling. There are mysteries everywhere, and the book constantly hints at larger secrets waiting beneath the surface.\ \ Unfortunately, the execution never fully matched the promise of the premise for me.\ \ The writing felt younger than I expected, and much of the story seemed focused on setup rather than payoff. I kept waiting for the narrative to click into place.\ \ What ultimately kept me reading was curiosity. The mystery surrounding the attacks, the family dynamics, and the final twist all left me wanting answers.\ \ Nightwitch \ \ Reading Spellcaster's sequel, Nightwitch, felt a bit like watching a television show realize it's running out of episodes.\ \ Everything starts moving at once.\ \ Major revelations. Big emotional moments. Long-running mysteries. Relationship developments. Plot resolutions.\ \ The problem is that none of them are given enough room to breathe.\ \ I actually enjoyed several aspects of this series. Logan remains an excellent example of the touch-her-and-die archetype, and the magical elements continue to be interesting. But so much happens so quickly that the emotional impact never has time to settle.\ \ The Very Definition of Love \ \ Every once in a while, a book arrives at exactly the right moment.\ \ The Very Definition of Love was pure joy.\ \ Lady Harriet is curious, intelligent, and completely uninterested in behaving the way society expects her to. She's obsessed with collecting slang, constantly asking questions, and approaching life with the enthusiasm of someone who genuinely wants to understand the world around her.\ \ Naturally, I adored her.\ \ Alexander is equally delightful. For someone who insists he isn't capable of love, he spends an impressive amount of time acting like a man completely obsessed with his wife.\ \ The chemistry sparkles. The banter lands. More importantly, this book understands something many romances forget: charming characters are often more important than complicated plots.\ \ I finished this one smiling.\ \ Good People \ \ This was the standout of the week.\ \ Good People tells its story through interviews conducted after a tragedy involving an Afghan-American family. Every chapter introduces a new perspective, a new memory, a new interpretation of events.\ \ The result is fascinating.\ \ As readers, we often assume that if we gather enough information, we'll eventually discover the truth. This novel challenges that assumption. Every new testimony reveals something useful while simultaneously making the picture more complicated.\ \ Nobody is entirely right. Nobody is entirely wrong.\ \ The audiobook deserves special recognition. The full-cast narration elevates an already brilliant structure and makes each voice feel distinct and authentic.\ \ Final Thoughts \ \ This week reminded me that reading is often an exercise in managing expectations.\ \ Sometimes a book becomes something entirely different than what we imagined. Sometimes that's disappointing. Sometimes it's delightful. And sometimes the best stories are the ones that force us to question the assumptions we brought with us in the first place.

After the Walk: The Stories We Tell Ourselves

2 books

2

Ronnica Reads\ \ Ronnica Fatt\ \ • Apr 24

Join for free

Now for the discussion of the fourth and final section of Good People by Patmeena Sabit (Judgment Day, pages 251-end) as well as the book as a whole. \ \ I think this is what really sold me on the book...we don't get resolution just like we don't in life. In full transparency, I remembered that we found out that it wasn't an honor killing, though on re-reading I realized that was just my interpretation. That said, having the opposite assumption on re-read helped me notice all the times we're clued in to the accusations being groundless.\ \ What was uncomfortable for me (and thus an opportunity to grow) is how easily I was willing to believe it was an honor killing, even though the evidence at most was weak and circumstantial. This playing on stereotype draws attention to Islamophobia in a way that creeps up on you.\ \ What are your thoughts?\ \ Join for free or login

April Book Club: Good People by Patmeena Sabit, Final Discussion

1 book

1

2

Ronnica Reads\ \ Ronnica Fatt\ \ • Apr 17

Join for free

[Now for the discussion of the third section of Good People by Patmeena Sabit (In the Garden and A Witness from Every Nation, pages 193-249). A quicker section, but what a place to stop! Not as hard for me as this is my 2nd read, but if it was my first read I don't think I could stop here.\ \ I'll admit, I felt a little jealous by the community around the Sharaf family in the immediate aftermath and thought it was quite the contrast to the other neighbors, being afraid of stepping in in any way.\ \ Some additional questions for discussion:\ \

April Book Club: Good People by Patmeena Sabit, Week 3

1 book

Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Apr 10

all the books I want to read this spring 🌸📚 a long overdue book haul!

open for an exclusive giveaway! 👀

22 books

15

4

Ronnica Reads\ \ Ronnica Fatt\ \ • Apr 10

Join for free

[Now for the discussion of the second section of Good People by Patmeena Sabit (Things Secret and Open, pages 91-192). I felt like this section really reminded me why I liked this book when I read the ARC in November and why I thought it would make for a great discussion.\ \ That said, I also struggle to talk about this section. Some of you know that I spent my first 39 years in the evangelical church, where I was taught problematic beliefs about Islam. One of the common statements was how Islam is bad for women. I now see the irony of being taught this in a patriarchal institution that also perpetuated to harm women. All that to say, I feel it's important to focus on dismantling the patriarchy I participated in rather than pointing the finger at others. But I will also listen and amplify own voices of women in other patriarchal cultures.\ \ The use of the title really struck me: "Good people, as soon as their daughters know right from left, teach them one thing: That a girl's reputation is like a cloth of pure white. The tiniest fleck of dirt--the tiniest fleck anywhere--and the whole thing is ruined." (p.139)\ \ Sounds familiar.\ \ So for some discussion questions:\ \

April Book Club: Good People by Patmeena Sabit, Week 2

1 book

Ronnica Reads\ \ Ronnica Fatt\ \ • Apr 3

Join for free

[I had hoped to host the Leans Literary book club on Discord (and we'll get there!), but we're going to start here as I've had technical difficulties and haven't had time to work through them as I'm preparing for a trip.\ \ I'll post my thoughts on the first section of Good People by Patmeena Sabit and some questions here, and feel free to chime in! This post is member only so your comments won't be publicly visible.\ \ This is the schedule I plan on following:\ \

April Book Club: Good People by Patmeena Sabit, Week 1

1 book

Ronnica Reads\ \ Ronnica Fatt\ \ • Mar 3

Join for free

As I was perusing the Women's History Month 20% sale on bookshop.org (as one does on a book buying ban), I saw that included is Good People by Patmeena Sabit, our April Leans Literary book club pick! If you want to pick up a personal copy, now would be a great time to do so, saving 20% with code WHM26.\ \ Good People is the story of an Afghani immigrant family...told entirely from the outside. Because everyone has an opinion on how immigrants should live their lives.\ \ You can pick it up from my bookshop . You may also see our May and June book club picks.

20% off Good People by Patmeena Sabit

1 book

Ronnica Reads\ \ Ronnica Fatt\ \ • Feb 26

Join for free

Poll:\ \ Which of these titles are you interested in for the Leans Literary book club?\ \ I've already announced that the Leans Literary book club (which you're a part of if you are reading this...if you want to be!) will be reading Good People by Patmeena Sabit in April. \ \ But I know how hard it can be to get your hands on books sometimes, so I want to go ahead and make up a calendar for the rest of the year. \ \ Taking a look at my shelves, the below titles are books I think would be a good fit that I have already read. Feel free to suggest other titles as well.\ \ The Leans Literary book club will focus on genre fiction (sci fi, horror, dystopian, dark academia, etc) written by marginalized authors that has literary character-development and/or themes. We'll probably shy away from fantasy, as it's not generally my favorite, and I feel like there are already a lot of good book clubs out there focused on fantasy.\ \ Join for free or login

What Do You Want to Read Together?

11 books

2

1

Ronnica Reads\ \ Ronnica Fatt\ \ • Feb 9

Join for free

Good People by Patmeena Sabit! I’ll be posting this publicly next week, but so excited for this to be our first book club read! I hope you’ll join us for discussion on Discord (coming soon!) throughout April. \ \ This book couldn’t be more timely: a community commentating on what brown immigrants should/shouldn’t be doing? Plus it may challenge some preconceived notions you have about the Muslim community (especially if you lived through 9/11 in an evangelical church like I did). \ \ Upgrade for $5 or login

Leans Literary Book Club Pick for April is…

1 book

Ronnica Reads\ \ Ronnica Fatt\ \ • Feb 2

Join for free

[Here are new releases this week that I have my eye on. First, the ones that I've had the chance to read:\ \

February 3rd Releases on My Radar

8 books