Last week, I reviewed the new Thomas Pynchon book, Shadow Ticket, and I started my 5-star review with the words "I am still not sure what I just read." I'll kick off this 5-star review with one word -- Ditto. Seriously.This blend of memoir and fiction is perhaps more serious than the Pynchon book, but both use highly stylized language and dual settings in Europe and the US to comment on the absolute state of the country we Americans find ourselves in. A country that is comprehensively screwed. T...

I thought *People Like Us* was okay! It tackles interesting themes related to race and racism, especially focusing on Black adults in the United States striving for what some might call traditional, even assimilationist, measures of success – things like fame or money. I also thought Jason Mott included some relevant commentary about gun violence and the pros and cons of packing up and living outside of the United States altogether. That said, my impression of *People Like Us* is that it's more...

Gunsights Jason Mott's "People Like Us" is an imaginative journey of two Black men, both reflections of the author, that is at once wildly creative and humorous– and deeply tragic, as well. Gun violence is a pervasive issue in America, manifesting as both national tragedies and deeply personal losses. Soot, a middle-aged Black man haunted by the violent death of his own daughter, is currently on a national tour addressing gun violence. His next stop is a college campus in Minnesota, a locatio...

I think I'm missing something here. I absolutely loved Jason Mott's *Hell of a Book* – it's one of my all-time favorites – so I was practically counting down the days until *People Like Us* came out. And there were definitely moments where I could see that raw honesty, brutality, and beauty that I connect with Jason Mott's writing. But honestly, a lot of this book just left me confused. I *think* I was supposed to understand the shifts in narration, but I didn't quite get it. I *think* I was mea...

Charleston Gazette Mail, Saturday-Sunday, August 30-31, 2025. “People Like Us” - Jason Mott, Penguins, August 2025, 237 pages. As summer winds down, you might feel like switching from light beach reads or the latest spy thriller to something a little more literary. To ease that transition, give “People Like Us” a try. This new novel from National Book Award winner Jason Mott is serious fiction with welcome dashes of pure humor. Looking for thought-provoking book reviews? This one's for you.The b...

Hell of a writer!This book is a wild ride in the best possible way. It’s meta-fiction that reads like a memoir, and it’s one of those stories where you’re not always sure what’s real, but maybe that’s kind of the point. Jason Mott gives us two Black authors (or possibly two sides of the same man) navigating life on separate book tours. Soot is freezing in Minnesota while visiting with college students about gun violence and loss. The other, a National Book Award winner, is living the high-profil...

PEOPLE LIKE US ● It's a book with a silly but meaningful cover ● It's a witty and sharply clever book ● It's a wacky book ● It's a funny book ● It's often a heart-wrenching book ● It's a book written from the perspective of two modern-day Black authors ● It's a book written with chapters that have no names ● It's a book written with chapters that have no numbers ● It's a book whose chapters are signified by two different male silhouettes, one facing left and one with a dapper hat with a feather...

Just like with his award-winning Hell of a Book, Jason Mott's latest, People Like Us, is impossible to categorize. It explores what it means to be a celebrated writer, especially as a writer of color and a National Book Award winner to boot. As the story unfolds, moving between Tuscany, Paris, and Minnesota, Mott fleshes out the lives of two (or is it one?) protagonists so completely that by the end, you'll want to flip back to page one and start all over again. People Like Us is packed with so ...

I think people's perception of "People Like Us" is going to be largely based on their tolerance for the unique narrative and pseudo-memoir structure. You need to be okay with not quite being able to locate yourself in the two stories as bits and pieces are dropped to help you put together what’s happening. It’s a bit of a puzzle, but trust me. But in the midst of that disorientation, it's definitely not a slow drag. It’s packed with Jason Mott’s wickedly funny humor and a profundity that had me...

Wicked and hilarious in its humor. Jason Mott is a master at bringing the funny, and he absolutely delivers here. *People Like Us* is a novel that's part memoir, part stream-of-consciousness dream, part travelogue, and part social commentary. All the parts add up to a completely fanciful book experiment that's 100% worth it. I don’t want to be a spoil sport, but I think the publisher's blurb does readers a disservice; it states: “In *People Like Us*, two Black writers are trying….” Wait, what? I...