GOOD PEOPLE

A host of voices weigh in on a young Afghan American’s suspicious death.

Sabit’s debut is framed as an oral history about the Sharaf family and an incident that put it in the national spotlight. Rahmat and Maryam arrived in Virginia as refugees from Afghanistan, eventually having four children; in time, Rahmat built a sizable fortune in real estate, owning multiple retail properties. None of the Sharafs themselves are “interviewed” for the novel, but plenty of others contribute—Afghan friends and family, classmates and teachers of their children, journalists, lawyers—creating a mosaic portrait. It’s clear from all these stories that Rahmat was headstrong and determined to provide a conspicuously good living for his family—a real-estate agent recalls his insistence on finding a home in one of Northern Virginia’s wealthiest communities—and that his teenage daughter Zorah increasingly began to bristle against life in a gilded cage, wearing tight clothes, dating against her parents’ wishes, and more. When she’s found drowned in a borrowed Mercedes during a family trip to Niagara Falls, suspicious whispers about whether Rahmat committed an honor killing grow into a media frenzy. Telling this story without its principals is an effective conceit; as the slyly provocative title suggests, every person involved is striving for moral high ground, but long-standing Americans, recent immigrants, and authorities each operate under distinct cultural systems. Accusations of honor killings are rebutted by accusations of anti-immigrant bigotry; suggestions that Zorah needed to assimilate are met with cries of the need to protect and preserve traditions. The parade of voices is a bit overlong, and at times the overall voice feels too similar for a novel designed around multiple perspectives. But it thoughtfully underscores the idea that the American melting pot rarely melts consistently.

A well-turned and provocative first novel.