Ratings3
Average rating3.7
Named a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR by * NPR * Esquire * O, The Oprah Magazine * Real Simple * BBC * PopSugar * Bustle * Kirkus Reviews * Lit Hub “A gripping, astute, and deeply humane political thriller.” —The Boston Globe “Mesmerizing [and] uncannily prescient.”—Los Angeles Times A taut, timely novel about what a powerful politician thinks he can get away with and the group of misfits who finally bring him down, from the award-winning author of Ways to Disappear. On an unnamed island country ten years after the collapse of a U.S.-supported regime, Lena suspects the powerful senator she was involved with back in her student activist days is taking advantage of a young woman who's been introducing him at rallies. When the young woman ends up dead, Lena revisits her own fraught history with the senator and the violent incident that ended their relationship. Why didn't Lena speak up then, and will her family's support of the former regime still impact her credibility? What if her hunch about this young woman's death is wrong? What follows is a riveting exploration of the cost of staying silent and the mixed rewards of speaking up in a profoundly divided country. Those Who Knew confirms Novey's place as an essential new voice in American fiction.
Reviews with the most likes.
A politician with a dark past and a violent temper, and a woman who wants to expose him. This was a quick and engaging listen, though I feel like I missed parts, due to the time jumps. I wouldn't have minded getting all the in-between details as well, as I felt invested in the story.
The plot is mostly set on an unnamed (fictional) South American island. Yet lots of references are made to the influential rich country “in the North” who helped bankroll a previous fascist leader. So it feels like a book about the US after all.
I don't really know how to rate this book. It definitely felt like something we would've read in English class in high school. Don't think I know the history of America's presence in the Caribbean well enough to fully understand everything this book was trying to say.
But I enjoyed the book tho so ¯_(ツ)_/¯