Author Laila Lalami on how ‘immigration is a timeless theme’

Moroccan-American novelist Laila Lalami, sat down for a video chat with The Times to discuss her recently released novel, “The Other Americans,” at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.

Lalami’s book follows the hit-and-run death of a Moroccan immigrant and the stories of the people connected to him.

“For me, immigration is a timeless theme. It’s something that people have written about literally since the dawn of humanity,” she said in the video interview.

Lalami, who has written three other books and is a book critic at large for The Times, said she keeps coming back to the idea of humility in her storytelling.

“In order to really write from the perspective of other characters, you have to sort of humble yourself, educate yourself about who they are and listen to their concerns.”