If I Survive You
Jonathan Escoffery
Rave
Positive
Mixed
Pan
If I Survive You
Jonathan Escoffery
Rave
Positive
Mixed
Pan
Rave
Positive
Mixed
Pan
Ravishing.
Captivating.
The book moves backward and forward in time, immersing us in the muggy Miami atmosphere and the unresolved family tensions.
The best book titles feel wholly different to the reader by the time the book is finished.
Remarkable.
... lively.
... it's a special year when a debut breaks out of this distinguished pack and takes an early lead for its originality, heart, wit and sweeping social vision. The debut I'm cheering on is called If I Survive You, by Jonathan Escoffery and the 'you' his characters are trying to survive is America itself.
Escoffery creates a kaleidoscope of composed, colorful narrative pieces to generate an immersive story.
... a vibrant family saga.
The unmistakable quirks and charms of the debut are present in Jonathan Escoffery’s collection.
... eight stories linking to form a sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, sometimes wrenching novel about a Jamaican family in Miami.
A blazing success. With a profoundly authentic vision of family dynamics and racism in America, this collection of connected stories explores the young adulthood of a character named Trelawny.
Compelling.
Escoffery paints a vivid picture of the first-generation perspective by scrutinizing the cultural differences between children who are born stateside and their parents who are not, and the complex ways this impacts their relationships. The result is a revealing, often humorous and somewhat twisted collection of stories that are as engrossing as they are memorable. One of the most delightful aspects of “If I Survive You” is Escoffery’s multifarious use of literary devices. From second person to dialect to present tense, his debut collection is rife with shifting mechanisms that provide intimate access to his characters and submerge the reader in the urgency of his world.
In If I Survive You, Escoffery writes and shares the story that captures the humanity. It captures the humanity in people trying to fight through racism, it captures the humanity in people trying to go from a have not to a have, it captures the humanity in people trying to make a home while fighting against and trying to survive all these powerful and inhumane situations. And, in a beautifully Miami way, it captures the humanity in people trying to survive hurricanes.
Escoffery’s collection of interconnected stories confirms his already prize-winning status.
Vibrant and varied.
Sharp and inventive.