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If I Survive You

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If I Survive You

By: Jonathan Escoffery
Narrated by: Torian Brackett
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About this listen

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 BOOKER PRIZE

‘Dazzling’ GUARDIAN

‘Blistering’ THE TIMES

'A delight' DIANA EVANS

‘Fiction written at the highest level’ ANN PATCHETT

'Hilarious, revelatory' MARLON JAMES

An electrifying, hilarious and deeply moving tragicomic debut novel following a Jamaican family grappling with a new life in the US.

‘What are you?’

This is the puzzled question that greets a young Trelawny growing up in a Miami where his racial ambiguity is regarded with confusion and suspicion. It’s not just his neighbours, his Jamaican parents Topper and Sanya don’t seem to understand him either. Then there’s his stubborn older brother Delano, who is determined to secure a better future for his own children, no matter what it takes.

As both brothers navigate the challenges littered in their path – a woefully unreliable father, racism, recession and even a hurricane – they find themselves increasingly at odds. Will they make it through together or must one brother’s future come at the cost of the other?

Shortlisted for the 2024 Gordon Burn Prize

‘An astonishingly assured debut novel … clarity, variety and fizzing prose’ BOOKER PRIZE JUDGES

‘So damn funny’ RUMAAN ALAM

‘Astonishing’ I NEWSPAPER

'Utterly unstoppable’ IRISH TIMES

©2023 Jonathan Escoffery (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Anthologies & Short Stories Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological Relationships Short Stories Heartfelt

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Critic reviews

Blistering … Escoffery writes stinging sentencesThe Times

All of life is here in unflinching detail: the fragility of existence, the American dream and the road not taken’ The Booker Prize Judges

Thrilling … With much tenderness in the gulf between father and son’ Observer

‘So brilliant it stopped me in my tracks … Astonishing’ iNews

Brilliantly energetic… his talent feels fully formed and raring to goFinancial Times

Unmissable… rare in that it has the heft and heart of a novel, with the refined finesse of the short story’ Irish Times

Surges with the symphonic, imaginative, propulsive energy of Gabriel García MárquezGuardian

A compelling hurricane of a book’ Ann Patchett, author of The Dutch House

Profound, tender, and laugh-out-loud hilarious, If I Survive You will knock you off your feet and keep you spellbound to the very last page … A must-read. Maaza Mengiste, author of The Shadow King, shortlisted for The Booker Prize

Superb… a much-needed new voice’ Percival Everett, author of Erasure

'This I adore… Sumptuous and astute' Diana Evans, author of Ordinary People

An elegant meditation on belonging from a powerful new writer’ Nikesh Shukla, author of Brown Baby

‘A dazzling mirror held up to our identity-obsessed time’ Joyce Carol Oates, author of Blonde

‘A gifted, sure-footed storyteller’ New York Times

Like nothing you've read before’ Marlon James, author of A Brief History of Seven Killings

So damn funny’ Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind

All stars
Most relevant
Not what I expected, but sad to have finished. I was expecting a bit more from some of the stories, but then again it can be disappointing when things are wrapped up too neatly - not real life atall.
I really enjoyed Toppers chapter, and think I maybe got a bit more from it if I had been reading from a book rather than listening.
Fantastic narration

Deserved to be shortlisted for the Booker prize 23

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Initially I couldn’t remember why I had purchased this title and just moments into beginning it I knew.

The narrator has a voice that is dynamic in all the right places. Excellent at bringing you through each family member. Although it is a book of connected short stories, I didn’t read it with that in the forefront. The stories intertwined in such a way that you understood each person.

Identity, mixed heritage, ethnicity, familial trauma, regrets and motives… a fascinating and yet familiar melting pot for many.

Beautifully written, I look forward to any future works by Escoffery and I’ll certainly check out what else the narrator has worked on to find out what else he can do with his amazing voice!

So good

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Trelawny is such an unlikeable character!! His brother Delano and Father’s story seemed unfinished. I liked that Jamaican culture was part of this book and enjoy books from characters perspectives. Which this book has. I would recommend.

The recklessness of the main character

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Performance by the author was great, the story was a little heart wrenching for me

Linked short stories about an immigrant family in America

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I thought the narration was excellent and the premise of the story sound. However, it sagged a little bit in the middle and I sometimes struggled to get under the skin of the characters. Overall, though a good tale, with valuable insights into colourism, racism and the relationship between fathers and sons and between siblings.

A but of a mishmash but enjoyable

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