I restarted this audiobook a few times, but I was not able to get invested in the plotline. The book targets a very important set of topics, and is based in a place that I have not encountered before. The direction the story took had me losing interest. I think this is better read as a physical book because of all the internal retrospection.

I loved the way the story unfolded, creating a nice amount of mystery with the characters. I enjoyed this, however wasn't enthralled by it.

It took me a few attempts to get into The Fugitivities audiobook. But when I started over at Chapter 1--and listened without multitasking--it really captured me. And I listened to the entire book on a Sunday afternoon.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. Jesse McCarthy's characters were well-developed, each with their own wonderful, tangential stories. (My favorite among them was Nathaniel). I also loved the global nature of the book -- it was set in New York City, then Paris and then South America.

But most of all, I loved the messages about race and interracial love. And especially what it's like to live as a Black man amongst friends and strangers -- and how one finds a self-identity in other cultures.

This is a great work of art from a debut author. It was well done as an audiobook and I enjoyed the narration by Corey Allen. Special thanks to Recorded Books for an advanced listener copy via the NetGalley app.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* not what i would normally read/lots of drama/romance than i normally read but the characters were interesting and it was not a bad read

Fugitivities follows Jonah on a spontaneous trip to South America with his friend Octavio. This is a modern take on the expat novels that jaunt around postwar Europe.

The coincidental encounters (typical of this genre) are all fairly enjoyable to read in this iteration. Jonah gains new perspectives on race, sex, violence, and political conflict. The characters are well-developed.

The downfall of this type of novel is often that explicitly trying to teach wisdom can lead the author into self-indulgence. Fugitivities is no exception—the scene about the exhausting literary party serves the author more than it serves the story. At time, the story drags because there is not enough plot holding it together in the middle.

“Love in a marriage should resemble a long meal.”

I am grateful to both the publisher and NetGalley for providing an Audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.