Thank you Netgalley for this audio edition of If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery.

These are short stories, many of them centered around race, immigration, family, survival, and relationships. I really tried hard to dive into these essays, but I really struggled. I definitely had my moments where the book caught me, and I also learned some things, but unfortunately, I could not get into this.

I hate giving books like this a star rating because I truly feel like it's more of a "it's not you, it's me" situation, but here we are.

I became interested in reading this debut novel after watching a Zoom conversation with the author, Jonathan Escoffery, which was hosted by the publisher. It is the story of a Jamaican family who have come to Miami in the hopes of finding a better, safer life and is told in short stories, each of which move the story a bit farther along in time.

'What are you?' Trelawny, the family's youngest son was born in America, but finds himself constantly asked this question by his classmates and neighbors until he begins to wonder himself. 'I'm an American!' doesn't seem to cut it. His mother says he's a little of this, a little of that. That's not very helpful so he spends his youth trying to find the answer to the question of who he is, never quite feeling like he fits in anywhere.

I think this is my favorite story of the collection because it depicts so well the identity issues he's confronting. It's also told with a wry sense of humor. He's not Jamaican in his own eyes--he doesn't like the music or the food and is embarrassed by his parents' patois. He's too black for some; he's too white for others; his hair is too long and curly, he doesn't speak Spanish, he doesn't like sports. His love of books gives him a soft spot to land.

And then there's the family's dysfunction. When his parents split up, his father takes his older brother Delano with him and leaves Trelawny with his mother. Doesn't his father want him? Isn't he good enough in his father's eyes? The answer to that question comes in the next chapter in which we hear his father's story. His relationship to Trelawny IS as bad as the kid fears and reaches a cataclysmic point at the father's retirement party.

Most of the stories are about Trelawny's struggles but there is also a story about his brother Delano on a very bad day and one of their cousin, Cukie Panton, who has been wondering what kind of man his white father really is. I thought that one was excellent.

This is a fresh new voice on the scene writing about 'otherness' in our society. I will look forward to seeing what's new to come from this author.

I received an arc from the author and publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This series of interconnected short stories primarily focusing on Trelawny felt a little stilted to me. I suppose that is the point of short stories instead of a novel but the changes of time or PoV left me scrambling to place the start of each story. I did like starting with Trelawny as a kid in Miami trying to connect with who he was. I appreciated his evolution and change as he continued this journey while also wrestling with his family and past.

This was a book I went into with high hopes of loving and unfortunately left feeling underwhelmed.

Crisp engaging prose in every single story. I was drawn to Trelawny’s voice the most; who felt like the narrator with the most heart of this Jamaican family doing their best to be resilient. Despite hardships, a strong sense of humor rings through it all, The questions of identity and family are also so relatable.

Full review to be posted on Instagram and Goodreads.

Jonathan Escoffery has written a book of short stories that are interconnected. The stories are based on a Jamaican family that has relocated to Miami Florida. These members of the family are trying to find their way in their new country.

There were definitely some of the stories that I found easier to read and enjoyed despite the hard topic. This was a book that I found to be informational in some ways since I live in a very non diverse area. The repeated question of "what are you?" I found to be really heartbreaking especially when Trelawney tried to answer this question but no one would agree with his answer.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

A collection of connected short stories about a Jamaican family in the United States about race and survival.

The short stories that were meant to connect in this novel just didn’t do it for me. I had to go back and keep re-reading parts of the book. The characters were not well defined for me to keep track of who was who. I really had to struggle to finish this.

I’ll start by saying that I really wanted to like this book and found the description and reviews as a sign of a great piece of writing. After I got to a certain point in the book though, I could tell that it wasn’t for me.

If I Survive You is made up of multiple short stories that follow the lives of four members of a Jamaican family living in Miami. I found it very difficult to follow the story at times because of the dialect and jargon spoken by the main characters, including an entire chapter early in the book. I pushed through despite considering a DNF because I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt and while I did find some of the short stories later in the book to be interesting, I still didn’t feel a connection to the story and was reading mostly to see how the book would end.

I appreciated being able to read about a nationality I rarely, if ever, find in the books I read, and know that there are a lot of people with whom this story would resonate. Unfortunately I’m not one of those people.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book is a collection of interconnected short stories, involving the experiences in the U.S. of various family members who have come to the U.S. from Jamaica. Trelawny, the main character, expresses the central question of the book in the first story - "what are you?" - the question he is repeatedly asked. Too black to be white, too white to be black, not hispanic - everyone is trying to assign him to a group. And, throughout the book, he's not really sure where he belongs.

And, to add to the ethnic/racial confusion, he doesn't really belong with his family, either. He's not really like his parents, brother, cousins, but he's not able to go ahead and make a separate, different, life for himself.

Another main theme running through this book, involving many of the characters, is the father-son relationships. They aren't very strong, but they complicate lives, especially the lives of the sons.

This book was well written, and intense. But, honestly, it was also pretty depressing. I did find it well worth reading, however.

It was very difficult to maintain interest in this book-the synopsis was wonderful, the actual book no so much.

I received this book as an ARC and this is my review. This story is totally consumed with racism and it’s causes and results. The characters are different nationalities and the point is driven home repeatedly: whatever your race, others are from other races and we look down on some of them just because race is an individual characteristic and we do not always understand each other. The setting is mostly in Florida and diversity is extreme. This book is a slice of prejudice and what happens when these beliefs are carried out.

While I really enjoyed the stories written from Trelawny's voice, I found the other stories written so deeply in Patois that it was incredibly hard to read. I believe there are very important themes in this book and the stories need to be told, but it was a hard read and unenjoyable to do so.
Unfortunately, I would not recommend this book. I feel this book would have been amazing if the Patois was limited to when the characters were actually talking, and not their entire story. I understand it is voiced from their perspective, but it would have been more effective if it wasn't written like this.
Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the advance copy.

If I Survive You is a collection of eight short stories that are interconnected, so this book reads like a more cohesive story than other short story collections. In these stories, themes of identity, poverty, and familial relationships are highlighted. Topper and Sanya grew up in Jamaica, but flee with their young son Delano to Miami in order to get away from the violence plaguing their home country. In America, they have a second son Trelawny who is the primary character in these stories. In his childhood, he frequently is asked "what are you"? He is Jamaican, but that is not an answer that his fellow classmates understand, and he does not fit in with white, hispanic, or black children. The book skips ahead in time and he finds himself homeless, living out of his car, and eventually working at a subsidized housing complex. He has strained relationships with his family. His brother Delano is the oldest son- the favorite son. Their father, Topper, sees Trelawny as foreign. as weird. as American. Escoffery does of really nice job of highlighting a family with complex connections.

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting a full review. I found the stories hard to connect although the writing was well done, at times. Thank you for your consideration

Thank you for this opportunity but I’m afraid I can’t finish this book. It’s too hard to get into and sometimes it’s too hard to follow.

I will admit to picking this book purely because of a recommendation from Ann Patchett. I also have enjoyed other interconnected story books, such as those written by Elizabeth Stout.
I am not the intended audience for this book. While I found certain parts of it interesting and enlightening, other parts just had me shaking my head.
The stories focus on Trelawny, a “multiculti” Jamaican American. No one can figure out what he is and so, he’s not really accepted by any group. But more importantly, because of his intelligence and manners, he’s not really accepted by his family. Other stories deal with his father, his cousin and his brother. It’s an interesting glimpse into immigrant life, the feeling of not having a real home, of family and parental favorites.
This wasn’t an easy book to read. And I don’t just mean the patois that his parents and brother speak. There are some really raw, weird scenes that I struggled to understand. Other chapters I found just lacking. Other reviews comment on its humor. I found it sad and depressing more than anything.
My thanks to Netgalley and Farrah, Strauss and Giroux for an advance copy of this book.

I'm rating this with 4 stars because I'm positive it's going to be a knockout for some! The stories told in this book are raw, real and very eye opening. They range from when Trelawny is very young to and adult and the hardships of being the son of Jamaican immigrants to Miami. I thoroughly enjoyed some of the short stories, while some were very hard to read due to being written in mostly slang.

This collection of short stories is one of the sharpest, most eye-opening works I’ve read in a long time, and it’s easy to see why Mr. Escoffery has garnered so much attention and won so many accolades. This man is a born storyteller, and a prodigiously gifted one at that. The reason for the adage “Write what you know” is on full display here, in a series of stories linked by the main character, Trelawny, the child of Jamaican parents, as he struggles to carve out a place for himself in the US beginning with his childhood in the 1980s and making his way through early adulthood in the early 2000’s. He deftly captures the meandering journey of self-discovery, in all its dimensions and directions, of one who didn’t fit neatly into any of the boxes created by the impersonal and often thoughtless social constructs in place at that time. This work is, simply put, deeply impressive both in what he conveys and how he conveys it. Quite honestly, it’s scary to think that this is his debut work, because this work is so polished, deftly written with heart, humor and acuity of insight, that I can’t imagine the heights he’ll scale as a writer. Add this one to your “To Read” list if you haven’t already. And many, many thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for my ARC copy — what a gem this was to discover! (less)

This is a collection of stories that tell the history of a Jamaican/American family. It lays bare the issue of race, violence, and survival in a hostile society. The young man is never really comfortable with with background as a mix-race child. I know someone in his sixties who struggles with this still. What is equal about a system that measures your mettle and makes assumptions about you by the degree of darkness of your skin? My thanks to the author and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book.

This darkly funny novel in short story about a family of Jamaican immigrants and their sons. It deals with race and capitalism in a great way.