Take a photo of a barcode or cover
anusha_reads 's review for:
If I Survive You
by Jonathan Escoffery
dark
reflective
slow-paced
BOOK 11: IF I SURVIVE YOU, JONATHAN ESCOFFERY #BOOKERPRIZE2023
It is a nonchronological collection of eight interconnected short stories with no clear ending as such and narrated mostly from a second-person point of view. It talks about racial and cultural identity, family problems, financial crisis and more.
It is mostly about Trelawny, a Jamaican-American, who feels he is black but not black enough to be accepted by the blacks and not white enough to be accepted by the whites. He suffers from existential angsts trying to fit into various groups or communities. He suffers from an identity crisis and tries to make a niche for himself by listening to a set of songs or dressing up in a particular way. Trewany finds it difficult to find a place for himself mentally and physically.
Is it necessary that a person should always belong to a racial group? Can't she/he be unique?
I read an article a few days back that “even two people not related but belonging to the same community stand the risk of transmitting genetic defects in their DNA.”
Despite this fact, people believe in finding out or associating people with a community?!
I enjoyed the story INDEPENDENT LIVING. I was quite intrigued by the opening lines of the story which goes: “IF YOU ASKED ME, WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING? I MIGHT ADMIT I HUNT ELDERLY PEOPLE.”
It’s a story about this building manager (Trelawny) and the residents, mostly old or disabled, with an interesting tenant called Carlos. It had a very knotted and unique ending.
“IT MIGHT BE A HYPERBOLE TO SAY I IDENTIFY WITH ANY TENANTS. MOST OF WHOM ARE ASYLUM SEEKERS AND REFUGEES, BUT I CAN EMPATHISE WELL ENOUGH”
All the stories are easy to read except for ‘Under the Ackee Tree’ which has a different lingo, but one gets used to it as one reads on. This can be seen whenever Trelawny’s dad is narrating. Trelawny’s parents fled Jamaica in the 70s, to escape the violence and hoping to give their children a better education and future. The father is biased and loves his elder son more than Trewany.
How does it matter where a person is from or what his roots are?
Though it’s a debut novel, the author has uniquely woven the stories together depicting the feeling of helplessness in proving one's identity, particularly if the person has roots in so many cultures or communities.
It is a nonchronological collection of eight interconnected short stories with no clear ending as such and narrated mostly from a second-person point of view. It talks about racial and cultural identity, family problems, financial crisis and more.
It is mostly about Trelawny, a Jamaican-American, who feels he is black but not black enough to be accepted by the blacks and not white enough to be accepted by the whites. He suffers from existential angsts trying to fit into various groups or communities. He suffers from an identity crisis and tries to make a niche for himself by listening to a set of songs or dressing up in a particular way. Trewany finds it difficult to find a place for himself mentally and physically.
Is it necessary that a person should always belong to a racial group? Can't she/he be unique?
I read an article a few days back that “even two people not related but belonging to the same community stand the risk of transmitting genetic defects in their DNA.”
Despite this fact, people believe in finding out or associating people with a community?!
I enjoyed the story INDEPENDENT LIVING. I was quite intrigued by the opening lines of the story which goes: “IF YOU ASKED ME, WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING? I MIGHT ADMIT I HUNT ELDERLY PEOPLE.”
It’s a story about this building manager (Trelawny) and the residents, mostly old or disabled, with an interesting tenant called Carlos. It had a very knotted and unique ending.
“IT MIGHT BE A HYPERBOLE TO SAY I IDENTIFY WITH ANY TENANTS. MOST OF WHOM ARE ASYLUM SEEKERS AND REFUGEES, BUT I CAN EMPATHISE WELL ENOUGH”
All the stories are easy to read except for ‘Under the Ackee Tree’ which has a different lingo, but one gets used to it as one reads on. This can be seen whenever Trelawny’s dad is narrating. Trelawny’s parents fled Jamaica in the 70s, to escape the violence and hoping to give their children a better education and future. The father is biased and loves his elder son more than Trewany.
How does it matter where a person is from or what his roots are?
Though it’s a debut novel, the author has uniquely woven the stories together depicting the feeling of helplessness in proving one's identity, particularly if the person has roots in so many cultures or communities.