Name: Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)

Danielle Valore Evans

Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self

Danielle Evans

A volume of short works includes "Harvest," in which an unplanned pregnancy prompts an African-American college student's self-evaluation; "Jellyfish," in which a father realizes how little he knows his daughter and "Snakes," in which a mixed-race girl recounts a fateful summer with white relatives. A first collection.

Shreya Punj

I heard this book on Audible and I want to first remark upon the excellent narration. Each story is narrated by a different artist, each character given their own way of talking, full of nuance and life. I think listening to this book enriched my understanding of the world Evans has created. 

The stories are satisfying, with Snakes being my favourite. Jellyfish came in a close second with Virgins vying for the same spot. 

Beautiful book.

Donald

This short story collection is fucking awesome.

Tracy K

'Fiercely independent, all of Evans’s characters struggle for a place in a world intent of fencing them out.' - New York Times Book Review A college student's unplanned pregnancy forces her to confront her feelings of resentment toward her more privileged classmates. A father’s misguided attempt to rescue a gift for his adult daughter magnifies all he doesn’t know about her. And two teenage girls’ flirt with adulthood leads to disastrous consequences. Based in a world where inequality is reality, but where the shifting terrain of adolescence and family are the most complicating forces, Evans’ characters are wry, wise and utterly original. Striking in their emotional immediacy, the electrifying, prize-winning stories in Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self offer a fresh perspective on race and class in contemporary America. 'Danielle Evans is funny as hell' - Victor LaValle, author of Big Machine 'Knife-sharp wit and tender but unflinching eye' - V.V. Ganeshananthan, author of Love Marriage

Cat Josephson

A volume of short works includes "Harvest," in which an unplanned pregnancy prompts an African-American college student's self-evaluation; "Jellyfish," in which a father realizes how little he knows his daughter; and "Snakes," in which a mixed-race girl recounts a fateful summer with white relatives.

Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self

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