2023 Booker Longlist – If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
Next up for our panel is a debut novel by Johnathan Escoffery: If I Survive You
Jonathan Escoffery is no stranger to the literary world. His short stories have won several awards including the Plimpton Prize for fiction and 2020 ASME award for fiction. His work has appeared in the Paris Review, Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading, and American Short Fiction. He has taught creative writing at numerous well-renowned colleges and universities and he founded the Boston Writers of Color Group.
If I Survive You is his debut novel and has received high praise from reviewers and authors across the world.
Synopsis from Booker Prize website: In 1979, as political violence consumes their native Kingston, Topper and Sanya flee to Miami. But they soon learn that the welcome in America will be far from warm.
Trelawny, their youngest son, comes of age in a society that regards him with suspicion and confusion. Their eldest son Delano’s longing for a better future for his own children is equalled only by his recklessness in trying to secure it.
As both brothers navigate the obstacles littered in their path – an unreliable father, racism, a financial crisis and Hurricane Andrew – they find themselves pitted against one another. Will their rivalry be the thing that finally tears their family apart?
You can purchase a copy of the book here
Keep reading to find out how our panelists rated this book.
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Nicole Del Sesto
The Reader's Room 