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Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self

By Danielle Evans
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Check link for latest rating. ( 5,176 ratings, 847 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self explores the complex lives of fiercely independent characters navigating adolescence, family struggles, and societal inequality. From a college student's unplanned pregnancy confronting class resentment, to a father's misguided gift revealing hidden truths, and two teenage girls facing the harsh consequences of growing up, these stories offer an original, emotionally immediate perspective on race and class in contemporary America.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2499
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in contemporary American fiction, particularly those who appreciate nuanced portrayals of race, class, and the transition to adulthood, with sharp wit and emotionally rich storytelling.

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The first work from a star of her generation, an electric debut story collection about mixed-race and African-American teenagers, women, and men struggling to find a place in their families and communities.

The first work from a star of her generation, an electric debut story collection about mixed-race and African-American teenagers, women, and men struggling to find a place in their families and communities.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Fiercely independent, all of Evans's characters struggle for a place in a world intent on 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

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised by the New York Times Book Review as a whipsmart exploration of the liminal years between childhood and adulthood, Evans delivers blisteringly smart stories offering a fresh perspective on being young and Black in America. The Boston Globe admires how the collection surprises and pushes boundaries, while Time highlights its vivid characters who triumph by surviving without forgetting. The stories are noted for their knife-sharp wit and humour.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781529073232

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 09 March 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Picador

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 174g

Pages: 240

Collections

Danielle Evans Fiction General Fiction Humour Literary Fiction

About the Author

Danielle Evans is an Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University and the author of short story collections, The Office of Historical Corrections and Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self. Her first collection won the PEN American Robert W. Bingham Prize, the Hurston-Wright award for fiction, and the Paterson Prize for fiction; her second won the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize and The Bridge Book Award and was a finalist for The Aspen Prize, The Story Prize, and The LA Times Book prize for fiction. She is the 2021 winner of The New Literary Project Joyce Carol Oates Prize, a 2020 National Endowment for the Arts fellow, and a 2011 National Book Foundation 5 under 35 honoree.

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