If I Survive You

 Tell me a story... about finding a place for yourself

If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery

Publication date: September 6, 2022

Date read: September 1, 2023

Audiobook narrated by Torian Brackett

In the 1970s, Topper and Sanya flee to Miami as political violence consumes their native Kingston. But America, as the couple and their two children learn, is far from the promised land. Excluded from society as Black immigrants, the family pushes on through Hurricane Andrew and later the 2008 recession, living in a house so cursed that the pet fish launches itself out of its own tank rather than stay. But even as things fall apart, the family remains motivated, often to its own detriment, by what their younger son, Trelawny, calls "the exquisite, racking compulsion to survive."

I'm still not completely sure how I feel about this book as a whole. There were parts of it that I found really interesting, and some that just didn't work for me personally. It also took until about halfway through the book until the chapters started to feel coherent as a story, at which point I did start to get invested in the storyline a little more. 

Despite not being as invested in the story as I would have liked, I did find the characters really interesting. The majority of the story focuses on Trelawney - the younger son in the family, and also the one who always seems to get the short end of the stick. The older brother, Delano, was less likable, although his story about trying to get his business back on track was one that I did enjoy. And the cousin Cukie's story was my favorite, although not exactly a happy one. Although, to be fair, none of the stories were especially happy. 

Overall, this book is definitely more about character development than exciting plot. I have a hard time recommending it to many readers, although those who appreciate a slow-burn character-driven story will probably find things to like here. It often feels like a memoir at times rather than a plot-driven novel. 

As for the audiobook narration itself, I thought that Brackett did an excellent job. For those who like to read audiobooks at faster speed, I was only able to listen to this one at 1.25x max, due to the parts where Brackett read in a thick Jamaican accent - anything faster was too hard for me to follow. 

Rating: 3/5 stars

Content warning: ethnic slurs, racism and racial profiling, death of a baby, homelessness, assault, death of a pet

Note: language

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.