'Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self' by Danielle Evans is a collection of short stories that delve into the lives of young African American women, exploring themes of adolescence, relationships, family dynamics, and personal growth. The stories are praised for their authenticity, strong character development, and insightful portrayal of contemporary race relations. The writing style is noted for its clarity, emotional depth, and ability to evoke empathy from readers through relatable and diverse characters facing a range of challenges.

Characters:

The characters are diverse and deeply developed, often young African American women navigating complex social landscapes and grappling with issues of identity, race, and interpersonal relationships.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is characterized by clear, honest prose that effectively captures the complexities of the characters' emotions and experiences, blending humor with moments of profound seriousness.

Plot/Storyline:

The narrative centers around a series of eight compelling short stories that explore the lives of young African American and mixed race characters facing personal and societal challenges in a nuanced way.

Setting:

The stories are set in contemporary America, encompassing a range of urban and suburban environments that reflect diverse socio-economic backgrounds.

Pacing:

The pacing of the collection varies, with some stories offering rapid, intense experiences while others provide more room for reflection and depth, allowing readers to engage with the characters' journeys.

Me and Jasmine and Michael were hanging out at Mr. Thompson’s pool. We were fifteen and it was the first weekend after school started, and me and Jasmine were sitting side by side on one of Mr. Thomps...

Notes:

The book contains a collection of 8 short stories.

The stories include 'Virgins,' 'Snakes,' 'Harvest,' 'Someone Ought to Tell Her There's Nowhere to Go,' 'The King of a Vast Empire,' 'Jellyfish,' 'Wherever You Go, There You Are,' and 'Robert E Lee is Dead.'

Danielle Evans explores themes of race, class, and gender throughout her stories.

Many stories focus on young African American or mixed-race female characters navigating complex social landscapes.

'Robert E Lee is Dead' is highlighted by readers as a favorite due to its relatable protagonist, Crystal.

'Snakes' tells the story of Tara, a biracial girl who faces discrimination from her white grandmother during a summer visit.

'Harvest' explores the issue of race and reproductive rights, particularly contrasting the situations of white egg donors and their black peers.

The character Georgie in 'Someone Ought to Tell Her There's Nowhere to Go' grapples with reintegration into civilian life after serving in Iraq.

Readers note the characters' struggles with identity are poignant and realistic, often resonating personally for them.

Danielle Evans is a Creative Writing professor at American University in Washington, D.C.

The title of the book comes from a line in a poem by Donna Kate Rushin, reflecting themes of self-awareness and personal growth.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

This collection contains themes and situations that might be triggering, including discussions of racial discrimination, family tension, and mental health struggles.

Has Romance?

Romance plays a moderate role in the stories, particularly in how characters navigate relationships during their formative years.

From The Publisher:

Introducing a new 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.

When Danielle Evans's short story "Virgins" was published in The Paris Review in late 2007, it announced the arrival of a major new American short story writer. Written when she was only twenty-three, Evans's story of two black, blue-collar fifteen-year-old girls' flirtation with adulthood for one night was startling in its pitch-perfect examination of race, class, and the shifting terrain of adolescence.

Now this debut short story collection delivers on the promise of that early story. In "Harvest," a college student's unplanned pregnancy forces her to confront her own feelings of inadequacy in comparison to her white classmates. In "Jellyfish," a father's misguided attempt to rescue a gift for his grown daughter from an apartment collapse magnifies all he doesn't know about her. And in "Snakes," the mixed-race daughter of intellectuals recounts the disastrous summer she spent with her white grandmother and cousin, a summer that has unforeseen repercussions in the present.

Striking in their emotional immediacy, the stories in Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self are based in a world where inequality is reality but where the insecurities of adolescence and young adulthood, and the tensions within family and the community, are sometimes the biggest complicating forces in one's sense of identity and the choices one makes.

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Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self?

About the Author:

Danielle Evans is a graduate of Columbia University and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her stories have appeared in The Paris Review, A Public Space, and The Best American Short Stories 2008.

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Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self

Danielle Evans