The extraordinary début short story collection from Danielle Evans, one of the United States' foremost literary talents, is published in the UK for the first time.
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.

This is Evans debut collection which I didn’t realise until I’d finished reading . I’ll be sure to pick up her newer work after reading this .

It’s such a strong collection , it’s rare that I find a collection where each story is as good as the previous. Focusing on non white Americans in that space between childhood and adulthood , we see a range of characters all experiencing inequality or discrimination in some way . The problems are real , the writing is smart and it’s a collection I’ll remember

A mixed bag - some stories I enjoyed, but others I struggled to finish.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An intriguing, thought-provoking short story collection from POC perspectives. Really good if you want a quick read. These stories were so visceral that I was gripped. I came away from reading Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self with so many questions that I keep circling back to. I look forward to reading more from Danielle Evans.

This is a really interesting collection of short stories. Each of the 8 stories were engaging with vivid characters . I look forward to reading more by Danielle Evans.

"Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self" is a collection of short stories that depicts the experiences of non-white Americans. The stories are written from the point of view of a variety of characters from different walks of life, from women to young girls and an Iraq war veteran with PTSD (that story broke my heart).

I really enjoyed these stories. My favourites were 'Snakes' and 'Virgins'. I found each of them interesting and felt like I wanted to learn more about the characters. A great collection. Thank you for the advanced copy.

I really liked some of the stories but others I really struggled to get through so I had to give this a lower rating of 3 stars. I understand that this was originally published a while ago I think some of the stories and references could have done with a bit of updating.

I LOVE Danielle Evans and her writing! This was the second collection of her short stories that I have read, following an earlier obsession with "The Office of Historical Corrections". Evans excels at creating extremely believable characters who vividly leap off the page due to their real-world sensibilities - you feel like you know her characters as you recognise them from your daily life. Her main protagonists are all black Americans, holding a mirror up to American society, warts and all, subtly highlighting economic inequality, discrimination, cultural norms, education issues, etc etc just through telling the seemingly ordinary stories of ordinary people.
From the white students selling their eggs to fertility clinics to fund their education, to the black students unable to do the same as their eggs are viewed as "worthless", to the friendship between the class rebel and the valedictorian and how they come together to ensure at least one of them gets out of their small town world, these are touching, poignant tales, woven with the full spectrum of human emotions, as Evans takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary.

This short story collection featured a distinct cast of characters, but they shared a sense of being lost or in in the midst of change, with the future seeming uncertain. There were many flawed characters making mistakes that they often could not explain, and there was something very honest in their ignorance or innocence. Many of the relationships, especially the friendships, were not what they seemed at first. The writing is able to portray real life so accurately, but also make the everyday compelling enough to keep you reading.

A fantastic book that should be read by all. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans
Publication date: 9 March 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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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.
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From what I understand, this is Danielle Evans' debut collection, which is having its first publication in the UK.
I greatly enjoyed Evans' most recent short story collection, The Office of Historical Corrections, so I jumped at the opportunity to read and review this one. And I think I enjoyed this one even more. Evans is so skilled at creating such vivid and fully-fleshed characters in just a few pages, making you care for them and being fully invested in their stories and feelings.
In all those stories, Evans explores race through the lens of family, education and relationships, as well as class, growing up and the people who have a lasting impact on us, both negative and positive.
A few of the stories stood out for me. In Snakes, a bi-racial young girl is forced to spend the summer at her racist grandmother's with her white cousin. This one was tense, uncomfortable and the ending was tragic and very powerful.
Someone Ought to Tell Her There's Nowhere to Go was totally unexpected and went places I couldn't have imagined. There was almost an element of fever dream about it, but ultimately it was a deeply sad story about the impact of trauma.
And finally, The King of a Vast Empire was a quieter story, which also centered on trauma and difficult family dynamics.
I love short story collections and I will definitely read anything else Danielle Evans brings out.
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Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self is a collection of short stories and like most collections of its kind there were stories that were tremendous and will stay with me for life and some that were forgettable. Regretably, there was more of the latter than the former.
All the stories dealt with themes of gender and race in one way or another.

Though not every story stuck with me, my personal favourites were Snakes and Harvest, I felt that in very few pages, Evans was able to do what others cannot do in a full 300+. I cared about these characters, I was eager to learn more about their story, their emotions were mine and I was truly moved.

I look forward to reading more work by this author in the future.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Evans' short stories - she is adept at developing vivid characters and lives which you quickly become immersed in. This collection focuses on those who stick by us no matter what, the relationships that really matter, the sacrifice of important people when we mess up. An enjoyable, well-executed collection.
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self is a brilliant collection of short stories. Evans shows tremendous range, wit and skill.

What was remarkable to me was the way each story focused on a very regular person and something very regular that happened in their life, but Evans teased out the drama, emotion and tension expertly. We, the reader, had a very clear window into their lives for a snippet in time.

Evans kept me enthralled and wanting more of each story, without the endings feeling unsatisfying. I particularly enjoyed that the collection asks the reader to sit in the ambiguity and discomfort.

Pick up this book up if: you are a fan of Jesmyn Ward, Raven Leilani or Sally Rooney

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a series of short stories covering key issues such as race and gender. I particularly liked ‘Snakes’ about a young girl sent to spend summer with her grandmother and cousin only to be treated very differently because she wasn’t ‘white’.

Whilst there was a good range of topics covered in this book, and I liked it, it wasn’t particularly exciting however it did touch on sensitive topics faced by many today.

I really enjoyed Danielle Evans most recent short story collection, The Office of Historical Corrections, and was eager to pick up her backlist. This is similar in vein to her newer release, centering black women of various ages in similar social settings. Each voice felt very distinct and well developed, weaving unique voices together to form a cohesive collection. I think my favourite story was Snakes, which looked at the relationship between a young mixed race girl and her very white grandmother. Their dynamics and complexities could have filled the whole book, but the fact that so much emotion and social commentary could be crammed into a short story just demonstrated how much talent Danielle Evans has for writing.

Another great collection.

This is a marvellous collection of 8 short stories from the talented Danielle Evans, I loved her The Office of Historical Corrections, and whilst not every story worked for me, I appreciated the strong element of universality. There is a focus on young black and mixed race girls and women, and a PTSD suffering Iraq war veteran in the following:

Virgins
Snakes
Harvest
Someone Ought to Tell Her Nowhere to Go
The King of the Vast Empire
Jellyfish
Wherever You Go, There You Are
Robert E. Lee is Dead

This collection is about glimpses into life and all it entails, it's ambiguity, issues that include race, inequality, gender, identity, coming of age, naivety, being bright, sexuality, the complex nature of relationships, love and friendships, personal challenges, everyday microaggressions, family, leaving others behind, and the crushing disappointments. Most of the characterisations are stellar, and there is wit and heartbreak, a toxic and cruel Florida grandmother barely sees her granddaughter, spending the summer with her, what with her not being white, this story, Snakes, turned out to be a real highlight for me with its surprising ending. This is a short story collection I can recommend. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I genuinely think this was just the wrong book at the wrong time for me. Like poetry, I've always had a bit of an issue with short stories - like there's a hidden meaning I'm supposed to be getting that I'm not intelligent enough to find. I had, however, really enjoyed Danielle Evans' second collection 'The Office of Historical Corrections'. There was an element of social commentary that was woven into a couple of the stories that really kept me engaged. I also give credit to the audiobook performer for that one - it helped a lot. I can see myself returning to these stories in the future, but unfortunately, I found my attention span waning during a lot of these stories. The writing was good, but it's a DNF for now - not forever. Maybe, someday.

Am excellent connection of short stories about different characters linked in their feelings of discontent and restiveness. Their characters and relationships are complex and Evans cleverly uses the events in her stories to unpick them and reveal new layers. Each story was original and surprising in its own way. Each one could easily be developed into a novella or novel in its own right but, with the exception of 'Virgins' of which I wanted a little more, were all fully satisfying as short stories.

Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans is a collection of short stories about race, relationships, growing up. I particularly enjoyed the snake story.