Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans
Riverhead • $25.95 • September 23, 2010
I was first drawn to Danielle Evans’ debut book—short story collection Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self—because of the title, which is taken from “The Bridge Poem” by Donna Kate Rushin. I can’t think of a single title from 2010 that has made me more interested to keep reading. (And I’m not the only one. Last week, I took my copy of the book with me on vacation, and the friend I was visiting promptly took it away from me so she could read the stories before I returned to Nashville.)
The characters in Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self are African-American or mixed race. As Lauren Bufferd writes in her BookPage review, they are “people in transition”:
adolescents, children split between divorced parents, college graduates drifting between partners and jobs. Erica in “Virgins” is a prototype for several of the other young women who appear in these pages—independent but longing for connection, educated but not savvy enough to avoid the hurts of love and life.
As I mentioned when I blogged about Yiyun Li’s Gold Boy, Emerald Girl, I have been on a short-stories-written-by-women kick, and I am so glad I discovered Evans’ volume. Her stories are alternately funny and heartbreaking, and I can’t stop thinking about the characters.
Here’s an excerpt from “Virgins,” the story that’s had the most acclaim. (It was originally published in the Paris Review and then The Best American Stories 2008.)
Inside at Michael and Ron’s house, they put me on the downstairs couch and gave me a blanket. When Ron said good night and went into his bedroom in the basement, I thought maybe I’d only imagined the look he gave me earlier. I unlaced my shoes and took down my hair and curled up in the blanket, trying not to think about Jasmine and what kind of mess I’d left her in. I thought of her laughing, thought of the look on her face when she had closed her eyes and let that man kiss her, and for a second I hated her and then a second later I couldn’t remember anything I’d ever hated more than leaving her. I was sitting there in the dark when Ron came back and put an arm around me.
What are you reading today?
Today I am reading The Debba by Avner Mandelman.
I AM READING I’D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE, BY LAURA LIPPMAN
What do yo think of it? I’ve had it on hold at the library for a while—can’t wait to get my hands on it.
I am starting the second book “Catching Fire” of the Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins. Didn’t expect to like it, but it really grabbed my attention!
Have you read the first book, THE HUNGER GAMES? It’s my favorite in the trilogy.
I’m still reading SIREN by John Everson. It’s very good. I swear it takes me forever to read a book though.
I’m reading ONE DAY by David Nicholls. So far, I’m liking it.
I love short stories, esp. by women, & this sounds intriguing. Remember ZZ Packer’s “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere”? I’m reading “Heat & other stories” by Joyce Carol Oates & enjoying them. I’ll definitely check this out! Thanks.
I think you will enjoy these stories.
Can’t believe it, but I have never read “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere.” Will have to move it up on the TBR list!
Nice post. I’m reading a very compelling biography called Voices of the Heart by author Linda Lambert Pestana. The book is a personal portrayal but the journey is universal. She reminds us that even if we fall we can still have the strength and courage to pull ourselves up and go on. I’m really enjoying it!
I decided I needed to laugh this week, so I finally started reading Deep Dish by Mary Kay Andrews.Her books are such fun !
I love the Swedish ‘noir’ police novels, a stand-out is Henning Mankell’s Wallender series. I’m currently reading the latest (translated) book by another in this category, Ake Edwardson – The Shadow Woman (A Chief Inspector Eric Winter series). This is his fourth – love them. There are several other authors of this type but I must stop here or this won’t end!
Danielle Evans’ short stories remind me of S.R. Stevens’. They cover the same themes, tho I think S.R.’s style is better — more precise, if that makes sense. More brutal too. SR (I don’t know if the author is female or male, tho I”m leaning toward female) has a webpage up with the stories (srstevens.com) but I don’t think has anything yet on amazon.
“Virgins” and “Snakes” were my favorite in Evans’ collection.