IF I SURVIVE YOU,

BY JONATHAN ESCOFFERY Unfolding across a collection of interconnected short stories, Escoffery’s debut explores the dark underbelly of the American dream through the travails of a Jamaican immigrant family in Miami as it confronts poverty, racism, and natural disasters. In the opening entry, the book’s chief protagonist, Trelawny, the younger of two sons, strives to define his place and identity as a light-skinned mixedrace man. From there, Escoffery artfully charts Trelawny’s path as he struggles to make his way in the world and survive. (MCD)