Press coverage for The Office of Historical Corrections :

Conversations about the book with Elle Magazine, The New York Times,   The Dallas Morning News , Lithub, Poets & Writers, NPR Morning Edition, Esquire, Shondaland, Libro FM, PEN America , Electric Literature, and Goodreads

Reviews:

The New Yorker ‘s extended review calls the collection “sublime short stories of race and belonging” and also notes in brief “Evans uses outré imaginative elements . . .  but grounds her narratives in the familiar—family illnesses, fraught relationships with exes, complicated reckonings with race. “

The Wall Street Journal: “…the stories perceptively touch on current controversies like cancel culture and the disputes over historical monuments. But these are, first and foremost, character-driven stories, and the arguments play out most forcefully in the minds of the young black women searching for some livable balance between guilt and forgiveness. Ms. Evans is also funny in a droll, puncturing way, as inclined to mine trauma for mordant humor as for sentimentality.”

The New York Times : “Evans’s propulsive narratives read as though they’re getting away with something, building what feel like novelistic plots onto the short story’s modest real estate.”

The Chicago Review of Books : ” The stories are tightly structured, compact and efficient, driven by wry wit and Evans’s keen observations. . . The success of the collection stems from balancing the gloom of racism with Evans wry commentary.“

USA Today calls the collection “exhilarating and timely… so smart and self-assured it’s certain to thrust her into the top tier of American short story writers.”

“What makes a good short story? Danielle Evans’ dynamite new collection proves a study in the form. Slices of life, each piece . . . captures its own mood, hums to distinct rhythms, and locates unique spaces for empathy and pain and catharsis. They’re also delectably readable, propulsive accounts of loss and fear and redemption that twist with O. Henry-level glee. . . . the titular novella to finish the book, a masterpiece of tension and mystery.” – Entertainment Weekly

People Magazine featured the collection as “book of the week” and says: “Evans’ stories crackle with humor and intelligence, as well as anger and sorrow”.

The Los Angeles Times: “One of the saving graces of the last few years is the abundance of sharp fiction that deftly dramatizes racial injustice and division in this country. Evans goes further than most, though, in exploring divisions within the Black community — including the sort of ‘internalized capitalism’ that could, for instance, make a Black celebrity support a racist president.”

The Washington City Paper : Evans is a master of revealing the cracks in her protagonists with a single sentence . . . Evans is a master of prose, constantly spinning sentences that leave readers winded . . . Her command of language keeps her ambitious plotting grounded and makes her characters irresistible. Her work is firmly moral but never moralizing. Impressively, The Office of Historical Corrections’ stories all feel fundamentally finished, so despite their skill, the reader’s never left wanting more from the characters. If anything, you’ll just want more of Evans’ books.”

“Lean and precisely crafted, Evans’ stories often interrogate her characters’ charged presents by way of their sorrowful pasts.” – AV Club

The Minneapolis Star Tribune writes “Evans pays close attention to the power of appearance – not only the visibility of race, but also glittery notions of femininity . .  in Evans’ stories, the most intriguing moments are the fissures in these willfully built narratives.

Colorlines features the collection as a Book to Get You Through Fall: “Danielle Evans dissects our complicated relationships and attitudes around race in the seven short stories of her novella.”

“We’re obsessing over . . . .  ‘The Office of Historical Corrections. . . short stories . . . each of them look at nuanced moments and interpersonal relationships that speak to larger conversations about race, ever-evolving cultural rules, and U.S. history. And, perhaps most importantly, the book reveals how Black and multiracial characters in its stories grapple with American history, grief, and the complexities of right versus wrong—very much like how they are now. . . . Evans tackles her characters’ fragility, fear, and bravery with breathtaking nuance and storytelling smarts.” – Apartment Therapy

“Evans doesn’t hold back in her timely, engrossing, and powerful new collection of short stories about race, history, grief, and culture. It’s one of the best short story collections of the year.” – HelloGiggles 

“[S]howcasing her continued command of short fiction. The title novella manages to combine George Orwell’s bureaucratic chill from ‘1984’ with Toni Morrison’s elegant judgments from ‘Beloved.'” – Washington Post

“The Office of Historical Corrections, a novella, is presented here along with other stories that chronicle how history — racial and cultural — continue to reverberate through daily life. Danielle Evans continues to write provocative fiction about people of color, raising questions about who gets to dictate our national narrative.” – The Chicago Tribune

“Evans’s storytelling shines… her characters are sharp, with terrific depth, and her prose is a pleasure to read. It’s a strong, acerbic follow-up to her prizewinning 2010 release.” – The Washington Post

“Evans’ new, gorgeously crafted stories are at once timely and timeless… Evans has a wicked sense of humor and is a keen observer of her characters’ exterior and interior lives… The novella from which the book takes its title is a moving, surprising tale… This intricately plotted novella ends explosively.” – Poets & Writers

“These scorching stories… take a headlong plunge into the murky waters of identity, race, and love.” – O, The Oprah Magazine

“Evans writes about injustices large and small with incredible subtlety and, often, wry wit… it feels so timely… The eponymous novella that closes the book is a stunner… To say much more would only detract from storytelling that is gripping on every level. Necessary narratives, brilliantly crafted.”

«—KIRKUS, starred review «

“In this collection of six short stories and a novella, Evans solidifies her reputation as one of the most thought-provoking contemporary storytellers… Evans writes with a wealth of knowledge of American history, serving as a catalyst for both the prisons and the freedoms her characters are allowed to explore. She dives into the generational wounds from America’s violent racial past and present, and crafts her stories with a surgeon’s precision. Each detail meticulously builds on the last, leading to satisfying, unforeseeable plot twists. The language is colorful and drenched with emotion. Readers won’t be able to look away from the page as Evans captivates them in a world all her own.” «—BOOKLIST, starred review «

“If you’re ordinarily bored by short story collections, we can empathize—which is why you’ll want to trust us when we say that this one is worth making an exception for… Danielle Evans’s characters are so messy, compelling, and deeply human that you won’t be able to turn away.” – Harper’s Bazaar

“In the ten years since Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self, readers have waited anxiously for Danielle Evans’ next outing; at last, The Office of Historical Corrections is here, and it exceeds all expectations. In seven sly, haunting stories, Evans reflects our madcap world back at us, delivering a dazzling dissection of our twisted attitudes about race, culture, history, and truth. In one memorable story, a white college student is desperate to reinvent herself after a photo of her in a Confederate bikini goes viral; in another, a historian works to uncover the truth of a long-past racist tragedy. Incisive, nuanced, and deliciously complex, each of these stories proves that Evans is a bravura talent.” – Esquire

“One is truly never the same after reading a short story by Danielle Evans… It is safe to say, then, that we must prepare for her second collection of short stories The Office of Historical Corrections.” – Lit Hub

“Evans… releases a hotly anticipated new story collection, exploring the subjects of race, American history and grief with her signature insight.” – USA Today

“Danielle Evans’s newest book, further solidifies her well-earned reputation as one of the most incisive, resonant writers working today. In it, Evans brilliantly reflects and dissects contemporary crises surrounding race, identity, and America, using her fierce wit to target the kind of white college student who goes viral thanks to a photo showing her wearing a Confederate flag bikini/ But it’s in the titular novella, in which a Black woman living in Washington, D.C. starts investigating a historical mystery that has stakes both personal and societal, that Evans will really blow your mind, leaving you to put the pieces back together.”
– Refinery29

“Really shows Evans’ capabilities… It’s the most astonishing thing I’ve read this fall.” – BuzzFeed

“The Office of Historical Corrections is one of the year’s most timely releases. Examining second chances and no-win situations, Evans’ new book brings plenty of pondering to your nightstand this fall.” – Bustle

“If the week of November 3 leaves you gasping for something a little more palatable than say, a media circus over the next leader of the free world, luckily Danielle Evans’s exceptionally wise new story collection will be on its way to your mailbox, ready to remind you that there are still some Good Things out there. Every story in The Office of Historical Collections is on point — especially ‘Boys Go to Jupiter,” in which a white college girl is unprepared for the fallout of a picture of her in a Confederate flag bikini — but the ancestral thriller novella that spawned its title is completely transformative.” – Vulture

“Danielle Evans did not disappoint… Remember all those antiracist reading lists that went viral in June? This should be at the top of them, not because it’s explicitly labeled “antiracist” but because I firmly believe in the power of fiction to tell powerful and important stories.” – Hey Alma

“Danielle Evans’s The Office of Historical Corrections is a powerful novella and short story collection that zeroes in on transformative moments for various characters… The result is a piercing look at race and culture, revealing how we all must reckon with our personal and shared histories.” – Real Simple

“A funny collection whose stories play on the absurdities of race in America… These are absurd stories for absurd times.” – The Millions

“Danielle Evans previously drew praise for her short story collection Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self; now, she’s back with more stories that explore issues of race and power in America through her characters’ lives. With her sharp writing and a nuanced portrayal of human relationships, she has created an engrossing collection.” – Lit Hub

“Evans zooms in on particular moments and relationships in her characters’ lives in a way that allows them to speak to larger issues of race, culture, and history. She introduces us to Black and multiracial characters who are experiencing the universal confusions of lust and love, and getting walloped by grief—all while exploring how history haunts us, personally and collectively. Ultimately, she provokes us to think about the truths of American history—about who gets to tell them, and the cost of setting the record straight… eye-opening.” – The Rumpus

Reviews for Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self

The Washington Post says “I hope Danielle Evans is a very nice person because that might be her only defense against other writers’ seething envy. At 26, this D.C.-area author has already graduated from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, earned praise from Salman Rushdie and Richard Russo, and appeared in two (two!) volumes of “Best American Short Stories.” Now comes the publication of her first collection, “Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self,” eight quietly devastating stories that validate the hype. No, she’s not the America’s Next Top Model of the same name — that would just be too much — but she’s captivating in a far more profound way.”

The New York Times Book Review says “Rather than limiting the collection’s gaze, this perspective amplifies the universal pitfalls of coming of age in 21st-century America. At a store in the mall, ‘girls 3 and up could get manicures.’ Parents, whether two subway stops away or on a research trip in Brazil, are unaware of their transgressions. (The notion that ‘we are safe, with our families, until we are not’ is a preoccupation here.) In Evans’s world, virginity is a card to play quickly and strategically. One character, looking after her 14-year-old cousin (Grandfather is dying, Mother is at a church retreat), sums it up heartbreakingly well: ‘I feel kind of sorry for her entire generation, because they’ve learned all the theatrical parts of sex so they walk around pouting and posing, . . . but not the basic mechanical processes of actual pleasure.’ This kind of voice — wry and wise, ‘brave the way you are when you don’t know what you have to lose’ — drives the best of these stories. But the conversational tone belies careful construction.”

The New York Times says “The most vivid characters in Danielle Evans’s story collection are in-betweeners: between girlhood and womanhood; between the black middle class and Ivy League privilege; between iffy boyfriends and those even less reliable; between an extended family and living on your own. To say they’re caught between worlds isn’t quite accurate, though; they tend to be hard-headed, sadder but wiser and, most of all, funny”

The Boston Globe says “There are books that capture our world perfectly, like a scrim over a stage. And then there are books that surprise the audience and go somewhere new, somewhere completely unpredictable. In this collection, Evans paints a picture, sometimes ripping through the fabric. One wonders where she will go next.”

Washington Post Style Section author profile

Clip of Danielle Evans on Washington Watch with Roland Martin

Harper’s Bazaar puts Danielle Evans on their list of Names to Know For 2011

Vogue puts Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self on its list of Eight Great Books.

People Magazine gives the book 4 stars: “”Appreciate the liars,” a caddish musician tells his still-smitten ex-girlfriend. “When people don’t hide things, it means they don’t care (about) losing you.” Indeed, many of these eight wonderfully melancholy stories mostly set along the East Coast deal with loss-of family, of love, of innocence-and all explore the chasm between what others see and who we really are. In “Snakes” a preteen endures a summer with her distant grandmother. “Virgins” follows two clueless teen girls navigating the suddenly adult world of male attention, while the indelible “Jellyfish” dissects a strained relationship between a lonely father and his equally adrift adult daughter.”

Time Magazine says: Danielle Evans’ blisteringly smart short stories offer fresh perspective on being young and black in America. From a vandalizing valedictorian to a rejected biracial child, her characters triumph by surviving without forgetting.

O Magazine puts Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self on its list of 10 books to read for October

New York Magazine calls Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self one of the 20 most anticipated fall titles, and also includes it on a list of indie bookstore picks.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution puts Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self on its recommended reading list for the fall, and also opens its review of New Stories from the South 2010 with a mention of the story “Someone Ought to Tell Her There’s Nowhere to Go.”

Entertainment Weekly says “This striking debut collection offers rich slices of African-American life.”

Essence says ” Critics raved about Danielle Evans’s talent soley based on “Virgins,”…. Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self, her eagerly awaited first collection, proves them right. The current American University professor will win you over with eight thoroughly modern, funny, and tender stories such as “Harvest,” about a gifted black college student grappling with an unplanned pregnancy.  (Sept 2010)

Marie Claire says: “The much buzzed-about collection tackles what it means to be young and black or mixed-race right now, in bold, vivid prose.”

Color Magazine says:  “Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self (Riverhead Books, available September 23rd) is a short story collection with modern plot references, a confident tone that doesn’t falter or over-explain as she effortlessly draws you into each world she weaves. Throughout the book her characters’ sense of acute longing infuse the stories with a touching sense of fragility, often buried under outward bravado. In interviews, Danielle Evans’ pleasant and articulate voice comes across as self-possessed, poised; she is an astute observer of people whose own childhood made her have to adapt to new homes every few years. She writes like a twenty-something with an old soul.”

Kirkus (starred review) calls the collection “arresting” and “achingly believable.”

Library Journal says “This debut collection is contemporary, powerful, and very real…A broad cast of characters fills these pages, from working class to privileged, from modest to exceptional, including a high school valedictorian, Ivy League students, professors, and successful businesspeople. “Jellyfish” captures the range, featuring a man finally moving from Harlem to Brooklyn when his roof caves in, who’s late for lunch as always with his conscientious artist daughter.  VERDICT A smartly written and enjoyable collection from an up-and-coming author; particularly recommended for those interested in contemporary relationships in our increasingly diverse and global society.”

Michael Cart at Booklist says “Evans’ first collection of short stories deals thoughtfully and incisively with considerations of class, race, and coming-of-age. That six of the stories are told in their female or male protagonists’ first-person voices brings them immediacy and emotional resonance… what all of the stories share is a demonstration of the profound influence of the past on the present-day lives of their characters and the intricacies of relationships among African American, white, Hispanic, and mixed-race young people. Clearly, Evans lives up to her reputation as an important new voice in literary fiction.”

Postbourgie says: “Though most stories are told through a retrospective lens, they have a feeling of immediacy. This is because Evans’s characters are really, really smart. They’re introspective, they struggle to live up to their own moral codes, and are aware of their emotional baggage. Throughout this collection we see characters make crucial, sometimes tragic mistakes, but they do it without flinching. They do it because they refuse to be vulnerable, other times because they’re tired of pretending to be perfect, and still other times because, well, mistakes are what people make sometimes.”

The AV Club says: “Danielle Evans’ Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self is a remarkable short-story collection in a good year for short-story collections. Every story takes on its own life, all her characters live rich and complicated lives, and the plotting never grows too predictable or unfocused.”

Belletrista says: “If you are a reader of a certain age, you may think you’ve been there. But Evans adds something you might have lacked when you traveled that road. She has a gift for seeing the big picture in the middle of a small struggle, and for adding extraordinary wisdom to her take on coming of age. These stories offer us a view through the wise old eyes of a talented young writer destined for great things.”

Bookpage says: “Moral ambiguity is explored beautifully in the best of these stories as well as the deeply felt moments of choice and regret. Evans is young to be so wise, but that youth is to the reader’s benefit; she is a writer we hope to be hearing from for a long time. “

50 books for 2010 says: ” Having just finished reading Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self, I think “The Bridge Poem” is key to understanding the undercurrent of displacement among African-Americans that permeates Evans’ stories. In “Virgins,” the collection’s first story and the one that landed its young author in the vaunted pages of The Paris Review, a teenage girl vacillates between instinct and adolescent curiosity as she timorously embraces her budding sexuality. It should be noted that, refreshingly, this and the other short stories are remarkably unpretentious, no small feat in this genre. The main character in “Virgins” displays the fledgling snark that marks a phase suffered through by all urban youth, with which readers’ near-universal familiarity makes it hard not to grin when she consoles her friend, “The only difference between that girl and the subway…is that everybody in the world hasn’t ridden the subway.”

Underneath such faux-witticisms lies a deep-seated unease with concurrently, and contrarily, demanding social pressures…”

Longfellow Books says “Evans’ debut collection of stories, which explore race & class & family & feminity & love from strong points of view and in deceptively simple prose, are some of the best I’ve read in years. These short stories will stick with you and they are best of the season.”

The Elliot Bay Book Company says:  “In these eight stories, Evans proves herself a deft little heartbreaker. She captures the raw vernacular of adolescence, the vulnerability it hides, and the search for grace in its brutal and clumsy fluctuations. Her characters live flush up against the confinements of their lives and are often silenced in the greater noise of the rest of the world. Still, they demand to be explored and known on their own terms. Evans’s writing style leaves nothing wasted. Haunted vets, wicked grandmothers, brutal best friends, and sexual beginnings merge to create an exciting collection of voices.”

tkreviews says “Evans more than lives up to these honors. Her prose is elegant but straightforward and fluid and the points she makes are wise and profound but derived from believably ordinary events. Ostensibly things haven’t changed much during many of these stories’ climaxes, but we can feel the difference in the aftermath as readily as if a tornado had just blown through. Every sigh, every silence, every eye role or snarky comment speaks volumes. Each of the stories has a black or biracial protagonist, and while the non white experience in America is certainly explored here with wit and candor, factors universal to every person’s growing up and finding his or her way in the world prove equally relevant to the stories’ outcomes. There’s as much to learn and experience here as there is to relate to.”

The River’s End Bookstore says: The amazing range of these short stories is equaled by their depth, intensity, and tenderness. Black and biracial kids and adults grapple with issues of family, love, friendship, race, class, and identity. “Snakes,” one of the most remarkable stories, covers all of those as a biracial girl and her white cousin spend a summer with their troubled and troubling grandmother. The story gains breadth and impact with a look at the summer’s long-term repercussions

Lynne Kimmerle at Monarch Book Reviews calls the collection “a wonderful book of short stories that doesn’t have any “B” sides; they’re all “A”s.”

Mary McDonald calls Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self a “must read,” even for people who don’t like short stories.