Survival Math

Author and narrator Mitchell S. Jackson has created a provocative story about his family's history. Through it, he illuminates the African-American experience while offering insight into the specific circumstances of growing up in Portland, Oregon. Blending first- and second-person narratives, along with expository interludes and poetry, Jackson invites listeners to consider this history from multiple perspectives. The family's story is told with unflinching detail and is set amid historical, psychological, and sociological contexts. Sadly, the complex nonlinear narrative loses much of its heft and rhythm as narrated by the author. Jackson's voice is sharp; he emphasizes consonants and has an unbending cadence that too often disrupts the flow of the story. As a result, the ambitiousness of the audiobook is unrealized. A.S. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine