We, the Survivors

“[Aw’s] Asia is neither sentimental nor a stereotype . . . Aw is a precise stylist; with a few, lean images, he evokes a country on the cusp of change: a sofa still sheathed in plastic to protect it from everyday life, the rusting tin for Danish butter cookies now holding a man’s life savings, the small-time crook with three rings on each hand and cash held together with a rubber band.”—Hannah Beech, The New York Times Book Review

“Ah Hock is an excellent protagonist, among the best I've encountered in years. He’s lovable and empathy-stirring, and his mix of remorse, acceptance, and hope is profoundly moving. Reading him is a pleasure, as is reading Aw’s prose. Aw is a beautiful writer who—this is rare—excels at switching beauty off, or dimming it almost to nothing.”—Lily Meyer, NPR

“[Aw’s] achievement is to make a global story personal . . . [We, the Survivors] can’t easily be pushed out of mind.”—Anthony Cummins, The Guardian

“Aw skillfully tempts the reader through the book by describing the killing in a fragmented way: the desire to know what happened keeps you engaged.”—Sunday Times (UK)

“Brilliantly executed . . . For all the injustice, inequality and unhappiness that We, the Survivors portrays, there is a strange tranquility as it reaches its thorny climax, as if accepting the toxins of modern society is the first step to neutralizing them.”—Hilary A. White, Irish Independent

“The ironically-titled We, the Survivors is the story of billions of human beings today—but not one reader. This is the tale of poor people—refugees, day laborers—whose lives are ruled by cruel circumstance and extreme poverty, whose struggles end in defeat, who are not meant to survive. What would be abstract in a report is here given burning, lacerated flesh. In the twenty-first century it is our Everyman, alas.”—Edmund White, author of The Unpunished Vice

“Tash Aw’s new novel succeeds in achieving many feats: it is at once the great novel on today’s racism that we have been waiting for; a masterly fresco of Southeast Asia, a region of the world that remains underrepresented in literature; and a magnificent story . . . We, The Survivors is one of the most beautiful and powerful books I’ve read in years.”—Édouard Louis, author of History of Violence

“Utterly absorbing to the last word . . . With deep empathy combined with a sharp, unflinching gaze. As with his other books, we end up loving the characters we might otherwise hate, and arguing with those we might have a natural affinity for. [Aw] manages to turn our assumptions inside out, all while creating a world that would, without him, remain out of reach and invisible.”—Tahmima Anam, author of A Golden Age

“Aw masterfully conveys his protagonist’s specificity while also weaving together a larger picture of the class divisions, racial biases, unjust working conditions, and gender roles that pulse under the surface . . . A raw depiction of one man’s troubled life and the web of social forces that worked to shape it.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“[From his] devastating opening line . . . Aw savagely erases any doubt that only the fittest survive in the ruthless world of global capitalism.”—Booklist (starred review)

“Aw’s captivating novel revolves around a fateful moment of violence set against the backdrop of an ever-changing Malaysia. In an almost stream-of-consciousness work, readers become the proverbial fly on the wall . . . Aw’s potent work entraps readers in the slow, fateful descent of its main character, witnessing his life spiral to its inevitable conclusion.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)