Just breathe {The Selfless Act of Breathing by JJ Bola)

When a story needs some breathing room.

About The Selfless Act of Breathing by JJ Bola: Michael Kabongo is a British Congolese teacher living in London and living the dream: he’s beloved by his students, popular with his coworkers, and adored by his proud mother who emigrated from the Congo to the UK in search of a better life. But when he suffers a devastating loss, his life is thrown into a tailspin. As he struggles to find a way forward, memories of his fathers’ violent death, the weight of refugeehood, and an increasing sense of dread threaten everything he’s worked so hard to achieve. Longing to start over, Michael decides to spontaneously pack up and go to America, the mythical “land of the free,” where he imagines everything will be better and easier. On this transformative journey, Michael travels everywhere from New York City to San Francisco, partying with new friends, sparking fleeting romances, and splurging on big adventures, with the intention of living the life of his dreams until the money in his bank account runs out.

My two cents

I read JJ Bola’s The Selfless Act of Breathing a while back but having received it well after the publishing date, I unfortunately forgot to post my thoughts here. 

This is a quintessential immigrant story where the struggle to assimilate is very real - I found this quite powerful and emotional. However, Bola’s prose is like verbal acrobatics, sometimes wonderful, at times off putting.

The story of a smart British Congolese teacher, Michael struggles with personal loss, the violence of racism, money problems, the need to connect. I personally disliked how this storytelling bordered on waxing philosophical and lecturing. I think I even rolled my eyes at one point but held judgment until the end. Trying to cram too much into the book really did it a disservice!

Since this is an ARC I hope the editors went in and helped out this book to become much more cohesive and even keeled in its storytelling. 

Verdict: I stuck it out but I honestly think the payoff wasn’t that great. Too verbose and overly dramatic for me. This story needed to breathe.

Disclaimer: Thanks to @simonschusterca for a copy of this book!