"[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 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) "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) "[From his] devastating opening line . Aw (Five Star Billionaire, 2013) savagely erases any doubt that only the fittest survive in the ruthless world of global capitalism." -- Booklist (Starred Review) "[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.