One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter: Essays

by Scaachi Koul

**National Bestseller
**A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
**A Globe and Mail Best Book of 2017
**A National Post Best Book of 2017
**A CBC Best Book of 2017
**An Amazon Best Book of 2017
**A Popsugar Best Book of 2017
**A Kobo Best Book of 2017
**An NPR Best Book of 2017
**A Chatelaine Best Book of 2017
**A Buzzfeed Best Book of 2017
**A Book Riot Best Book of 2017
**A Chicago Review of Books Best Book of 2017
**A Paste Best Book of 2017
**An Amazon Best Humour and Entertainment Book of 2017
**Finalist for the 2018 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize
**Finalist for the 2018 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour
**Nominated for the 2017 Goodreads Choice Award


For readers of Mindy Kaling, Jenny Lawson and Roxane Gay, a debut collection of fierce and funny essays about growing up the daughter of Indian immigrants in Canada, "a land of ice and casual racism," by the irreverent, hilarious cultural observer and incomparable rising star, Scaachi Koul.

In One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter, Scaachi deploys her razor-sharp humour to share her fears, outrages and mortifying experiences as an outsider growing up in Canada. Her subjects range from shaving her knuckles in grade school, to a shopping trip gone horribly awry, to dealing with internet trolls, to feeling out of place at an Indian wedding (as an Indian woman), to parsing the trajectory of fears and anxieties that pressed upon her immigrant parents and bled down a generation. Alongside these personal stories are pointed observations about life as a woman of colour, where every aspect of her appearance is open for critique, derision or outright scorn. Where strict gender rules bind in both Western and Indian cultures, forcing her to confront questions about gender dynamics, racial tensions, ethnic stereotypes and her father’s creeping mortality—all as she tries to find her feet in the world.
     With a clear eye and biting wit, Scaachi Koul explores the absurdity of a life steeped in misery. And through these intimate, wise and laugh-out-loud funny dispatches, a portrait of a bright new literary voice emerges.

• ISBN10: 0385685351
• ISBN13: 9780385685351
• Publish Date: 7 March 2017
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Out of Print: 2 September 2020
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Doubleday Canada
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 256
• Language: English

Reviews

[clementine]

3.5 stars

Scaachi Koul's essays on womanhood and growing up as a first-generation Canadian child of Indian immigrants are funny (of course) and contain a lot of great lines. I think some of the essays could have been a bit more substantive - the book overall lacked the same "I've-just-been-sucker-punched" feeling that similar collections of essays have left me with. These essays are generally humourous takes on things frivolous and serious, and they're very enjoyable. Having followed Scaachi on Twitter for several years now, I'm quite familiar with her work, and I know that she can get to that "holy shit this killed me" place. Her essay on Jian Ghomeshi (which I absolutely did cite in the last essay I wrote in my undergrad) is a prime example of just how powerful her writing can be, and where I wanted at least a few of these essays to get to. But I can't deny that her essays are funny, sharp, and engaging. If you've read any of her BuzzFeed pieces or enjoyed her social media presence, you will enjoy her book as well.

I don't read memoirs or personal essays often. I think I've only read one besides this one. I found her stories funny, insightful and tender. I enjoyed this book a lot.