Sucker Punch

De: Scaachi Koul

Narrado por: Scaachi Koul

"Koul puts on a breezy and fleetingly filthy sideshow, but when she writes about gender and race she reveals that knife-throwing is her main act." —The New York Times

From the cultural critic and bestselling author of One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter comes a poignant, bitingly funny, and unabashedly candid new memoir in essays.

Scaachi Koul’s first book was a collection of raw, perceptive, and hilarious essays reckoning with the issues of race, body image, love, friendship, and growing up the daughter of immigrants. When the time came to start writing her next book, Scaachi assumed she’d be updating her story with essays about her elaborate four-day wedding, settling down to domestic bliss, and continuing her never-ending arguments with her parents. Instead, the Covid pandemic hit, the world went into lockdown, Scaachi’s marriage fell apart, she lost her job, and her mother was diagnosed with cancer.
Sucker Punch is about what happens when the life you thought you’d be living radically changes course, everything you thought you knew about the world and yourself has tilted on its axis, and you have to start forging a new path forward. Scaachi employs her signature humour and fierce intelligence to interrogate her previous belief that fighting is the most effective tool for progress. She examines the fights she’s had—with her parents, her ex-husband, her friends, online strangers, and herself—all in an attempt to understand when a fight is worth having, and when it's better to walk away.

©2025 Scaachi Koul (P)2025 Knopf Canada

Reseñas de la Crítica

Named Most Anticipated Release of 2025 by Vulture, Literary Hub and W.
One of Electric Literature's '48 Books by Women of Color to Read in 2025'
One of TIME's 12 New Books to Read in March
One of Chatelaine's Favourite Books of Spring 2025
One of CBC's Canadian nonfiction books to read in spring 2025

“[Sucker Punch’s] essays, . . . are deftly written, they are humorous and cutting, but perhaps their greatest strength lies in the margins. . . . Koul finds her momentum in reflecting on the interior details of her family. What are the cultural conditions that make us think divorce is a measure of failure, she asks, and how do we negotiate ourselves out of them?” —The New York Times

“A beautiful, painful, funny, and ultimately inspiring account of a marriage crumbling, told through Koul’s distinct voice and trademark sense of humour. Brilliant.” —Jennette McCurdy, author of I'm Glad My Mom Died

“A sharp and candid collection of essays.”—The Millions

“Koul delivers a story that is honest and on-point, sarcastic, sometimes heartbreaking, and downright side-splitting. . . . Her voice is fresh and wry, her sharp wit evenly dispensed. Sucker Punch is a welcome companion to read when life keeps coming at you, and you just can’t seem to catch a break.”—Paste magazine