The World Doesn't Work That Way, but It Could

Yxta Maya Murray, a writer of extreme empathy and observation, has created this collection that presents life in America today with an amazingly perceptive eye. Each entry is preceded with a short example of an event or situation, well documented and well chosen. In some, only the title is necessary to warn of heartbreak ahead ("Paradise," "Walmart" among others). A nod is given to the forces behind the decisions and actions of the current Administration, an attorney who justifies the ICE separation of young children from parents, and a guard who administers control over those families. "... people like me, little people, in this country, they're the real story." Difficult, challenging, worthwhile.

The book is a reflection on American way in a very unusual, crude and refreshing manner. The approach in telling stories is hard hitting at times. Stories are from numerous situations and on very different genres. This is not written as one book but a compilation of several books in one. There are stories on American citizens wondering what happened to the American way. There are stories raising questions on Trump administration and there are stories on everyday life.

A grandfather realises value of family over the material possessions. A rescue worker wonders what happened to the person she left behind in debris. An unsent letter written to a person in high place reminding him the truth of the kind of sexual monster he is.

I recommend the book to a reader with evolved senses and an open mind.

Thank you to the University of Nevada Press for an advance Netgalley of this short story collection (pub date Aug 11, 2020):

Whoa: Yxta Maya Murray makes a huge gamble with this book--writing fiction based on quotations from current news articles--but boy does it pay off. Often, when authors attempt to make political points with fiction, the characters feel like puppets performing the author's opinions--unrealistic mouthpieces only created for commentary. Even if I agree with the points, I generally wish the writer had written an essay, instead of awkwardly shoving these ideas into fiction. But Murray nails it.

These characters are so real and messy and empathetic, and they show the complicated human consequences of the headlines. In "Miss USA 2015" a transgender pageant coach remembers what the contest was like after Trump's horrid "Mexicans are rapists" campaign claim: a white woman drops out of the pageant for moral reasons and makes a viral speech, but the narrator's Latina hopeful can't afford to step back. In "The Perfect Palomino" a young woman who's trying to get an abortion realizes she might have to lie and say she was assaulted, due to her state's restrictive laws. In "Walmart" a mother whose grandmother died in a racially-motivated Walmart shooting panics while trying to purchase groceries with her young child. "The Prisoner's Dilemma" addresses the issue of gentrification through a fake satirical Zillow listing, highlighting the importance of intersectional analysis and challenging the notion that gentrification is a "natural" progress. Other pieces tackle Hurricane Maria, Scott Pruitt's destructive work heading the EPA, sexual abuse scandals involving circuit court judges, California wildfires, oil drilling, family separation at the border, and the links between private schools and private prisons.

Murray's collection is incredibly astute, emotionally heavy, and (unfortunately) even more timely than ever. So many of these stories depict the class rifts created by late-stage capitalism--the way that people can justify harming others for the sake of "protecting" their own family, especially when money is on the line. This sense of callous individual entitlement over community social responsibility has reared its ugly head to an extreme degree during the current pandemic. Wouldn't it be great if, instead, we united against oppression from above? As Murray would say, the world doesn't work that way. But it could.

Thank you to University of Nevada and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available Aug 11 2020

Without a doubt, Yxta Maya Murray is one of the most creative writers I've had the pleasure of reading in a long time. In "The World Doesn't Work That Way, But it Could," Murray creates a parallel to our world, drawing on recent political events like the Miss USA Pageant 2015, ICE family separation and the school to prison pipeline. Reminiscent of George Saunders and Kevin Wilson, Murray expands on the bizarre, hilarious and somber to showcase the cognitive dissonance in our modern political climate. Yet there is something very tender at the heart of the stories, of humanizing those who we often think of as the "enemy"; the single mother who is forced to become an ICE worker, the harried father who advocates for family separation while trying to hold together his own, the mother who hides her government work with schoolchildren to protect her own autistic son. I loved spending time with Murray in this twisted world and highly recommend this book!

Yxta Maya Murray has created a powerful, sometimes scathing, poignant set of stories that function as cultural and social commentary as well as a call to action. Her ability to create characters and storylines that are concise but still convey rich plots and commentaries is remarkable. I love short-story collections, because usually it means I'm able to read in shorter increments and have more frequent logical stopping points. But, when I read The World Doesn't Work that Way, but It Could, I had a hard time putting it down at all! I loved the anticipation of what stories would come next. I particularly loved The Prisoner's Dilemma, The Hierarchy, and Walmart, but they are all equally powerful.

This is one book I'm eager to add to my physical book collection. I can't wait to see what Yxta Maya Murray creates next. These stories are concise but will leave you with a lot to contemplate and reflect on, so I'd definitely recommend taking some time to sit with them rather than breezing through them one after the other. This is a collection that will be relevant for a long time, and I'm really glad I got to read it. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy!

This was an absolutely incredible collection of short stories that left the bitter and acrid taste of America's reality in my mouth. I find it hard to believe that a single person wrote such a versatile collection of stories- the author is an incredible talent, and she changes voice with such innate ease that it was astonishing. There are many standouts in this short story collection but in the wake of the recent news in my own country about the sexual abuse perpetrated by a well-known High Court justice, the letter of recommendation was absolutely jarring and apt for the time. There was a lot to find in this collection that will break your heart in a multitude of ways, but this one, in particular, hit home about the incredible abuses of power that those who are in charge of the judiciary can perpetrate.

There were many others in here that were absolutely shattering, such as 'Walmart', the title story, and the story about Hurricane Maria, and all of them were absolutely amazing in terms of their empathy, insight, and stunning exposition. The methods that the author uses to get inside the heads of those she writes as is so effective, and I could not find a single fault with this collection. It is an incredible set of stories, and I just wanted more of them. This book shows the devastating reality that is now the United States, and it's something that everyone should read.

A thoughtful, compelling set of stories. Each Short story is seemingly simple, but as you finish you’re hit with their power. Really one of the best set of short stories I’ve read in a long time.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

What a delightful experience. I read Author Murray's 2006 novel <I>The Conquest</i> Back In The Day and was utterly seduced by its lushness. Now, in these tales of outsiders who got in, women who want out, and people you simply did not know to ask for their fascinating lives to be narrated to you, Author Murray gives you the best treat an author can give: Everything.

Not one smidge is held back. Not one place she could go is un-gone. Go there with her...and thank me later, after you've picked yourself back up off the floor.

This collection digs deep into humanity ensnared in the frustrations of the way things work, with compassion thwarted by bureaucracy, beauty tainted by facts of life, and thus forth. It's not for the delicate. I highly recommend it for the pragmatic prose and storytelling. I was fortunate to receive this short story collection, reminiscent of the style of one of my favorite storytellers Steve Carr, also for the emotionally hardy reader, from the publisher University of Nevada Press through NetGalley.

A great book full of short stories. I can't say it was enjoyable, as it was hard hitting view of how unreal living in the the U.S can be as a minority . Some of the stories, I found myself nodding in agreement and other had me so angry that people are treated this way still in 2021. Would recommend to everyone.

A very creative and thought provoking collection of short stories, some of the stories were more fleshed out than others and the final section did give me whiplash with how quickly we were going through each theme but the writing was illustrative and provoking and overall it’s a great read.