The World Doesn’t Work That Way, but It Could: Stories

by Yxta Maya Murray

One of the Best Books of 2020,  Buzzfeed News

The Millions ' Most The Great Second-Half of 2020 Book Preview

The gripping, thought-provoking stories in Yxta Maya Murray’s latest collection find their inspiration in the headlines. Here, ordinary people negotiate tentative paths through wildfire, mass shootings, bureaucratic incompetence, and heedless government policies with vicious impacts on the innocent and helpless. A nurse volunteers to serve in catastrophe-stricken Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria and discovers that her skill and compassion are useless in the face of stubborn governmental inertia. An Environmental Protection Agency employee, whose agricultural-worker parents died after long exposure to a deadly pesticide, finds herself forced to find justifications for reversing regulations that had earlier banned the chemical. A Department of Education employee in a dystopic future America visits a highly praised charter school and discovers the horrific consequences of academic failure. A transgender trainer of beauty pageant contestants takes on a beautiful Latina for the Miss USA pageant and brings her to perfection and the brink of victory, only to discover that she has a fatal secret.

The characters in these stories grapple with the consequences of frightening attitudes and policies pervasive in the United States today. The stories explore not only our distressing human capacity for moral numbness in the face of evil, but also reveal our surprising stores of compassion and forgiveness. These brilliantly conceived and beautifully written stories are troubling yet irresistible mirrors of our time.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Contemporary, Essays, Anthologies

274 pages, Hardcover

First published August 11, 2020

About the author

Yxta Maya Murray is a professor at Loyola Law School.

Reviews

[Richard Derus · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE WORLD DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY, BUT IT COULD gets a spot on this terrific Best-of-2020 list from BuzzFeed! Many thanks to NetGalley and the University of Nevada Press for my DRC.

What a delightful experience. I read Author Murray's 2006 novel The Conquest 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.

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Krystelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Kim Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of the BEST that I read in 2020 and it is one that I will think of again and again. The topics addressed in these stories are so timely and it is so well-written that I believe this work has a place in current and future college curriculum. But I would actually recommend that EVERYONE read it. Since I am not a college professor nor Queen of the Universe, I will just have to settle for recommending The World Doesn’t Work that Way, but It Could to everyone I know, as well as to everyone I can online via reviews. And, I might make a time capsule....

Personally, After Maria hit me the hardest. If you have read this, I would love to hear which story resonated most with you.

Edited to add:
Some readers might consider these ripped-from-the-headlines stories blunt and they do kinda hit you like a hammer, but I think we need that in today's world where nuance is often lost. I also think I benefited from this effect as I can be blind to the bigger picture when I am just living my everyday-life as a regular person removed from the big decisions of policy.

Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to a review copy.

[Angelina Ng · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the title of the book because it could be either hopeful or threatening and I vibe with that. Anyway some of the stories were really good and some weren't as great, the variance was very large imo. My favourite quote that hit home: "After graduating from college, the Administrator went to law school, because, like the rest of us, he leads a fear-based life." Made me LOL. It's cool that the stories are based on news articles from the TRUMP administration I guess but it got super intense bc they were so possible it was scary. 6.3/10 stars

[Michelle Hogmire · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book grew on me as I read (as much as a book that makes one angry the entire time they're reading can grow on a person). When I first started I thought it was a little too on the nose. The writing style isn't the most developed as some reviewers have pointed out, so some stories just felt like an angry person doing sarcastic, creative writing exercises based on the headlines.

Then my state caught on fire.

I read "Paradise" a few days after friends and co-workers had to evacuate their homes. I was fortunately never in any danger, but my reading came after days of breathing Hazardous air. Then the next morning, I essentially re-read the story, this time via the New York Times and about real people only a few hours south of me (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/17/us...)

So a few days later I read "The Perfect Palomino," and was filled with sadness for women who live in states with restrictive abortion laws, but thankfulness that mine is not the same.

The next evening Ruth Bader Ginsberg passed away.

Today I finished the book, my pen making lots of notes as I read "The Overton Window." I wanted to finish this weekend because on Monday I'll go back to work teaching. Teaching at a private school, where parents pay a lot of money to give their kids opportunities that aren't available to them at other schools.

In the end, I think my early criticisms of the book do stand. It's a little over the top, and sarcastic, and very doom-and-gloom. But how else can a book based on the headlines be right now?

[Nuha · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Ankur Goyal · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

The World Doesn't Work that Way, But it Could is a powerful collection of short stories from Yxta Maya Murray.

Each short story is preceded by some form of official and actual statement. Sometimes a newspaper quote, testimony, summary of legal policy, whatever. Each sets up the surreal world we are currently living in with a TV reality star pretending to govern the country and the resulting chaos and empowering of all the worst this country has to offer. From this brief official type statement we move into a story that in some way reflects a personal aspect of the previous public policy or reaction.

Each story is well written and powerful simply as a story, but juxtaposed with the ugliness of governmental policy right now these stories take on even more meaning. Several moved me to tears while almost all made me angry about some aspect of what we have become. Yet even with this harsh framing and the chaotic real world in which they take place, our actual real world, there is a kind of hope. At the very least some light shines on avenues out of this darkness.

I highly recommend this for readers of short stories and especially those who value the ways that fiction can highlight many aspects of society that can get lost when we only look at the bigger picture. These stories, in this format, keep the big picture in mind while we watch what happens to everyday people impacted by these larger policies.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Story Circle Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

The World Doesn’t Work That Way, but It Could by Yxta Maya Murray is a collection of fourteen fiction stories based on recent social and political events. It is also a force of nature. This book began by disrupting my usual measured approach to reading a book for review and kept right on rattling my assumptions through the last line of the eponymous final story.

Usually when I read a book with an eye to writing a review, I read from my “observer mind.” I pause, make notes, and copy quotes. Not with this book, though. All efforts at a measured approach collapsed as I fell into each story, captured by perspectives that were both unexpected and intriguing, almost demanding I step outside what I thought I knew and walk for a while in these people’s shoes.

For example, in her story “Zero Tolerance” Murray imagines, with sharp-edged prose, the experiences of a senior corrections officer at the Dilley Detention Center in Texas. A powerful monologue written as a series of responses to questions, this is one of three stories in the collection that looks at the U.S. immigration policy of separating migrant children from their families at the border April through June 2018. The other two, “Option 3” and “The Hierarchy,” look at what might have been the experience of an attorney, a father, asked to write the memorandum supporting family separation, and what might be the impact on the future life and relationships of one of the separated children.

In “Acid Reign,” a foray into the EPA under Scott Pruitt, her primary character struggles with complex, warring feelings. She needs to stay employed, but knows from firsthand experience that science doesn’t support the policies she’s being asked to put into place. Staying, leaving—neither presents a solution. In the last paragraphs of the story, she rationalizes her continued compliance with phrases like, “Being a bad person, though, is different than just doing one’s job in a socially approved way with the endorsement of high government officials…”

Murray’s writing honestly and directly exposes ongoing human behaviors we rarely talk about. A quote from the slipcover notes, “These brilliantly conceived and beautifully written stories are troubling yet irresistible mirrors of our time.” This is true. Yet the fallibilities revealed, like the capacity to go numb in the face of violence and moral ambiguity, run deeper and wider across our history. The stories in this collection are a mirror of troubling human capacities and choices repeated throughout human civilization, making this book the kind of courageous, intelligent writing we need more of these days.

Story Circle Book Reviews thanks Tracie Nichols for this review.

[Seema Rao · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Thomas Ray · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fictional accounts of appalling current events.

[Gulshan B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of short stories is as current and relevant as it can get, short of reading the news (!).

The author does a fine job of bringing out the circumstances that the current political and socioeconomic situation is making everyone go through. The writing is at a clipped pace, the narrative fairly fast though not quite smooth. The ideas covered are wide ranging.

That last part is primarily where I felt the book fell short. In trying to cover such a wide variety of situations, each story is reduced to about as much content as a news blurb, literally torn from the headlines! While that makes for some white-knuckle reading (not for the thrill, but for the anger and frustration), it also makes for some really dissatisfying reading. All this has been reported ad nauseam by the mainstream - and fringe (!) - media, and literally everyone around the world is aware of the transgressions the current US administration is accused of. While many of those may be true and all that, reading them in fiction form should have provided an opportunity for personalizing and adding some nuances to the situation. As readers, we could have identified with the characters more and easier. While there are obvious attempts at personalizing the events, and the repeated use of the first person to narrate the stories does add a sense of personalization and urgency, what is lacks is - something new. A new perspective, a new voice, a new fact (or factoid!) or even a new (more malicious or "out-there") situation.

Reading these stories kept taking me back to all the analyses articles I'd read in the Times, the TIME, the Post, the Journal, the Vox, the Yorker, the Jones, the Atlantic... Other than fictionalizing all those narratives, and adding names to the mix, while overtly referencing to - and in fact, inserting - facts into the pages, there is precious little I could find new with the book.

However, having said that, I must warn the book is not a pleasant read, and it makes for a very difficult reading session, for the almost sheer barbaric honesty with which the author sometimes chooses to expose her truths.

While it is heartening to read what the stories reveal about us as a Nation and as a people, anyone who has been following the media s***storm these past three years would have read them already in the headlines and opinion pages and Editorials.

Thanks to NetGalley and Univ. of Nevada Press for an ARC to provide my honest opinion.

[Tracy Hollen · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Taylor Leger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! This was not at all what I was expecting, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading and mulling over these poignant and insightful essays. The author is so talented at switching between different narrators and building out the characters and situations efficiently.

I think it was a great decision to start out with the Miss USA 2015 essay, as it was easily digestible but was packed to the brim with perceptive “hot-takes”. The novel then moves into more “meaty” topics, such as gentrification from the less-than-aware perspective of Zillow copywriters, the botched US response to Hurricane Maria (as well as commentary on colorism and classism) from the perspective of a humanitarian worker, and abortion access (as well as arbitrary rules governing when and why these can be done) in more conservative areas of the country.

Acid Reign was hands-down my favorite essay. I am so glad that the nomination of Scott Pruitt to head of the EPA and subsequent environmental deregulations was deemed an important topic to cover by the author. Marta, a high-ranking lawyer at the EPA, is responsible for responding to a proposal for banning a particular insecticide. This seems like somewhat of a passion project – growing up, she and her family used the exact insecticide to spray vineyards. Although it can’t be conclusively linked to the insecticide, Marta developed stomach cancer and both of her parents developed neurological problems, leading them to die very young. In the midst of preparing her documentation on the sanction, she is directed by her boss to yank the ban from higher-ups, effectively allowing the continued use of the insecticide. Per Marta’s perspective, “Being a bad person… is different than just doing one’s job in a socially approved way with the endorsement of high government officials and a huge proportion, if not actually a majority, of American voters. If a person is directed to do things that are legal, then that is okay, because the laws have been vetted by reasonable people who are by definition not foaming-lipped homicidal maniacs.” So much to think about with this one….

I will say - during the beginning of the last essay, “The Overton Window”, I was initially a bit confused as to why it would deviate so substantially from the format of the other essay. It was set in a dystopian, futuristic society after several Betsy DeVos contract renewals and, drawing from this, what I assume to be subsequent Trump re-elections. I was very happy when the essay did actually stick to the same structure as the prior essays, as it was just a Heart of Darkness-esque short story within the actual present-day narrative. Personally, I would have preferred if this was somehow teased or introduced ahead of the short story because I spent the whole time thinking, “Huh, this is a little weird. I like it, but just doesn’t really fit with the rest of the book.” UNTIL you realize it is part of the other story set in LA with Tamar, Ellen and Sandra.

I would recommend this book and will seek out other works by Murray. This was a great commentary on the current political climate. While the present situation does seem dire right now, the ending left me feeling hopeful. Thank you, NetGalley, for providing an ARC of this fantastic read.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of essays providing a statement on the current administration and its policies, The essays, written from the perspective of the people caught be their conscience and the instructions of the leaders of our government, provide a grim and most times depressing look at where this administration has led us. Even those with good intentions find themselves caught up in net of Trump's corruption.

This collection is not for the faint of heart, especially given the circumstances we are all experiencing right now. I found myself feeling angry, frustrated and helpless as I read through these essays. But I was happily surprised by the final entry. The main idea of which is that is up to us. The right leaders will provide the framework, but if we want to change the world for the better, we need to work together to it ourselves. "The World Doesn't Work this Way, but it Could" provides the right message at the right time.

This collection provides the right message at the right time.

[AJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a collection. I had never read anything by Yxta Maya Murray before these stories, but I am so glad I unearthed it from my ever-growing want to read list. I especially enjoyed After Maria, Paradise, The Perfect Palamino, Option 3, Walmart, and The World Doesn't Work That Way, But it Could. but my absolute favorites were After Maria, Paradise, and The Perfect Palamino . Through each story, Murray's skill at capturing the humanity in the midst of headline-making events shone. She's particularly good at dropping the reader "in media res". I also enjoyed the way she played around with the perspectives of the oppressed and the oppressor while keeping the message quite clear (see PARADISE!). While there were some stories that were less strong than others, I walked away reminded about the power of writers as we go through this thing called life.

Favorite line: "And what I hoped was not my last thought was, what a Native woman's got to put up with in this goddam life doesn't stop until the minute that she dies."

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is kind of a unique collection of short stories that the author found inspiration in current headlines. Each story is preceded by the actual headline that appeared in the news...thus giving the reader a bit of a 'heads up'.... The stories are mostly present day current, she writes so expressive that the reader can sense/feel the angst in the story. A couple of the stories might have ongoing characters & I liked that aspect when I realized it happening. I think these stories kind of expose 'cracks' in our society/communities/decisions/reality..... It isn't a simple, feel good read.....it's pretty serious & thought provoking.... certainly appropriate to where we are right now in time. I think the author did a good job in these portrayals. Definitely worth reading.
I won this e-ARC in a PW Grab a Galley BookExpo giveaway from University of Nevada Press, via NetGalley......& after reading it, offer this honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Kendra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, but in the end, the stories are more like slightly-fictionalized reports, and the heavy citations--dozens of footnotes providing the real-life contexts for each story--are distracting. The writing is unpolished and awkward. It's sometimes repetitive, and is frequently heavy-handed in telling the reader about characters, events, and actions. Ultimately, it's like reading a collection of essays for an assignment: "compare and contrast the actual policies with the story. How does the story reflect the policy? Point to the specific policies referenced in the stories." A slightly more sophisticated approach would have communicated the message the author seems to be promoting far more effectively.

[Lael Braday · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Jennifer Holloway Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found that these fictional accounts were a great reminder of what people experience when dealing with the media in their lives. Their self-conceived notions oftentimes lack merit and understanding that there is a person affected or living each moment in these stories, The stories are about survival, reliance on self, and the current political and social climate causing the unwinding of moral fibers and accountability as well. I liked the thought provoking nature of this book. The stories are fictional, but very plausible and telling in many ways. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

[G.P. Gottlieb · Rating 4 out of 5]

These compelling stories are based on recent headlines from before the pandemic crisis, when environmental regulations were overturned at breakneck speed and society had already started to become numb in the face of moral depravity and a lack of objective truth.

Here's my New Books Network interview with Yxta Maya Murray: https://newbooksnetwork.com/yxta-maya...

[Daniel Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss USA 2015 - 4/5
The Prisoner’s Dilemma - 4/5
After Maria - 5/5
Acid Reign - 5/5
Draft of a Letter of Recommendation to the Honorable Alex Kozinski, Which I Guess I’m Not Going to Send Now - 4/5
Paradise - 3/5
Abundance - 4/5
The Perfect Palomino - 3/5
Option 3 - 4/5
Zero Tolerance - 5/5
The Hierarchy - 4/5
Walmart - 3/5
The Overton Window - 3/5
The World Doesn’t Work That Way, but It Could - 4/5

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong collection of short stories, many of which pack a punch. There is a good mix, and many of the stories are quite timely. The book is essentially a showcase for the author's talent, at least in the short story format. Recommended for scifi and other short story fans.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thought-provoking collection of stories covering issues in America that many may not want to talk about or acknowledge really hit me after reading them. The title of the book is right on. Some things could be made to change, but many will need to speak out.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

How cathartic for the author, to process the horror of Trump's first years of headlines by writing humanizing behind the scene stories of people caught in the chaos, often low-level bureaucrats and other victims. Less so for me, but well done.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

everybody stop what you're doing and read this right now

[Elaine Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hysterical, hilarious, and heart-breaking. I know these people. Reading felt like chatting in a room of girl friends.

[Alyssa Duhe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking... really making you realize ‘the world doesn’t work that way but it could’