A review by nuhafariha
The World Doesn't Work That Way, But It Could, Volume 1: Stories by Yxta Maya Murray

5.0

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!