In “These Are Facts,” 16-year-old Heather goes on vacation with her parents in Mexico. Also joining them is Heather’s estranged half-brother West. Heather desperately tries to form a bond with West so that he will not leave them again. The story ends ambiguously.

Bob-Waksberg: That’s a great question. Emika [from one of the last stories in the collection] is named after a friend of mine from high school [who’s] half Japanese. I wanted my book to feel diverse without me putting on voices that I didn’t have the authority to put on. And so I tried to, yes, sprinkle in some names that were indicative of some things, as well as names that were not necessarily indicative of anything and open to interpretation. And then also, sometimes, not naming characters. And I thought about how, actually, if you wanted to, you could say the same thing about life. That life is terrifying and overwhelming and it can happen at any moment. And when you're confronted with life you can either be cowardly or you can be brave, but either way you're going to live. and so much more! The rest of this review, for the sake of my sanity and yours alike, will be a rundown of the individual stories, followed by a lengthy section of my favorite quotes from the book, because I flagged quite a few of them, and I think they might give you a better idea of what actually happens in this one. With all that said…let’s go.So then the play starts and the first thing that happens is two ladies burst into the hotel room, one after another. These ladies are supposed to be sisters, probably, because when plays aren't about hookers, ninety percent of the time they're about sisters. But, of course, because it's a play, these sisters look nothing alike. For starters, one of them's like fifty and the other one's like twenty, because apparently when you're hiring people for plays, it's impossible to find two women who are about the same age. These Are Facts – probably the one I liked least in the collection, following a teenage girl’s reunion with her estranged half-brother on a family vacation. I liked the writing, but the story itself didn’t hook me quite enough. Giorgis: Can you tell me a bit about the surrealist elements in the book? The thing about love, of course, is that your predicament always feels like it’s the most dramatic, earthshaking thing in the world, even—and perhaps especially—when it’s fairly ordinary.

Perhaps my expectations for this particular book were too high -- in his publicity event, Bob-Waksberg talked confidently (if sarcastically) about how he was a good writer. And I'd already read a lot of nice things about it. The Poem” focuses on a couple—Fernando and Wendy. They begin dating after Wendy breaks off her engagement to someone else. Wendy sees the relationship as casual, but Fernando has very strong feelings for Wendy. On Valentine’s Day, Fernando gives Wendy a poem that he wrote for her. Wendy, now realizing how strong Fernando’s feelings for her are, decides to end the relationship.and maybe you have saved a life or birthed a baby or prevented a crime and made a more lasting contribution to the world in the time it took me to self-indulgently prattle on about all of my thoughts and feels about some short stories, but iiiii did all this while wearing a onesie with a monkey on it, so i win the cozy trophy. More of the You That You Already Are” follows an unnamed narrator who works at a U.S. president-themed amusement park. He does not like the job, but he needs the income to help support his sister, who is undergoing cancer treatment. One day, the park introduces a new attraction: a genetic homunculus that is a combination of the first ten U.S. presidents. After genetic being escapes, it is possible that the park will close down. The narrator’s only solace is that he will look for another job to help support his sister.