GQ placed the book on their 17 Best Books of 2018 list, lauding Rubin's choice to arrange short stories by theme rather than chronological time.[2] In 2024, The Atlantic featured it in an article recommending short story collections.[3]Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie included it in her profile in The New York Times.[4]
The Japan Times called the book's structure "a recipe for success" with categories that "best showcase ... unique tastes."[5]The Japan Society observed Rubin's "necessarily selective" and thematically organized collection, writing that "A reader prepared for the new and unexpected will not be disappointed."[6]The Asian Review of Books wrote that "the collection has a unique, often edgy, surprising quality" due to its thematic organization, as well as its inclusion of stories from lesser-known and typically underrepresented writers.[7]
