Maurice Carlos Ruffin wrote the memorable dystopian satire "We Cast a Shadow," and when I saw he had a book of short stories coming out, I was eager to read it. "The Ones Who Don't Say They Love You" takes the reader to New Orleans, where we jump into the lives of people living on the margins of a city ravaged by Katrina and plagued by inequality. Some stories are brief. In "Fast Hands, Fast Feet," we meet a girl without a home or anyone to look out for her. Others, like "Before I Let Go," linger a bit more and let the reader see the characters' pain -- and their joy. The one that I'll be thinking about months from now is "Ghetto University," in which a professional couple on the brink of financial ruin turn to petty crime as a way to raise some quick cash. The stories fly by, making this a great read, whether you want to sit down with the book and take it all in or pick it up and put it down, savoring the individual pieces.

He has the range! Equally great flash fiction and regular short stories all over the map (but not literally because they're all in New Orleans) that are without fail clever, touching, or more often both. The title story is so good, "Catch What You Can" I'm obsessed with, and there's not a clunker to be found.

This is a collection of slice of life stories, stories in which you step inside a life for a moment in time and don't always know what a final resolution will hold no matter how dire that character's situation. And these people are all in dire situations. I was in awe of Maurice Carlos Ruffin's novel, We Cast a Shadow. It haunts me as will these stories. Some of which are less than a page but which are so finely drawn you feel you've seen these people first hand. Set in New Orleans post-Katrina and forward (there are even those addressing presentday pandemic and Black Lives Matter), the denizens of the Ninth Ward try keeping their families together, some against inhuman odds. Whether it's a father returning home after a "stay" in Angola trying to find work or a woman doing every job possible in the gig economy in order not to lose her home that has been in her family for three generations due to escalating taxes thanks to gentrification of her neighborhood Treme, or a young tapper in the tourist section, every single story is proof of resilience and hope. Kudos.

Absolutely loved this collection. So rich depth and emotion. The author being from New Orleans brings such a wonderful authenticity to this story, and you can really tell how much thought and care went into crafting it. I loved that so many topics were touched on, and they all somehow managed to feel new and fresh. My two favorites were The Pie Man, because I loved the examination of class structure and familial ties; and also Rhinoceros, because it felt to current and relevant without being re-traumatizing. Highly, highly recommend this collection.

THE ONES WHO DON'T SAY THEY LOVE YOU, by Maurice Carlos Ruffin, is a collection of short stories that look at issues of race, status, bigotry, loyalty, and desperation. New Orleans is the backdrop for all of the stories, and Ruffin uses the grit and determination of the people of New Orleans to force readers to contemplate life in other people's shoes and what in means to be looked at in a different light than what the reader is used to.
I really liked the balance of all of the stories. Some short and some longer, some were lighter and left me smiling while others brought me to tears. I felt like the book was a study how people in all walks of life get by in New Orleans. Some get lucky, but most come up against relentless and sometimes insurmountable hurdles to find any sort of success or even just upward momentum. There isn't a bad story on the lot, but my favorite was "Ghetto University". It looks at the effects (or lack thereof) of getting an education. It also turns the perception of race on it's head. That story left me considering how I look at education, status, and race in my every day life.
THE ONES WHO DON'T SAY THEY LOVE YOU will stick in my head for a while and I look forward to more stories from Maurice Carlos Ruffin. An excellent read and one I won't soon forget.

I loved Maurice Ruffin's novel We Cast a Shadow and I was super excited to read this one too. Ruffin's ability to tell a story in so well crafted; it immediately draws you in. This is work that is not to be missed. Ruffin is a hidden gem, hopefully for not too long.

Maurice Carlos Ruffin has created a book filled with characters that have no intention of being forgotten. His stories are compelling, highlighting a side of New Orleans most tourists don't see. His characters present a commentary on race that slices through the rhetoric and deftly describes their experience of being Black. In "Ghetto University", you'll meet a highly educated, out of work Black man who turns to mugging tourists to get by. He doesn't use a weapon, because as he puts it, he has "a face and a body that are, in a sense, weaponized".

"Token" may be the most powerful 561 words ever committed to paper - an exhausting list of dos and don'ts that brings into sharp focus the things asked of Black people that are not asked of others. ("Don't let them connect you to any of those who look like you, because one of you is desirable, but more than one of you is a rebellion".)

I finished "The Ones Who Don't Say They Love You" several days ago and I'm still thinking about these people Maurice Carlos Ruffin has brought to life on these pages. They are multi-dimensional, with problems and histories and loves and worries and lives all their own. Spend some time with them and you'll see what I mean.

I would call Maurice Carlos Ruffin a New Orleans culturebearer on the basis of this stunningly beautiful collection of first person stories. Ruffin has the ability to get inside his characters and bring us with him, so that we walk around in the shoes of others for a page or fifteen. Men, women, boys -- he is able to capture the voices and worlds of each, and he chooses to embody characters many of us -- both visitors and more privileged residents of New Orleans -- are likely to overlook in our day-to-day. "The Ones" is a collection, but the world Ruffin creates is a whole, has a sense of humor, and, above all, comes from his city. It is deeply authentic, truly soulful, and not to be missed. I am awestruck by his talent, and his characters will live with me, going forward.

Maurice Carlos Ruffins’s short story collection is rooted in and about New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. These are desperate times for desperate people resorting to desperate measures. Most are doing their best to survive sacrificing their dignity, pride assuming any and every menial job available in hopes of making enough to care for themselves and their loved ones.

Some of the stories are less than a page (Zimmerman, Spinning) but are weighted with just as much sentiment, melancholy, and depth as the longer pieces. Some of my personal favorites were the title story, The Ones Who Don't Say They Love You, where a young, neglected foster child resorts to a debasing profession to feed his siblings. Beg Borrow Steal features the return of a boy’s father from prison and the havoc that ensues as he looks for employment. Ghetto University examines respectability politics when a college professor and his chemist wife lose their esteemed positions and face eviction.

While unemployment and despair recur throughout many of the stories, there is still hope and determination to rebuild, reclaim, and maintain the city’s spirit and the love of its inhabitants. This collection has heart! Well done!

“A man has got to grab his own future for his one self”

The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You by Maurice Carlos Ruffin was a quick read, the short story format makes it different than your typical novel where the characters remain the same throughout the entire book. The short stories focused on multiple characters-almost a vignette style where you get a small snapshot of what life was like for black people growing up and living in New Orleans .

Without going into spoilers, one of my favorite short stories was probably the one about the parents doing what they could to protect their family-even if it meant doing something illegal like stealing or even just doing whatever-like selling their car.

Ruffins writing was straight and to the point and while many of the stories were heartbreaking to read. This is a novella everyone should read because it shows how people live.

I've been to New Orleans several times and have gone beyond the touristy sights and parts of the city and this short story collection still showed me several new sides and perspectives from NOLA. Through 19 different stories, Ruffin displays the city from so many diverse and overlooked angles. Some stories are no more than a couple pages, but still bring something to the collection in a way that reminded me a bit of last year's Hitting a Straight Lick With a Crooked Stick by Zora Neale Hurston. The acknowledgements state that these stories were written over a period longer than a decade, but some of them feel very current with their allusions to the pandemic and last summer's racial uprisings. Ghetto University and Before I Let Go were particularly standouts in this collection for me and both carried the theme of doing it what it takes to get by in very different ways. This will be a talked about collection this summer.

New Orleans native and author Maurice Carlos Ruffin brings to life his hometown in both beautiful and harrowing vignettes in The Ones Who Don't Say They Love You, a collection of short stories detailing the Black experience in south Louisiana. The stories in this volume cover a wide range of topics, including familial relationships, poverty, crime, racism, the LGBTQIA experience, the coronavirus pandemic, and more. Ruffin deposits readers right into the midst of his characters' lives, enveloping them in the sights and sounds of the city, and showing them what it means to be black in New Orleans.

Some of Ruffin's more memorable stories include:

The Ones Who Don't Say They Love You - A young boy sells his body to New Orleans tourists to help feed his brothers and sisters.

Beg Borrow Steal - When his father returns home from a stint in Angola, a young boy spends a day with his dad, looking for work.

Rhinoceros - Set during the time of the coronavirus and BLM protests, two LGBTQIA teenagers spend an evening out and about in the city.

Ghetto University - A university professor holds up tourists in the French Quarter to help make ends meet at home.

The Pie Man - A young boy falls into a life of crime while trying to avoid forming a relationship with his absent father.

Catch What You Can - When his mom decides to quit drinking and find a job, a young boy accompanies her around the city while she looks for work.

Before I Let Go - A woman fights against the gentrification of her New Orleans neighborhood.

In all, this collection of short stories is poignant and eye-opening, all while being honest, raw, and real.

This is a remarkable collection of short stories about people who are down on their luck while living in New Orleans (because of an imbalance of power and social status). It provides a look into the diversity of the people and culture of the city - with stories set in various times, during Reconstruction to Katrina to our current pandemic.

Each story in this collection shows us someone who is trying to leave their current situation and despite their self-determination, finds themselves at an impasse. Together they explore economic, social, and educational justice; parent-child relationships; addiction; and reconciliation.

Maurice Carlos Ruffin was one of the many authors I was introduced to from reading Four Hundred Souls. He is an extraordinary storyteller, and I look forward to reading more from him, including his debut, which explores colorism, We Cast a Shadow.

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.