We're Gonna Get Through This Together
Z. Hanna’s short story collection We’re Gonna Get Through This Together delivers sharp social commentary on twenty-first-century life.
Examining race, class, sexuality, gender, capitalism, and activism, the collection uses satire to explore love and connection in a fractured world. The stories reflect progressive ideologies and address tender cynicism: “I joined the Feminists United Contra Kyriarchal Universities because I wanted friends. I assumed that was why all liberal arts girls became feminists—to feel less alone.”
In “We’re Gonna Get Through This Together,” a white antiracism coach grapples with personal and professional fallout after her Mexican American girlfriend-turned-business-partner ends their relationship. “Equabet” follows a college freshman’s feminist campaign to create a less-patriarchal alphabet, only to abandon her cause when her crush moves on, citing class differences. “The Birmingham Effect” follows a supervisor at an elite elective prison struggling to support his team after a high-profile client’s suicide.
“Heroes’ Journey” features ungrounding psychedelic trips. “Flaming” is claustrophobic at first, gaining momentum as more characters join its narrative. A handful of flash fiction pieces appear, engaging attention with their intriguing perspectives.
Though the prose is direct and engaging, the collection falters when characters linger in streams of consciousness or when the satire edges toward absurdity. Still, the overall humor and keen observations remain consistent, as with
I lived in a cabin in West Virginia. It was just me and my cat, my cat who stopped having a name. When it’s just the two of you like that, names are the first thing to go.
Indeed, the book’s social commentary is as resonant as it is penetrating, exploring attachment and estrangement with emotional depth.
We’re Gonna Get Through This Together is an affecting short story collection about love and connection in the time of late-stage capitalism.
Reviewed by
Hannah Pearson
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
