We're Not Rich: Stories

by Sue Murtagh

Winner of the 2025 Atlantic Book Awards Readers’ Choice Award. A stunning debut exploring the promises and disappointments of modern life, edited by award-winning author Alexander MacLeod.

These are the stories of the people who used to live next-door.

The characters in Sue Murtagh’s outstanding debut collection of linked short stories are at a crossroads. Middle-class, middling, they wrestle with the consequences of their decisions and powerful forces outside of their control. Whether it’s a volatile housing market, the ever-present threat of illness, or the slow disintegration of a marriage, this community of neighbours finds themselves trapped between the idyllic promises of the North American dream and the stark realities of modern life.

Packing the punch of a novel, these thirteen deftly interwoven stories scrutinize the lives of everyday people with surgical precision, while finding connection and community in the unlikeliest of places. We're Not Rich is a wryly observed and deeply-thoughtful collection, where nothing is quite as it should be, but everything feels true.

Genres: Short Stories

232 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2025

About the author

Sue Murtagh's debut book, We're Not Rich, won the 2025 Atlantic Book Awards Readers' Choice Award. We're Not Rich was published by Nimbus Publishing and Vagrant Press and edited by award-winning writer Alexander MacLeod.

Sue lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is a graduate of the Alistair MacLeod mentorship program (Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia) and the Humber School for Writers, where she worked with mentor Danila Botha and graduated with distinction.

Her writing has appeared in The Walrus, The Nashwaak Review, Grain, carte blanche, the Humber Literary Review, The New Quarterly, and yolkliterary.ca.

Sue was the 2025 judge for the David Adams Richards award for the New Brunswick Writers' Federation.

Reviews

[Angela Nolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just read one of these stories in The Walrus and enjoyed it thoroughly(despite the presence of rodents :)

[Donna Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Murtagh is a gifted storyteller with profound insight. Her sharp wit and biting humor transform ordinary observations into moments of piercing clarity. The characters in We’re Not Rich are unflinchingly real as they grapple with the grief, anger and disappointment that can creep into life as we watch the slow erosion of our dreams. I deeply related to them, and they lingered in my mind long after I finished the book.
These stories brought to mind other works that deal with themes of quiet despair lurking beneath ordinary lives such as Raymond Carver’s "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" or Elizabeth Strout’s “Olive Kitteridge".
An impressive debut! Excited to see what’s next!

[Lyle Boylen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of thirteen interconnected stories that really connect with the reader. Murtagh resides in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which is my home province. No bias on my part, this book is terrific.

[Jediam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Purchased February 2025 - I was itching to use my Indigo birthday discount but felt like the algorithm was just feeding me "Top 40" bestsellers - the romance and fantasy popular on TikTok, basically. This popped up in my browsing and I decided to go with it as something more under the radar and it worked out for me, because I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Really great writing, the characters felt like real people and even the mundane moments in these stories felt emotionally poignant. A great impulse purchase.

[Larissa Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up to 4

I really enjoyed a few of these and some of the others felt rushed and incomplete. I typically love a short story that leaves me begging for more, but some of these felt underdeveloped and not ready to be published. Specifically “Lost Purse” and “Train Stories.” Most of these stories build off the characters found in other stories but since some of the stories were underdeveloped, I just didn’t care or have enough reference. I typically enjoy that type of crossover but it didn’t work as well here. But the stories that I did enjoy, I LOVED. Thank you to Netgally, the author, and publisher for the ARC.

[Tricia Mugridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of short stories, making it a point to read one story per day so I could savor the experiences they evoked. The characters and themes in each story are incredibly relevant to everyday life and resonate with most people. I found myself connecting with many of the characters. I liked the subtle linking of characters in across stories. Don't rush this book, take your time with each narrative!

[Alyson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read one of this author’s short stories (extermination) in the walrus. It was excellent. My library acquired a copy of this book but unfortunately, I didn’t feel that any of the other stories were as great as extermination.

There was some linking between stories and characters but I just didn’t feel like they “hit”. Difficult to put my finger on what exactly was missing…

The author does have a true knack for describing typical life and making stories relatable.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the little glimpses of Halifax and surroundings. The parking garage that I used. The souvlaki place in the food court. The Tantallon fire - OK, not enjoyable, but close to home. But the stories in this collection didn’t have enough depth in their characters or plots to truly engage me.

[Ruth Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional read! This is, a deftly crafted, series of interwoven stories, and characters. As in real life, lives ebb, flow, and sometimes snag. Read them in order! You will be rewarded.

[Colin Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a wonderful short story collection.

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this short story collection with several character overlaps and its references to familiar Nova Scotia locations (Blomidon) and items (Tidal Bay wine).

[Janice Tissington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading We’re Not Rich and loved it! I would definitely recommend it.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. “So many things are going to happen, but I am not worried. I am not worried about any of it.”

[Jon Tattrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑾𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒘! 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑱𝒐𝒏 𝑻𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆, 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝑨𝒕𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝑪𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒅𝒂

I read 'We’re Not Rich' with a flush rising up my neck. Was author Sue Murtagh WATCHING me? How else would she know I was thinking THAT??

Each story scrapes a layer off the BS of life and reveals the truth beneath. It sounds a bit like listening in on an old party line, catching crackles of gossip and gasps of silence.

A deck rises on the back of house like a dreamcatcher designed to turn work and money into visible success and happiness. Next time we see it, it’s offering clunky curb appeal as part of a real estate transaction.

Dave has a big idea for a communal snowblower that had me cringing, and very glad I’d not let that particular plan escape my own mouth.

Houses are filled and emptied of owners and lives.

The frigging mice never leave.

I loved every story in this book and wanted to circle back around to read them again with new perspectives. Maybe this can be like The Office on TV, where I just watch it over and over and over?

It reminded me of a darker CBC’s Vinyl Cafe, at times, only seen through female eyes.

That female gaze penetrates everything from swimming lessons to charity golf events to a wildfire burning down a marriage. Each story is pinned to the wall like a butterfly.

We’re Not Rich takes the fleetingness of social media and turns it into a permanent work of art.

It’s like Murtagh got access to our posts - and reversed our cameras to see what we truly look like beyond the social frame.

[Terri Durling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not usually a fan of short stories but decided to give this local Canadian author, Sue Murtagh, a go. I was not disappointed. What I loved most about these stories is that they all are centred about Halifax and the surrounding area. There are many references to places I know and could totally relate to giving me a wonderful visual. Sue is a beautiful story teller and her protagonists are all very real people dealing with the issues of life such as health, divorce, marriage, homes, and even, natural disasters such as the wildfire we had here in Nova Scotia in Hammonds Plains where many people lost their homes. I did find many of the endings a little unusual as most did not bring closure to the issue that was the focus of the story. However, it did not prevent me from not enjoying these lovely short stories about real people and real life.

[Anne Caverhill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love short stories that don’t say much yet tell you everything you need to know simply by the way they are written. And what a sweet gem of a book this was and! The writer is not only Canadian but the stories take place in Halifax with familiar references like Roots purses, and Sobeys and the Dairy Queen that used to sit on the corner across from the Public Gardens. I am in awe of the writing ( Lisa Moore gives her a shout out on the cover) and I’m going to sit down and melt into these stories again.
This book reminds me of a group of stories by Katherine Govier called Fables of Brunswick Avenue. At the time I was so taken with it and the taut explanation “ everyone lives on Brunswick Avenue” at some time in their life and as a not cool 20 year old, I thought that sounded very very cool. I read the stories over and over. Lives being lived with a writer able to make that which is ordinary sound familiar and cool.

[Nina Waite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wryly funny, touching, beautifully paced, Sue Murtagh’s stories are about ordinary people who face challenges in a variety of forms. Sharp observations about the human condition and attention to detail in the lives of these characters make this collection very relatable. A very enjoyable read!

[B.R. Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keenly observant, but deeply and empathetically humane, We’re Not Rich by Sue Murtagh is a short story collection that boils down complex and emotional stories into pitch perfect vignettes of daily life. Perfect for fans of Carol Shields and Amanda Peters.

[Kathryn Haynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gem this short story collection is! With telling detail and honed prose Murtagh pierces the mundane and lays bare the tragic yet, with all that, still manages to provide lashings of humour. These stories and their characters linger in the reader’s mind.

[Katie Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and witty short story collection with complex and deeply relatable characters from different generations. I highly recommend to all!

[Enid Wray]

Brilliant debut collection.

[Wendy Mugridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't help but compare reading of this fantastic book to eating a bag of chips. The approach should be to eat a few and put the bag away for later. As the French say, apparently, I can have some today and stop, knowing that I can have more tomorrow. So read one story each day, resisting the compulsion to devour the book in one go. It will pay off; the digestion process will proceed very smoothly. I loved reading about these believable characters navigating their way through life and its everyday activities and obligations while feeling the pressure that our culture places on these believable characters. Materialism and status are stupid, yet it is hard to resist. Those burdensome family duties and chores take over and steal from leisure time. There is a wonderful thread running through all these highly relatable stories. the Highly emotive and empathy inducing process captured here fuelled by perfect adjectives pays off more than one can say. And yes, even though the bag is empty, I want more...

[Julie Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rich and moving collection of stories that touch your heart, make you laugh, and help you organize the timeline and connections that weave people together across their lives. I loved settling into these stories and seeing the characters as they connected to each other throughout the book. A fantastic read!

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtful stories that resonate with the everyday person. The experiences of the characters are situations the reader probably dealt with or are acquainted with someone who has.