"I have always had faith that the best writers will rise to the top, like cream, sooner or later, and will become exactly as well-known as they should be--their work talked about, quoted, taught, performed, filmed, set to music, anthologized. Perhaps, with the present collection, Lucia Berlin will begin to gain the attention she deserves."--Lydia Davis, from the forewordA Manual for Cleaning Women compiles the best work of the legendary short-story writer Lucia Berlin. With the grit of Raymond Carver, the humor of Grace ...
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"I have always had faith that the best writers will rise to the top, like cream, sooner or later, and will become exactly as well-known as they should be--their work talked about, quoted, taught, performed, filmed, set to music, anthologized. Perhaps, with the present collection, Lucia Berlin will begin to gain the attention she deserves."--Lydia Davis, from the forewordA Manual for Cleaning Women compiles the best work of the legendary short-story writer Lucia Berlin. With the grit of Raymond Carver, the humor of Grace Paley, and a blend of wit and melancholy all her own, Berlin crafts miracles from the everyday, uncovering moments of grace in the laundromats and halfway houses of the American Southwest, in the homes of the Bay Area upper class, among switchboard operators and struggling mothers, hitchhikers, and bad Christians.Readers will revel in this remarkable collection from a master of the form and wonder how they'd ever overlooked her in the first place.
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I'm sure I'm in a minority in not particularly liking this collection-though some of the work was delicious. Berlin certainly had an eye for incidents in her life that would pique a reader's interest. On the other hand, I found it too confessional, too personal, and so not distanced enough. Then, some of the sexual adventures seemed to me to be fantasy, not reality. Finally, if one likes the traditional story form, rather than the minimalist approach, this is not for you.
Jim G
Jan 21, 2016
Breathing
As a long-time lover of modern American literature I have been thrilled to discover Lucia Berlin's writing. I am reading this book at the moment and am in a hurry to finish so that I can pass it on to my daughter but I keep stopping to breath properly again, such is the effect she causes. Lucia Berlin's life infuses much if not all of the stories so that it is like reading the autobiography of a multitude of American women; the joys, travails, despairs, delights and wonders, however, are those of us all at one time or another if we are lucky. Such a great book.
