Lucia Berlin's collected short stories draw on her own life: a childhood in mining towns, years in El Paso and Chile, work as a cleaning woman, hospital switchboard operator and teacher, and struggles with alcoholism and single motherhood. The stories are short, vivid and often funny, and show characters in laundromats, bus stops, emergency rooms and detox centers. Her narrators are frank, sharp-eyed and unsentimental.
It is for readers who like short fiction rooted in ordinary working lives, told with a fresh, direct voice. It suits those who like Raymond Carver or Grace Paley and want a collection to dip into.
Deep, inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2015
- Language
- EN
