Reviews

A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories by Lucia Berlin

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1jessml's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

sarahforsterling's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

birdsnest's review against another edition

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challenging reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

really great writing and story construction but gets repetitive when read cover to cover. definitely shows its age in terms of white woman writing from the perspective of other races, but also impressive for its time.

mlynch133's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

jaclyncrupi's review against another edition

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5.0

These stories are astonishingly good. I wanted to make notes on each one but was always too eager to start the next. They're sparks into surprising places that light up brilliantly and then disappear. Berlin's ability to sketch characters in such short stories is beyond skilled, it's masterful. These stories are a joy and a gift. I plan on dipping back into them soon.

frogwithlittlehammer's review against another edition

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reflective

5.0

I feel similarly to how I reacted when I read Ali Smith’s How to Be Both. Goodness, I didn’t know books could be like this—however, I suppose a chunk of the credit goes to whoever assembled the collection of short stories as well... “Here It Is Saturday” is one story that stands out in particular by how completely it took me by surprise, though I can imagine many people saw it coming. I never see things coming.

Chekhov is one of my favorite writers, and before Lucia Berlin, I didn’t like any other short-story writers. But now I believe I’d like to get into some Raymond Carver and Alice Munro, perhaps Borges and maybe Denis Johnson. Though I worry I would get too used to the cycle of short-circuited gratification that comes after the end of a story, and I also worry that is what draws me to the genre. I am a woman obsessed with shiny satin bows on crisply folded paper wrapped boxes. The story doesn’t have to have a narrative, but it just has to have an ending in sight. I wonder what that says about me.