Customer Reviews

Where I Live Now

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Lucia Berlin's prose sneaks up on you and, with spare simple language, bowls you over. As with her two earlier collections from Black Sparrow, Berlin fills these stories with sad, yet inspiring characters living on or near the fringe of society. We get to see the lives of teachers and nurses, people we usually view only in the context of their work, up close and in alarming detail. Berlin is a joy to read.

As in her other collections, Berlin writes to-the-bone truths in language so simple and clear you won't know what hit you. "Where I Live Now" is as deep and honest as an old scar; it will tempt you to keep sneaking glances at its lumpy form, imagining the pain that put it there - and the impossible healing of which we are all capable.

Lucia Berlin is one of the most underappreciated short story writers and her latest collection is full of arresting portraits of women and their families in the contemporary American West.