Evening in Paradise

A collection of previously uncompiled stories from the short-story master and literary sensation Lucia Berlin.'More marvellous musical stories from Lucia Berlin.' Sunday ExpressThe publication of A Manual for Cleaning Women, Lucia Berlin's dazzling collection of short stories, marked the rediscovery of a writer whose talent had gone unnoted by many, but who has come to be recognized as one of the most important writers in twentieth-century American short fiction.Berlin earned comparisons to Raymond Carver, Grace Paley, Alice Munro, and Anton Chekhov. Evening in Paradise is a careful selection from Berlin's remaining stories - twenty-two gems that showcase the gritty glamour that made readers fall in love with her. From Texas to Chile, Mexico to New York City, Berlin finds beauty in the darkest places and darkness in the seemingly pristine. Evening in Paradise is an essential piece of Berlin's oeuvre, a jewel-box follow-up for new and old fans.'There's plenty in Evening in Paradise to conjure the original thrill of reading Berlin.' Financial Times'Wonderful . . . Brilliant.' The Times'Berlin expertly balances beauty and bleakness, and finds drama, joy or revelation in humdrum experiences.' The Economist'Lucia Berlin writes in colour. Not wishy-washy pastels, or hues described with copious adjectives, but instead saturated colour.' TLS'Quietly extraordinary.' Scotsman'A writer of tender, chaotic and careworn short stories . . . Berlin probably deserved a Pulitzer Prize.' New York Times