Homesick: New and Selected Stories

Rating:
Summary: heartbreakingly good; spellbinding
Review: As good a collection of short fiction you will ever read, without a doubt. Her stories often hurt you in that very good way, the way you want fiction to make you feel. Her humor perfectly balances and makes possible the heartache, the subtle tragedies she writes about. This collection is one of those books that you simply must read. You will learn from the experience, and you'll never forget.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing stories of extraordinary people inside ordinary shel
Review: This is one of the best books I've ever read, clearly Berlin's best work to date. She writes about cleaning ladies, jockeys, switchboard operators and alcoholics--all with the sensitivity of someone who knows these people from the inside, yet makes no excuses for them. This is no PC attempt at ennobeling them, it's the real thing: fascinating people scrubbing your floors, who possess beauty, insight, charm and plenty of flaws. Real flaws. Real people. Berlin's writing is luscious and poetic, but her real gift is her uncanny ablility to see right through people, communicate what is noteworthy and illuminating in their lives. After 5 years I've read most of these stories, but still haven't quite finished, because I've found myself rationing them. I've read my favorites over and over, but can't bear the thought of having no one left to discover in her world. Apparently her next book is due very soon. Can't wait, it's been so long.