Book · 2015 · American Short stories
A manual for cleaning women
Why people recommend it
A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin is a celebrated short story collection that showcases the author's remarkable talent for capturing the grit, humor, and dignity of everyday working-class lives. The book has garnered significant praise and discussion across various episodes of The Book Review. Dwight Garner shared that the 2015 collection completely took his head off when he read it, expressing immense admiration for Berlin's work. John Williams noted that Berlin's writing has rightfully come back to light in recent years, highlighting its lasting resonance and comparing its quality to her subsequent collection, Evening in Paradise. Naja Spiegelman reflected on how the volume feels like a carefully curated selection representing the definitive version of Berlin's storytelling. Meanwhile, contributors such as Parl Segal and Parul Sehgal pointed out the book's notable placement on the extended hardcover fiction bestseller list. Pamela Paul and Ruth Franklin explored the depth of the selected stories, while Greg Cowles also reminded listeners of the collection's strong presence on the bestseller charts. Through these discussions, the podcast hosts and guests repeatedly underscored the enduring literary impact of Lucia Berlin's work, cementing the collection as a vital and unforgettable contribution to modern American short fiction that continues to captivate readers and critics alike.
Who recommended it
- John Williams Discussed
- Pamela Paul Discussed
- Dwight Garner Recommended
- Naja Spiegelman Discussed
- Parl Segal Discussed
- Parul Sehgal Discussed
- Greg Cowles Discussed
John Williams — 2 mentions
“just in recent years her work has kind of come back to light and I'm I'm curious how you first came to it in 2015 when Emanual for cleaning women came out a of recollection of all of the stories that had been published during her lifetime”
“so this new collection of stories Evening in Paradise do these stories compare well with the manual for cleaning women do you feel like it's the same level of quality”
Pamela Paul — 2 mentions
“Ruth Franklin joins us now to talk about Lucia Berlin's selected stories a manual for cleaning women”
“Emanual for cleaning women by Lucia Berlin”
Dwight Garner — 1 mention
“and she had a collection come out for and Drew published it in 2015 called a manual for cleaning women and that book just sort of you know took my head off when I read it”
Naja Spiegelman — 1 mention
“and it does sort of feel that way that manual for cleaning women was a very selected like okay if we can only have one version of this story this is the one we want to have”
Parl Segal — 1 mention
“at number 18 on the extended um hard cover bestseller list and fiction is a book called manual for cleaning women by Lucia Berlin”
Parul Sehgal — 1 mention
“at number 18 on the extended um hard cover bestseller list and fiction is a book called manual for cleaning women by Lucia Berlin”
Greg Cowles — 1 mention
“um starting down at number 15 apostu Story collection by a writer named Lucia Berlin called a manual for cleaning women listeners may remember that uh the reviewer of that collection for us Ruth Franklin was on the podcast recently”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
Other mentions (2: passing, ad reads, own books)
“this week she reviews a manual for cleaning women selected stories by Lucia”
“and Elizabeth gagen a writer herself wrote that a manual for cleaning women by Lucia Berlin was her favorite”