Praise for A Manual for Cleaning Women 'Only Carver's very final stories share Berlin's eye for the sudden exaltation in ordinary lives, or her ability to shift the tone of an entire story with an unexpected sentence.' Guardian 'An important American writer . . . She is the real deal.' New York Times 'Sharp, unpredictable, vital characters . . . [Berlin's stories] hit you with a force the moment you happen upon them.' Jackie Kay, Observer 'This selection of forty-three stories . . . should by all rights see [Lucia Berlin] as lauded as Jean Rhys or Raymond Carver.' Independent