| Winner of the 1991 Before Columbus / American Book Award "Pain is the subject of these stories, but it is not the maudlin, romantic pain found in fiction issuing from 'Creative Writing Therapy' sessions . . . it has humor, the uneasy, unpredictable humor of a Richard Pryor monologue. With Homesick, Berlin can be judged alonside Raymond Carver, Alice Adams, and Bobbie Anne Mason. She is a remarkable writer, especially on life in the new American West." -Keith Abbott For this, her first major collection, Lucia Berlin gathered the best of her work from 1960 to 1990, including stories from The Atlantic and Saul Bellow's little magazine The Noble Savage and the immortal "My Jockey," winner of the Jack London Short Prize, 1985. "There is nothing tentative about the range of statement in these stories. They are about what can be lost and what can be endured. Berlin's characters are often neglected or abused girls, or women with children who struggle to make ends meet while their husbands, absent or present, provide no help. The strength and endurance of these characters, combined with their daily observations about the pain and drama of life, give them the ability to affirm their existence." -Pat Smith
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