A review by kpeterson922
Evening in Paradise by Lucia Berlin

2.0

I may be in the minority, though I did not enjoy 85% of this collection. Highly atmospheric rather than plot or character driven, a style I'm unused to in short fiction. i looked forward to this book based on the hype of "Cleaning Woman," having not yet read, so it may or may not be fair or accurate to say that this seems scraped together to compile another posthumous collection without the benefit of an editing process. I'll still read "Cleaning Woman," though to be honest, not quite as excited to after reading "Evening in Paradise." I enjoy a fair amount of short fiction, though unsure Berlin's writing style particularly works for me. I found many of the stories slow to get to the point, with extraneous character, and while I realize these shorts are semi-autobiographical, found it irritating that the same names were used in different stories though seemingly no connection? A lot of the endings seemed abrupt and unfinished, again leading me to wonder if an editor may have provided some counsel on this. I missed much of the humor that other reviews mentioned and found myself skimming far more than usual. However, the most positive standouts were "Noel 1974" and "My Brother's Keeper" - both engrossing, entertaining pieces that resonated with me far more than most other. Nevertheless, I appreciated a preview copy by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.