The resistance of the human spirit in face of time, disloyalty, and oblivion is the theme of Marina Sonkina's new collection of short stories. Her seemingly naïve and helpless protagonists inhabit disparate social stations, geographical locales and cultures; all are persons displaced in their own lives. But in their struggles for survival, they discover the redeeming and dangerous power of unconditional love - the only weapon available to them. Strange and incomprehensible to everyone, love makes its sudden appearance to an eight-year-old hunchbacked boy in the title story of Lucia's Eyes. As he brings the gifts of his artistic imagination to Lucia, a refugee from the Spanish Civil War, the bleak and cruel reality of Stalin's Russia dissolves into magic ... In 'Runic Alphabet' a Polish-Canadian painter plants a tree that brings to life memories of a woman long dead who remains the only true love of his life. In 'Carmelita' an aging man from Winnipeg, vacationing in Mexico, falls in love with a young Mexican painter. In 'Christmas Tango' a jobless drifter in snowy Montreal discovers tango, inadvertently transforming his own life and the lives of those who come in contact with him. In 'Tractorina' a hard-working crane-operator, retired in post-Gorbachev Russia, is driven into a rose-tinted abyss by her stepson. In 'Angels Ascending and Descending' a young girl is initiated into the mysterious symbolism of Russian Orthodox church architecture by a priestly man who hardly lives up to the spiritual heights he preaches. Full of unexpected turns and twists, sadness, joy and humour, these stories reflect life, itself always a surprise, and always a miracle.

"Berlin probably deserved a Pulitzer Prize." —Dwight Garner, The New York Times New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice. Named one of the Best Books of 2018 by The Boston Globe, Kirkus, and Lit Hub. Named a Fall Read by Buzzfeed, ELLE, TIME, Nylon, The Boston Globe, Vulture, Newsday, HuffPost, Bustle,The A.V. Club, The Millions, BUST, Reinfery29, Fast Company and MyDomaine. A collection of previously uncompiled stories from the short-story master and literary sensation Lucia Berlin In 2015, Farrar, Straus and Giroux published A Manual for Cleaning Women, a posthumous story collection by a relatively unknown writer, to wild, widespread acclaim. It was a New York Times bestseller; the paper’s Book Review named it one of the Ten Best Books of 2015; and NPR, Time, Entertainment Weekly, The Guardian, The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, and other outlets gave the book rave reviews. The book’s author, Lucia Berlin, earned comparisons to Raymond Carver, Grace Paley, Alice Munro, and Anton Chekhov. Evening in Paradise is a careful selection from Berlin’s remaining stories—twenty-two gems that showcase the gritty glamour that made readers fall in love with her. From Texas to Chile, Mexico to New York City, Berlin finds beauty in the darkest places and darkness in the seemingly pristine. Evening in Paradise is an essential piece of Berlin’s oeuvre, a jewel-box follow-up for new and old fans.

One of The New York Times Book Review's Ten Best Books of 2015 One of Jezebel's Favorite Books of 2016 A Manual for Cleaning Women compiles the best work of the legendary short-story writer Lucia Berlin. With the grit of Raymond Carver, the humor of Grace Paley, and a blend of wit and melancholy all her own, Berlin crafts miracles from the everyday, uncovering moments of grace in the Laundromats and halfway houses of the American Southwest, in the homes of the Bay Area upper class, among switchboard operators and struggling mothers, hitchhikers and bad Christians. Readers will revel in this remarkable collection from a master of the form and wonder how they'd ever overlooked her in the first place. "Perhaps, with the present collection, Lucia Berlin will begin to gain the attention she deserves." -Lydia Davis

In Where I Live Now, Berlin contemplates the human condition with a compassionate understanding. Berlin's vision is sometimes remorseful, sometimes resigned, always courageous. The elusive nature of happiness is a compelling theme here: the survivors in these stories--many of them society's marginal or excluded people, fighting alcohol or drug addiction, bearing emotional scars--recognize it all too well.

A harrowing trio of murder, romance, and power propel the action forward in this story about little Jenny Waring. In a moment of dire crisis, she did something exceptional, and the authorities want to know how and why she killed three armed men like a seasoned agent. It's Kier McAllister's job to break Jenny Waring—he's asking a lot of questions, and he isn't asking nicely. However much McAllister thinks he's in control, the balance of power is shifting. Jenny's accusing eyes are starting to hold the whole world for him, and that isn't good—not when the people he works for aren't about to leave her alone. Jenny Waring started out as McAllister's job, how can she become his redemption?

A brilliant and subtle comedy on the social rivalries of a small village between the wars. Lucia is probably the greatest creation of E. F. Benson, a social climbing socialite from the small village of Riseholme. A beautifully written and sharply observed comedy, exploring the social life of Edwardian high society. This novel, originally published fourth in the series in 1931, is being republished here together with a new introductory biography of the author.

Lucía zips through the playground in her cape just like the boys, but when theytell her "girls can't be superheroes," suddenly she doesn't feel so mighty. That'swhen her beloved abuela reveals a dazzling secret: Lucía comes from a family ofluchadoras, the bold and valiant women of the Mexican lucha libre tradition.Cloaked in a flashy new disguise, Lucía returns as a recess sensation! But whenshe's confronted with a case of injustice, Lucía must decide if she can stay true tothe ways of the luchadora and fight for what is right, even if it means breaking thesacred rule of never revealing the identity behind her mask. A story about courageand cultural legacy, Lucía the Luchadora is full of pluck, daring, and heart.