Anthony’s Reviews > A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories > Status Update

Read two more brief but distinctive glimpses into lost souls’ lives: “Teenage Punk” and “Steps”

Read “Friends” and “Unmangeable,” both excellent mini stories. The first was a touching portrait of an elderly couple, and the second was a harrowing glimpse into the life of a severely alcoholic mother of two.

Read “Melina,” a wonderfully compact tale of an intoxicating beauty.

Read “Good and Bad,” the sorrowful tale of a privileged girl’s complex relationship with her activist teacher.

Read “Toda Luna, Toda Año,” about a widow’s trip to Mexico.

Read two more fascinating, bittersweet stories: “Temps Perdu” and “Carpe Diem”

Read the sadly funny “Emergency Room Notebook, 1977

Read “Tiger Bites,” a funny and sad story about a young pregnant woman coming home for a family reunion.

Read the excellent “Phantom Pain,” about a daughter visiting her senile father.

Read “Her First Detox,” a brutally honest, concise exploration of a devoted mother’s alcoholism.