Carmel Magazine

Summer 2017

Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/819918

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 86 of 219

Of course this narrator is charmed by all that is broken. But she is wise enough to recognize a guy who is the opposite of broken—steady, strong, pre- dictable, present—a guy who will read the fine print. Nick is that welcome pan of eggs, the family cure, nutrition itself. The Bitch is Back edited by Cathi Hanauer F ifteen years after Hanauer compiled the New York Times bestselling The Bitch in the House, she brings us its sequel, The Bitch is Back, in which many of the original writers return to shed new light on mid-life love, marriage, sex, the changes and choices we make. The first Bitch anthology was published in 13 countries and sold over 170,000 copies. Both books are brilliant and smarter than their covers would indicate. The Bitch in the House cover has a pair of red lipstick-coated lips, the mouth formed into a sneer. On The Bitch is Back, it's a pair of made-up eyes, one of them winking, as if to say, we're not really that angry; we were young, exhausted, and temporarily pissed. The essays in both volumes are provoca- tive, intellectual, well-researched, candid, and art- fully constructed. Hanauer's comprehensive introductions are scholarly writing at its best. She's a skilled editor, who inspires greatness out of her contributors, many of them well-known writers. Her shaping of this anthology is cohe- sive and masterful. Much more than a wink. Never have I read so much stark candor about the intensely personal. The admissions and confessions about sex, over the long haul, are enough to entice any reader, male or female. The most memorable essay for me is Pam Houston's, which opens the book, but I read all but two of 26 essays with riveted interest. What I take away from this book is the same thing many women feel post-menopause—a long- sought-after sense of extreme comfort with the self. Cheers to Cathi H a n a u e r f o r t h i s smart, engaging, inspir- ing and celebr ator y volume. No bitches on these pages. A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin el a t i v e l y u n - known during her life, Lucia Berlin is now viewed as legendary: a master of the shor t story. Some of her fiction feels more like mem- oir—with narrators who share her name, num- ber of children, jobs, and places lived. From her experience of attending Catholic schools in Mexico: "I couldn't go to heaven because I was a Protestant. I'd have to go to limbo. I would rather have gone to hell than limbo, what an ugly word, like dumbo, or mumbo jumbo, a place without any dignity at all." Later, she taught at a Mexican Catholic high school: "They leaned against the wire fence, speak- ing in English-Spanish-Hipster dialect, laughing soundlessly. Like muted birds, [the girls] flir ted with the boys, who cocked their plumed heads…[and] wore open black shir ts or V-neck sweaters…so that their crucifixes gleamed against smooth brown chests…" Berlin's gift is her ability to find stories in every day, each situation—in schools and laun- dromats, on busses and under the ocean. Every single story launches itself immediately, so that readers are instantly hooked on the specificity and clarity of her vision. About Angel's Laundromat in Albuquerque: "Traveling people go to Angel's. Dirty mat- t r e s s e s , r u s t y h i g h chairs tied to the roofs of dented old Buicks. The men sit in the cars, shir tless, crush Hamm's cans when they're empty." Berlin describes a first experience of scuba diving: "The weight van- ished. Not just the tank's weight but her own…The sun came up through the frost- ed glass surface of the water, a pale metallic glow. Slowly then, like stage lighting, the world u n derwater came in to bein g. Fu ch sia anemones, schools of blue angelfish, a stingray…A school of sardines splintered into her like crisp jets of water." Gratitude to Barry Gifford, Michael Wolfe and Stephen Emerson for assembling this stun- ning collection. I'm a fan. C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 1 7 85 Books available at Pilgrim's Way. Melanie Bishop's young adult novel was published in 2014. Bishop teaches creative writing and was founding edi- tor of "Alligator Juniper," a national literar y magazine. For more information, please go to www.melaniebishopwriter.wordpress.com. marriage, sex, the changes and choices we self. Cheers to Cathi H a n a u e r f o r t h i s smart, engaging, inspir- ing and celebr ator y volume. No bitches on these pages. known during her life, Lucia Berlin is now to Angel's. Dirty mat- t r e s s e s , r u s t y h i g h chairs tied to the roofs of dented old Buicks. The men sit in the cars, shir tless, crush Hamm's cans when they're empty." first experience of scuba diving: ished. Not just the tank's weight but her own…The sun came up through the frost- ed glass surface of the water, a pale metallic R

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Carmel Magazine - Summer 2017