A Love Affair by Lucia Berlin

"Thank you for calling Dr. ----'s office. How many I help you?"

I've started to notice that Lucia Berlin has a penchant for using the doctor's office setting in her stories, especially from the perspective of a receptionist/assistant. Perhaps she is drawing upon personal experiences but it could also speak to her skills as a great writer to convincingly capture the atmosphere of a busy doctor's office with meticulous attention to intricate details. As a minimalist writer, Lucia Berlin seems to be doing something different than her contemporaries like Raymond Carver. The elliptical style often associated with minimalism still exists although her approach feels more self-contained. Her narrative technique tends to focus on compressing reality into its most concise form, squeezing out pathos through a kind of slice-of-life hyperrealism. She also has a knack for crafting relatable, complex and flawed characters. The reader is often presented with only glimpses into their lives and yet, this snapshot contains so much emotional depth and narrative richness. 

There is not much in way of plot and the events of the story are shaped through the subjectivity of the narrator. Her friend and colleague Ruth is going through a midlife crisis and joins a support group called the "merry pranksters" but as the narrator humorously points out, "it really stood for meno pause." Much to the narrator's disapproval, Ruth wants to shake up her life by having an affair. The rest of the story follows the blossoming friendship between these two women, accompanied by the comedic escapades that unfold as Ruth remains resolute in her pursuit of her adulterous scheme. The story is quirky without becoming twee, which is quite the accomplishment. Even more astonishingly, a premise centered on an extramarital affair bodes the formidable task to sidestep the pitfalls of clichés and plot contrivances—a challenge that Lucia Berlin masterfully conquers. Her clever storytelling technique shines again, evading the expected tropes and delivering a heartfelt story that resonates with humor and authenticity. Not to mention the great ironic ending that is both hilarious and poignant. Only an author as talented as Lucia Berlin could pull this off with such bravado.