Stars and Saints by Lucia Berlin

Get thee to a nunnery.

Right from the opening sentence, the narrator is on the defensive and feels compelled to justify various misunderstandings with people throughout her life: "Wait. Let me explain..."

She is trying to convince the reader that through no fault of her own, numerous incidents have led to her making poor first impressions, all due to circumstances beyond her control. In typical Lucia Berlin fashion, the reader is presented with a serios of vignettes, except this time it is less frenetic and more subdued through a series of flashbacks mostly pertaining to the narrator's strict religious upbringing at a Catholic school. As a protestant, she becomes a social pariah and teased by classmates. Unable to connect with the other kids, she befriends the nuns instead although another "misunderstanding" occurs that gets her suspended. Lucia Berlin's minimalist style, characterized by its economical prose and ambiguity, often leaves little room for plot development. However, this story stands out as one of the more conventional narratives I have encountered in her collection. This also explains why it was mostly subpar but even more alarming is that her witty and dark humor is almost non-existent. The tone is a bit more serious and the few comedic moments fell flat.