On "Angel's Laundromat" by Lucia Berlin (1760 words) *****

In the opening story of Berlin's large retrospective from 2015, a woman visits a laundromat across town, where things aren't so pristine or suburban in feel. She likes how it makes her feel like she's back in Puerto Rican neighborhoods of New York. In the process of visiting the laundromat regularly, she comes to know some of the clientele, and by extension, so do we. It's a testimony to Berlin's skills that we end up caring so much about these chance encounters, these acquaintances. Read the story here.