Working Women and Other Stories
"There's nothing extraordinary about the people in Tricia Bauer's stories -- nothing other than their reality... Sometimes funny, sometimes somber, these stories send back sharp-eyed dispatches from the places where people lead those real lives, and occasionally pause to think about them." Amanda Heller, The Boston Globe
"Tricia Bauer's Working Women is a beautiful collection of finely crafted, original stories about modern women struggling with their families for enlightenment and expression. The stories -- and the characters -- are slightly quirky, as families are, with startling surprises. The stories are reflective and poignant, but fun, too. I got caught in the undertow of energy in this vibrant writing." Bobbie Ann Mason
"These are tough stories, short and powerful, in which Bauer shatters myths we like to tell to ourselves -- that we're a society without classes, that each of us is destined for happiness. In short, that lives don't go awry. They do, but we can go on, muddle through or even triumph...Every word counts. There is no waste. This is where Bauer excels, in her clarity and in the economy and beauty of her language...These women long, and they dream, and that is what makes these stories wonderfully poignant...Stories in this book do what stories are supposed to do. They invite us into a world that may or may not be ours, and for a while, we crawl around inside another skin, and in that moment when a character is transformed, we are too. Shot through with understanding or with empathy or with compassion, and in that moment of epiphany, we are closer not only to another's heart, but to ourselves." Sandell Morse, Concord (NH) Monitor
"This collection is notable for its genuine kindness and compassion, and for its lack of condescension. The struggles its main characters must fight between a limited past and a larger, uncertain future are depicted with grace and honesty." Mark Bautz, The Washington Times
"Bauer is able to invest in the simplest situations as meaningful an insight as any short-story writer I've read in a long time." Jere Real, Richmond Times-Dispatch
"Part of the pleasure of reading Bauer's work is seeing how she settles artfully and surprisingly onto the real subject of each story...Her particular combination of wry intelligence, humor and pathos works a kind of magic that shows the limitless possibilities of the short story form." Gwen North Reiss, The Advocate, Stamford, CT; also Greenwich (CT) Time
"Bauer's attentions make everyday life fresh and original, reminding us that it is the litle things that make the difference. Recommended." Library Journal
"A remarkable book." Constance Fletcher Smith, The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, VA