Three Lives — Gertrude Stein

Regarded by some critics as a minor masterpiece Three Lives was Stein s first published book In it she tells the stories of three working class women Anna a conscientious but rigid serving woman Melanctha a worldly wise and sensitive black girl and Lena a gentle but feeble minded maid Although these are relatively ordinary women in Stein s hands their lives and minds take on extraordinary interest Told in clear carefully crafted prose these storeis are not only memorable works in themselves but an excellent entree to Stein s later work