<p>"<strong><em>Occupations</em></strong> is a feast of language and&nbsp;imagination. Sumptuous and exuberant,&nbsp;laconic and devastating, it plunges the&nbsp;reader into the complexities of life's&nbsp;middle part, from which she could only&nbsp;escape on a hot air balloon ride to no where. I fell in love with every story in&nbsp;this book." -Olga Zilberbourg, <strong><em>Like Water ' Other Stories</em></strong></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>"The stories in <strong><em>Occupations</em></strong> have a strange&nbsp;charm that defies narrative logic. In&nbsp;them, eccentricity and whimsy appear for&nbsp;readers' enjoyment, but their gradual&nbsp;effect is unnerving. Around the surreal&nbsp;comic streak in each story runs the filigree of mania. Mantzaris's characters&nbsp;seem so composed, so manicured that we&nbsp;lean in closer to hear them out as they&nbsp;come unhinged. Something about them fills&nbsp;me with wonder and dread." -Joshua Peralta, <strong><em>3rd ' Orange</em></strong></p><p><br></p>