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Raymond Carver alcanzó el éxito gracias a un puñado de volúmenes de relatos publicados en los últimos doce años de su vida. Su carrera fue breve debido a su temprana muerte. Sin embargo, su obra posee una intensidad sin parangón y ha dejado una huella indeleble; su influencia se ha extendido por todo el mundo. Fue, junto con Richard Ford y Tobias Wolff, el máximo exponente de lo que se bautizó como «realismo sucio». En sus cuentos, lacónicos, precisos, de una contenida intensidad emocional, transforma la vida en literatura siguiendo la estela de Hemingway y sobre todo de Chéjov, su gran maestro. De él aprendió a retratar con profunda humanidad a esos seres desamparados y desolados, golpeados por la vida, a los que convierte en héroes cotidianos: parejas al borde de la disolución, hijos que tratan de comunicarse con sus padres, alcohólicos en busca de una segunda oportunidad, parados, gente corriente de la América más profunda y real.
Sus cuentos forman una elusiva y fragmentaria «gran novela americana». Y es que en Carver está la esencia de la verdadera América –doméstica, desquiciada, perpleja-, y sobre todo la esencia del alma humana retratada a través de una mirada que rechaza cualquier exceso sentimental, pero que, guiada por un depurado estilo, nos hiere directamente en el corazón como sólo es capaz de hacer la gran literatura.
Sus cuentos forman una elusiva y fragmentaria «gran novela americana». Y es que en Carver está la esencia de la verdadera América –doméstica, desquiciada, perpleja-, y sobre todo la esencia del alma humana retratada a través de una mirada que rechaza cualquier exceso sentimental, pero que, guiada por un depurado estilo, nos hiere directamente en el corazón como sólo es capaz de hacer la gran literatura.
577 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1985
294 people are currently reading
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About the author
Raymond Carver
360 books5,107 followersCarver was born into a poverty-stricken family at the tail-end of the Depression. He married at 19, started a series of menial jobs and his own career of 'full-time drinking as a serious pursuit', a career that would eventually kill him. Constantly struggling to support his wife and family, Carver enrolled in a writing programme under author John Gardner in 1958. He saw this opportunity as a turning point.
Rejecting the more experimental fiction of the 60s and 70s, he pioneered a precisionist realism reinventing the American short story during the eighties, heading the line of so-called 'dirty realists' or 'K-mart realists'. Set in trailer parks and shopping malls, they are stories of banal lives that turn on a seemingly insignificant detail. Carver writes with meticulous economy, suddenly bringing a life into focus in a similar way to the paintings of Edward Hopper. As well as being a master of the short story, he was an accomplished poet publishing several highly acclaimed volumes.
After the 'line of demarcation' in Carver's life - 2 June 1977, the day he stopped drinking - his stories become increasingly more redemptive and expansive. Alcohol had eventually shattered his health, his work and his family - his first marriage effectively ending in 1978. He finally married his long-term parter Tess Gallagher (they met ten years earlier at a writers' conference in Dallas) in Reno, Nevada, less than two months before he eventually lost his fight with cancer.
Rejecting the more experimental fiction of the 60s and 70s, he pioneered a precisionist realism reinventing the American short story during the eighties, heading the line of so-called 'dirty realists' or 'K-mart realists'. Set in trailer parks and shopping malls, they are stories of banal lives that turn on a seemingly insignificant detail. Carver writes with meticulous economy, suddenly bringing a life into focus in a similar way to the paintings of Edward Hopper. As well as being a master of the short story, he was an accomplished poet publishing several highly acclaimed volumes.
After the 'line of demarcation' in Carver's life - 2 June 1977, the day he stopped drinking - his stories become increasingly more redemptive and expansive. Alcohol had eventually shattered his health, his work and his family - his first marriage effectively ending in 1978. He finally married his long-term parter Tess Gallagher (they met ten years earlier at a writers' conference in Dallas) in Reno, Nevada, less than two months before he eventually lost his fight with cancer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
June 22, 2024
ENGLISH (Collected Stories) / ITALIANO
«I am sitting over coffee and cigarettes at my friend Rita's and I am telling her about it.After I discovered it, I whished really hard for this edition of all the Carver's novels. In the end I bought it, despite the hight price. In addition to not regret a single euro of the money spent for this book, I don't feel like I have to say or comment something about it. But, being a selfless person, I think that each of you have to spend the money I spent for the entire work of Raymond Carver.
Here is what I tell her»
Make yourself this gift, and you'll see what we talk about when we talk about Writing.
Vote: 10
«Sto prendendo il caffè e fumando una sigaretta dalla mia amica Rita, e le racconto quello che è successo.Dopo averla scoperta, ho desiderato fortemente questa edizione di tutti i racconti di Carver. Alla fine l'ho acquistata nonostante il prezzo elevato. Oltre a non rimpiangere nemmeno un euro dei soldi spesi, non mi sento di dire o commentare nulla. Da persona altruista, però, penso che ognuno di voi debba spendere i soldi che ho speso io per acquistare l'intera opera di Raymond Carver.
Ecco cosa le racconto»
Fatevi 'sto regalo, e capirete di cosa parliamo quando parliamo di scrittura.
Voto: 10
Read
May 6, 2023I clicked "I'm Finished!" true, but that doesn't mean I read over 1,000 pp. of Library of America stuff. Instead, three short story collections, finishing with his most famous, Cathedral, which itself finishes with the story, "Cathedral."
I read a lot of Carver back in his heyday, the 80s but, over the course of these few months of rereading, learned I flat-out forgot every story I read . Except for the last story. I knew it as soon as a blind man appeared on the page. Oh, yeah, I told myself as I read, I remember him. Across the decades, even. Blind man with a beard who keeps saying, "Bub" and shares a roach with his hosts. Do people still say "roach"? Who knows. Pot reminds me of the 80s, too. I know it's still all the rage with lots of people. Just not with me.
So, yes. That damn story. That drawing scene of the cathedrals at the end. That you don't forget as easily, so that becomes Raymond Carver's signature story, which is ironic because, unlike most of his stories, it doesn't really focus on the hard luck aspect of blue-collar types' lives. Yeah there's alcohol in it and, as mentioned, weed, but it's not focusing on alcoholism or a marriage's breakup or a guy out of work. That's the brick and mortar of most Carver stories.
Reading the three collections shows you how Carver grew. For one, he built up his stamina. The stories got longer. Great dialogue. Quick starts. And often, just the right line at the end.
A lot of his stuff is showing signs of age and just as much is showing signs of lasting forever. There's some more irony for you! But life is ironic, and Carver had a good ear for life. As a case study, especially for folks thinking of writing a short, he's worth a visit. Or revisit. Don't let the gargoyles of time discourage you.
I read a lot of Carver back in his heyday, the 80s but, over the course of these few months of rereading, learned I flat-out forgot every story I read . Except for the last story. I knew it as soon as a blind man appeared on the page. Oh, yeah, I told myself as I read, I remember him. Across the decades, even. Blind man with a beard who keeps saying, "Bub" and shares a roach with his hosts. Do people still say "roach"? Who knows. Pot reminds me of the 80s, too. I know it's still all the rage with lots of people. Just not with me.
So, yes. That damn story. That drawing scene of the cathedrals at the end. That you don't forget as easily, so that becomes Raymond Carver's signature story, which is ironic because, unlike most of his stories, it doesn't really focus on the hard luck aspect of blue-collar types' lives. Yeah there's alcohol in it and, as mentioned, weed, but it's not focusing on alcoholism or a marriage's breakup or a guy out of work. That's the brick and mortar of most Carver stories.
Reading the three collections shows you how Carver grew. For one, he built up his stamina. The stories got longer. Great dialogue. Quick starts. And often, just the right line at the end.
A lot of his stuff is showing signs of age and just as much is showing signs of lasting forever. There's some more irony for you! But life is ironic, and Carver had a good ear for life. As a case study, especially for folks thinking of writing a short, he's worth a visit. Or revisit. Don't let the gargoyles of time discourage you.
February 24, 2020
Intense, disconcerting and unsettling.
Brief with abrupt endings, these short stories are about ordinary lives of ordinary people. A moment of their lives is captured like a series of shots taken by a camera. They may seem mundane and insignificant to you, but are momentous and meaningful for the characters.
These stories not only make you reflect on their significance, but also make you wonder if you interpreted them rightly as the author has intended you to.
Some things stay unsaid. It is up to you to see beyond the written words and unearth what’s been buried there.
And when you do that, they will stay with you and you will carry them like a heavy weight on your shoulders whether you like it or not.
Brief with abrupt endings, these short stories are about ordinary lives of ordinary people. A moment of their lives is captured like a series of shots taken by a camera. They may seem mundane and insignificant to you, but are momentous and meaningful for the characters.
These stories not only make you reflect on their significance, but also make you wonder if you interpreted them rightly as the author has intended you to.
Some things stay unsaid. It is up to you to see beyond the written words and unearth what’s been buried there.
And when you do that, they will stay with you and you will carry them like a heavy weight on your shoulders whether you like it or not.
May 17, 2012
I'm a fan of horror stories. I'm also a fan of literary short fiction though I must admit to rarely being able to figure out what I'm supposed to glean from most stories of this kind. I reckon it's like someone who enjoys crossword puzzles or word games, the joy of decoding the secret meaning. About two years ago, I came across Ray Carver, his name meaning nothing to me up to that point. The more I read about him, the more intrigued I became. Here was a guy that was considered literary, but spoke in the language of the working class. So, I picked up a used copy of Where I'm Calling which set me on what I believe will be a life long fascination w/ this man's work. After 2 years, I can't admit to understanding everything Ray's written, but I know that at the end of each story, I will feel something that no other writer can make me feel: a sense of fear in the oddity and horror that man can display; and in many of Carver's later stories, a feeling of warmth when man can overcome his true nature and stumble upon moments of true understanding.
The first Carver story I read was called "Dummy", which depending on the collection you read, is also called "The Third Thing That Killed My Father Off". It was like a literary murder mystery. Now I know there've been other murder mysteries displaying a vast technical skill, but there was something about Carver's presentation that struck a chord w/ me. There are few writers who's words bring clearer images to my mind. There's an old writer's proverb "show, don't tell" and to my mind, there's no one who adhered more to this creed. Even stories who's underlying meaning may be nestled away in uncomplicated prose, the literal action of the story could not be easier to picture.
Another favorite which I read early on is called "Neighbors". In it, a couple charged w/ feeding the neighbors' pet and watering their plants while they're away, slowly begin to usurp the neighbors' lives and apartment. What ensues is nothing short of brilliant. Carver's insight into the human mind is better than anyone I've ever read. No matter how odd his characters act, everything is totally believable, and when you consider that you yourself are probably in one of these stories somewhere, doing something you yourself probably don't even notice you do, well, therein lies the horror.
The more I studied Carver's writing the more I found the influence of one of his earliest proponents, Gordon Lish. Lish was the fiction editor at Esquire magazine from the late 60's to the mid 70's and was responsible for bringing Ray's work to the attention of a wider audience. Early in their relationship Ray deferred all the editing responsibility to Lish, basically, I feel, because Lish had given him his biggest break. As time went on and Carver became more sure of himself as a writer, he and Lish would often clash on how Carver's story should be presented. While Ray is known as THE Minimalist, his work, though short, was often much longer than the general public was allowed to see. From the Notes in this Library of Congress edition, we learn that Carver's second collection was cut by as much as 55% from its original manuscript form. Carver begged Lish to reconsider the massive editing of the stories in this collection, but Lish steamrolled ahead with the result that Carver became even more famous. But it was a fame Carver felt he'd gotten the wrong way. These were not HIS stories, at least not the way he envisioned them. That is why this LOC edition is so important. Appended to the end of this stalwart collection is Ray's original manuscript for What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.
The difference, to me, is night and day. One of my favorite's from that collection is called "Viewfinder". Many critics have found it to be one of Ray's most surreal, angry stories, but when read in it's original form, I divine a totally different outlook, one that would become more apparent in his third collection Cathedral.
If you only buy one collection by Raymond Carver or even if you only have a passing interest in him, you will not be disappointed with this edition. It has nearly all of Carver's fiction plus what is arguably his most influential collection in the author's preferred, and intended, form.
I can't stress enough how amazing this author is. In just a few brief pages he can encompass what it is to be Human, all too human.
The first Carver story I read was called "Dummy", which depending on the collection you read, is also called "The Third Thing That Killed My Father Off". It was like a literary murder mystery. Now I know there've been other murder mysteries displaying a vast technical skill, but there was something about Carver's presentation that struck a chord w/ me. There are few writers who's words bring clearer images to my mind. There's an old writer's proverb "show, don't tell" and to my mind, there's no one who adhered more to this creed. Even stories who's underlying meaning may be nestled away in uncomplicated prose, the literal action of the story could not be easier to picture.
Another favorite which I read early on is called "Neighbors". In it, a couple charged w/ feeding the neighbors' pet and watering their plants while they're away, slowly begin to usurp the neighbors' lives and apartment. What ensues is nothing short of brilliant. Carver's insight into the human mind is better than anyone I've ever read. No matter how odd his characters act, everything is totally believable, and when you consider that you yourself are probably in one of these stories somewhere, doing something you yourself probably don't even notice you do, well, therein lies the horror.
The more I studied Carver's writing the more I found the influence of one of his earliest proponents, Gordon Lish. Lish was the fiction editor at Esquire magazine from the late 60's to the mid 70's and was responsible for bringing Ray's work to the attention of a wider audience. Early in their relationship Ray deferred all the editing responsibility to Lish, basically, I feel, because Lish had given him his biggest break. As time went on and Carver became more sure of himself as a writer, he and Lish would often clash on how Carver's story should be presented. While Ray is known as THE Minimalist, his work, though short, was often much longer than the general public was allowed to see. From the Notes in this Library of Congress edition, we learn that Carver's second collection was cut by as much as 55% from its original manuscript form. Carver begged Lish to reconsider the massive editing of the stories in this collection, but Lish steamrolled ahead with the result that Carver became even more famous. But it was a fame Carver felt he'd gotten the wrong way. These were not HIS stories, at least not the way he envisioned them. That is why this LOC edition is so important. Appended to the end of this stalwart collection is Ray's original manuscript for What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.
The difference, to me, is night and day. One of my favorite's from that collection is called "Viewfinder". Many critics have found it to be one of Ray's most surreal, angry stories, but when read in it's original form, I divine a totally different outlook, one that would become more apparent in his third collection Cathedral.
If you only buy one collection by Raymond Carver or even if you only have a passing interest in him, you will not be disappointed with this edition. It has nearly all of Carver's fiction plus what is arguably his most influential collection in the author's preferred, and intended, form.
I can't stress enough how amazing this author is. In just a few brief pages he can encompass what it is to be Human, all too human.
June 1, 2016
Comprehensive collection. Most notably includes both original and severely edited versions of What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. It's fascinating to see how Carver's editor influenced if not helped to create the style that won Carver such critical acclaim. At the time Carver didn't appreciate the red lining that, in some cases, cut/changed more than two-thirds of a story. It's fun to read then original and edited versions side by side.
I own about a dozen Library of America Collections and think they are awesome, not only for the collections themselves but also for the "extras" included.
I own about a dozen Library of America Collections and think they are awesome, not only for the collections themselves but also for the "extras" included.
October 3, 2025
The Calm from Selected Short Stories by Raymond Carver
Another version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
These works are fascinated when read for the second time.
And in any format.
The Collected Stories have included two versions of the same narratives.
And they both work miraculously.
So Much Water So Close to Home, Mine, Calm and Dummy are just a few of the titles of accounts revisited lately.
And they are all excellent
The theme that seems to be very prominent, or at least has struck me on this second take is violence and at times cruelty.
The Calm
Take this example.
In this story, the protagonists are always sitting in a barber shop.
And there is no violence inside, except for a heated verbal exchange.
And yet, I felt very sorry for the victim.
It is a story within the story, because Charles, one of the men present in the shop is telling a hunting tale.
Bill, the barber is asking:
- “Did you get that deer?
- I did and I didn’t”
And we learn that this man went to shoot a deer with his son, who was inebriated or anyway unable to use a gun properly.
They hit the poor animal, but they only stun him as he is hit in the gut.
The dialog in the shop refers to the fact that once wounded like that the deer would find a hard place to die in.
The vultures, hyenas and crows will have it then.
This bad hunter takes a light tone, in spite of the fact that he made a poor creature suffer and probably die in pain.
Hence the revolt of one of the listeners who says something like:
- You should be out finishing out that deer, instead of talking your mouth out here
- I don’t you mister
- I don’t know you either, but that’s what you should be doing
- Hey, be careful or I’ll show you how to talk to me you…
- Take it outside, I don’t want any of this here…
The tension is high and the intervention of the barber reestablishes order and the bad hunter leaves the place:
- I don’t like the company here
Then we understand that the man who reacted to the story of the hunting party became very sick a while back and will die soon.
In the classic Blink, the Power of Thinking without Thinking by the genius Malcolm Gladwell the theory of Thin Slicing, The Harding Effect and much more is explained, together with the mechanism that makes us decide, form an opinion in the Blink of an eye, Without really Thinking.
Charles is the type of character that is unlikeable, the narrator mentioning that he does not like his voice, even before hearing the story of his cruelty, at least an unconscious meanness that made him abandon the wounded animal to his fate.
Another version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
These works are fascinated when read for the second time.
And in any format.
The Collected Stories have included two versions of the same narratives.
And they both work miraculously.
So Much Water So Close to Home, Mine, Calm and Dummy are just a few of the titles of accounts revisited lately.
And they are all excellent
The theme that seems to be very prominent, or at least has struck me on this second take is violence and at times cruelty.
The Calm
Take this example.
In this story, the protagonists are always sitting in a barber shop.
And there is no violence inside, except for a heated verbal exchange.
And yet, I felt very sorry for the victim.
It is a story within the story, because Charles, one of the men present in the shop is telling a hunting tale.
Bill, the barber is asking:
- “Did you get that deer?
- I did and I didn’t”
And we learn that this man went to shoot a deer with his son, who was inebriated or anyway unable to use a gun properly.
They hit the poor animal, but they only stun him as he is hit in the gut.
The dialog in the shop refers to the fact that once wounded like that the deer would find a hard place to die in.
The vultures, hyenas and crows will have it then.
This bad hunter takes a light tone, in spite of the fact that he made a poor creature suffer and probably die in pain.
Hence the revolt of one of the listeners who says something like:
- You should be out finishing out that deer, instead of talking your mouth out here
- I don’t you mister
- I don’t know you either, but that’s what you should be doing
- Hey, be careful or I’ll show you how to talk to me you…
- Take it outside, I don’t want any of this here…
The tension is high and the intervention of the barber reestablishes order and the bad hunter leaves the place:
- I don’t like the company here
Then we understand that the man who reacted to the story of the hunting party became very sick a while back and will die soon.
In the classic Blink, the Power of Thinking without Thinking by the genius Malcolm Gladwell the theory of Thin Slicing, The Harding Effect and much more is explained, together with the mechanism that makes us decide, form an opinion in the Blink of an eye, Without really Thinking.
Charles is the type of character that is unlikeable, the narrator mentioning that he does not like his voice, even before hearing the story of his cruelty, at least an unconscious meanness that made him abandon the wounded animal to his fate.
December 10, 2017
I had to read stories from this collection for my literature class. These are the stories and my thoughts:
Collection #1 Will You Please Be Quiet, Pleas?
Fat- This was an interesting story. It has a lot of Carver's main themes. It's nice, but nothing remarkable. (2 stars)
Neighbors- I will never ask someone to watch my house while I'm away. This was too weird and because of that it was incredibly entertaining. (3 stars)
The Idea- I read this one yesterday to decide if I wanted to read any more stories this collection and it convinced me that I'm not interested. This story was pointless. (1 star)
They're Not Your Husband- What a pig. That guy was a huge jerk. (3 stars)
Are You a Doctor?- That was weird. I felt as confused as that man in the story. (1 star)
The Father- Super short and minimalist, but nothing special. However, I really liked it? (3.5 stars)
What's in Alaska?- I loved this story. I wrote about in my paper on Carver. It's just really entertaining. (4 stars)
What Is It?- It's depressing, but it also feels like something is missing. (Which there probably is because Carver's earlier stories were heavily cut and edited.) [3 stars]
Collection #3 What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
Why Don't You Dance?- There was just something about this that I really liked. It's pretty short, but there's something about it. (3.75 stars)
Mr. Coffee and Mr. Fixit- This was confusing and just overall an underwhelming story. (1 star)
Gazebo- This was a strong story. It's probably one of his stronger ones. (4 stars)
I Could See the Smallest Things- Super short and just unnecessary. (2 stars)
The Bath- This one is depressing and bleak. (3.5 stars)
A Serious Talk- This one fits the holiday seasons and fits that one family member who purposely sets to ruin a holiday every year. (2 stars)
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love- This one is interesting and it kind of reminds of Plato's Symposium, but it's a much more minimalist and the philosophy isn't as broad. (3.25 stars)
Collection #5 Cathedral
A Small Good Thing- This was an original manuscript of The Bath and I prefer it much more. (4 stars)
Where I'm Calling From- Slightly depressing, but also kind of weird. (3 stars)
Cathedral- This story was really amazing. The ending was beautiful. (5 stars)
Overall Thoughts: I am not a huge fan of Carver. In fact, I remain to be unimpressed by him. He has a few good stories and one really great one, but to me he doesn't hold up. I don't know if I'll every finish reading this whole collection as of now, but maybe in the future, I'll want to revisit Carver.
Rating (as of 12/9/2017): 3 stars
Collection #1 Will You Please Be Quiet, Pleas?
Fat- This was an interesting story. It has a lot of Carver's main themes. It's nice, but nothing remarkable. (2 stars)
Neighbors- I will never ask someone to watch my house while I'm away. This was too weird and because of that it was incredibly entertaining. (3 stars)
The Idea- I read this one yesterday to decide if I wanted to read any more stories this collection and it convinced me that I'm not interested. This story was pointless. (1 star)
They're Not Your Husband- What a pig. That guy was a huge jerk. (3 stars)
Are You a Doctor?- That was weird. I felt as confused as that man in the story. (1 star)
The Father- Super short and minimalist, but nothing special. However, I really liked it? (3.5 stars)
What's in Alaska?- I loved this story. I wrote about in my paper on Carver. It's just really entertaining. (4 stars)
What Is It?- It's depressing, but it also feels like something is missing. (Which there probably is because Carver's earlier stories were heavily cut and edited.) [3 stars]
Collection #3 What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
Why Don't You Dance?- There was just something about this that I really liked. It's pretty short, but there's something about it. (3.75 stars)
Mr. Coffee and Mr. Fixit- This was confusing and just overall an underwhelming story. (1 star)
Gazebo- This was a strong story. It's probably one of his stronger ones. (4 stars)
I Could See the Smallest Things- Super short and just unnecessary. (2 stars)
The Bath- This one is depressing and bleak. (3.5 stars)
A Serious Talk- This one fits the holiday seasons and fits that one family member who purposely sets to ruin a holiday every year. (2 stars)
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love- This one is interesting and it kind of reminds of Plato's Symposium, but it's a much more minimalist and the philosophy isn't as broad. (3.25 stars)
Collection #5 Cathedral
A Small Good Thing- This was an original manuscript of The Bath and I prefer it much more. (4 stars)
Where I'm Calling From- Slightly depressing, but also kind of weird. (3 stars)
Cathedral- This story was really amazing. The ending was beautiful. (5 stars)
Overall Thoughts: I am not a huge fan of Carver. In fact, I remain to be unimpressed by him. He has a few good stories and one really great one, but to me he doesn't hold up. I don't know if I'll every finish reading this whole collection as of now, but maybe in the future, I'll want to revisit Carver.
Rating (as of 12/9/2017): 3 stars
April 2, 2010
I've been rediscovering Raymond Carver. Turns out he wasn't a minimalist after all. Even though that's what he's famous for.
His editor, Gordon Lish, was the minimalist, slashing many of Carver's stories by half. Others by even more. This was especially true in the case of the groundbreaking collection, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.
Now, in a new volume called Raymond Carver: Collected Stories, we get to see the writer's original drafts along with the cut-down versions of those stories.
The originals are better.
I say that even though I've always been a big fan of minimalism.
(For a good visual of Lish's edits, check out "Beginners," Edited in The New Yorker.)
It's hard to say how successful Carver would have been without Lish. It was Lish who gave him his first national exposure in Esquire and championed him with agents and editors.
And Carver was forever grateful to him for changing his life.
Because of Lish, who moved from Esquire to Knopf, Carver became known as "the foremost practitioner of minimalist fiction," as the new dust jacket indicates. But the original stories were not only much longer, they were far richer and, for me, more deeply felt.
Lish was clearly a talented editor, and I admire many of his changes (as did Carver). Still, I seriously doubt that we would know the name Gordon Lish if it weren't for Carver.
So both men benefited, I suppose, but it's heart-breaking to read the long letter Carver wrote to Lish — included in the notes to the new volume — begging him not to move ahead with his radically altered version of What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.
It's hard not to think of Lish as an ass.
The contract for that book gave Lish the final say, but that changed for the next collection, Cathedral, and Carver accepted only minor changes.
So, clearly Carver had a boatload of talent all on his own, but he still might have labored in obscurity without the big break Lish gave him.
And now we get to see the original versions and Carver is back in the news and selling more books and it all turns out for the best.
I love a happy ending.
His editor, Gordon Lish, was the minimalist, slashing many of Carver's stories by half. Others by even more. This was especially true in the case of the groundbreaking collection, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.
Now, in a new volume called Raymond Carver: Collected Stories, we get to see the writer's original drafts along with the cut-down versions of those stories.
The originals are better.
I say that even though I've always been a big fan of minimalism.
(For a good visual of Lish's edits, check out "Beginners," Edited in The New Yorker.)
It's hard to say how successful Carver would have been without Lish. It was Lish who gave him his first national exposure in Esquire and championed him with agents and editors.
And Carver was forever grateful to him for changing his life.
Because of Lish, who moved from Esquire to Knopf, Carver became known as "the foremost practitioner of minimalist fiction," as the new dust jacket indicates. But the original stories were not only much longer, they were far richer and, for me, more deeply felt.
Lish was clearly a talented editor, and I admire many of his changes (as did Carver). Still, I seriously doubt that we would know the name Gordon Lish if it weren't for Carver.
So both men benefited, I suppose, but it's heart-breaking to read the long letter Carver wrote to Lish — included in the notes to the new volume — begging him not to move ahead with his radically altered version of What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.
It's hard not to think of Lish as an ass.
The contract for that book gave Lish the final say, but that changed for the next collection, Cathedral, and Carver accepted only minor changes.
So, clearly Carver had a boatload of talent all on his own, but he still might have labored in obscurity without the big break Lish gave him.
And now we get to see the original versions and Carver is back in the news and selling more books and it all turns out for the best.
I love a happy ending.
Read
April 10, 2023Always impressed by the durability of Carver's stories.
January 20, 2017
Maestro del cuento. Su precisión en el lenguaje se aúna a una visión crítica de la sociedad y expone nuestras miserias ocultas sin golpes bajos. Genio total.
December 1, 2015
I did not actually read this entire compendium - yet. But, after reading over 60 of his stories I am ready to shelve this book for another time.
My one word description of Carver's work is "unique." Any research you do on Carver will tell you about his minimalist style, his depiction of middle-class life, and his tendency to describe troubled lives that he would have you believe lie behind everyone's closed doors. Many of his stories irritated me as I read the last word because I (like many readers) felt short-changed at the ending ---but then, as I found myself ruminating over them later I realized their worth as a short story. This, I suppose, is Carver's genius writing at work. I want to point out that I am a big big fan of unresolved and open-ended short stories, but Carver's story endings are different somehow - his stories just "end" much in the same way that they just "begin" and that is during defined points in a scene of middle class life that are not the beginning or the end of the presumed scene that it is taken from. The endings in particular seemed very abrupt.
This collection is most interesting in that you can read many of his stories in their original form as well as their final edited (and published) forms. Carver himself was not a fan of the editing that took place. More often than not I felt that the longer version was better but interestingly, it mattered to me which order I read them in. If I read long then short, I felt that the short missed the mark; if I read in the opposite direction, I felt there were unnecessary added scenes. That was an interesting take-away for me.
My one word description of Carver's work is "unique." Any research you do on Carver will tell you about his minimalist style, his depiction of middle-class life, and his tendency to describe troubled lives that he would have you believe lie behind everyone's closed doors. Many of his stories irritated me as I read the last word because I (like many readers) felt short-changed at the ending ---but then, as I found myself ruminating over them later I realized their worth as a short story. This, I suppose, is Carver's genius writing at work. I want to point out that I am a big big fan of unresolved and open-ended short stories, but Carver's story endings are different somehow - his stories just "end" much in the same way that they just "begin" and that is during defined points in a scene of middle class life that are not the beginning or the end of the presumed scene that it is taken from. The endings in particular seemed very abrupt.
This collection is most interesting in that you can read many of his stories in their original form as well as their final edited (and published) forms. Carver himself was not a fan of the editing that took place. More often than not I felt that the longer version was better but interestingly, it mattered to me which order I read them in. If I read long then short, I felt that the short missed the mark; if I read in the opposite direction, I felt there were unnecessary added scenes. That was an interesting take-away for me.
February 8, 2011
This guy was a master. I only recently discovered him and I read about five stories from the compilation "Where I'm Calling From" and gave that away then went right out and bought the Collected Stories. I can't get enough Carver. His stories are often so subtle in how they hit you, but man do they linger long after the story is finished. Yeah, there are some issues with repetition with the characters and their traits/personalities. And most stories end without much resolution. Some folks seem to consider these weaknesses or flaws in Carver's writing. Not me. Carver writes about real people and real situations. Despite what Hollywood and the media in general likes to have us believe, life doesn't always have grand endings to the people, places and things of our lives. More times than not, there will be no real resolution or closure to what happens to us. It's all about the ride and Carver and his mysteriously unforgettable characters all make great fellow travelers.
August 23, 2023
Wish I could fall in with the literati and gush over The Annointed One, but reading Carver (especially the G. Lish-pared, early drivel) is a lot like eating a bowl of Grape Nuts: you do it because you think you should, not because you necessarily enjoy it. Surely I can't be the only one out there afraid to admit to this. My heretical call: Carver's over-rated by half.
June 15, 2020
I am reviewing this and counting it towards my 2020 Reading Challenge to represent all the uncollected stories and non-fiction pieces I read this year to complete it, plus the additional stories that were unique to collections featuring stories from each of Carver's three original standalone collections. Does that make sense? It makes sense to me. Anyway, the rating for this collection overall is 4 stars (which is what is shown here), but for the extra stories/non-fiction pieces I'm rating it 3 stars in my head. I really enjoyed my Carver journey!
April 20, 2023
♦️Sota de diamantes♦️
Etiquetas
Todos los cuentos de Raymond Carver propone un viaje a la Norteamérica hecha de carne, huesos, pus, muerte, alcohol, desesperación, esperanza, amor y un largo etcétera; el manido Sueño Americano empieza a enseñar las costuras: el combo matrimonio-hijos-perro-casa-a-crédito-autos-y-elelectrodomésticos-a-cuotas parece no garantizar la felicidad, quizá ésta se encuentra en otro lado.
Arriba digo Norteamérica, pero lo hago (quizá como Carver, si su merced me lo permite) únicamente para etiquetar un lugar vago y etéreo que trasciende fronteras, estados, costumbres: la condición humana. En los cuentos de Carver no hablamos de lugares, hablamos de personas; él tenía una habilidad (quizá por observación, quizá otra) en describir con palabras un suceso trascendente para sus personajes: una palabra o un evento funcionan como catalizadores para el acontecimiento que, en la existencia del Universo será intrascendente, pero para ellos será el parteaguas de lo que sabremos de su existencia.
El estilo de Carver es señalado dentro del movimiento del 'Realismo sucio' (nuevamente, etiquetas nomás) dado lo directo de su narración (no confundir con parquedad o limitación) para el cuento: no hay épica, no hay florituras, solo hay lo que hay. La línea del arte y la vida se ve muy delgada aquí.
Con esta arcilla común y corriente el gran artesano que fue Raymond Carver nos legó, como lectores y sociedad, un puñado de rosas que adornarán nuestra tumba: la tumba del animal humano que él conoció tan bien.
Y ya está.
Etiquetas
Todos los cuentos de Raymond Carver propone un viaje a la Norteamérica hecha de carne, huesos, pus, muerte, alcohol, desesperación, esperanza, amor y un largo etcétera; el manido Sueño Americano empieza a enseñar las costuras: el combo matrimonio-hijos-perro-casa-a-crédito-autos-y-elelectrodomésticos-a-cuotas parece no garantizar la felicidad, quizá ésta se encuentra en otro lado.
Arriba digo Norteamérica, pero lo hago (quizá como Carver, si su merced me lo permite) únicamente para etiquetar un lugar vago y etéreo que trasciende fronteras, estados, costumbres: la condición humana. En los cuentos de Carver no hablamos de lugares, hablamos de personas; él tenía una habilidad (quizá por observación, quizá otra) en describir con palabras un suceso trascendente para sus personajes: una palabra o un evento funcionan como catalizadores para el acontecimiento que, en la existencia del Universo será intrascendente, pero para ellos será el parteaguas de lo que sabremos de su existencia.
El estilo de Carver es señalado dentro del movimiento del 'Realismo sucio' (nuevamente, etiquetas nomás) dado lo directo de su narración (no confundir con parquedad o limitación) para el cuento: no hay épica, no hay florituras, solo hay lo que hay. La línea del arte y la vida se ve muy delgada aquí.
Con esta arcilla común y corriente el gran artesano que fue Raymond Carver nos legó, como lectores y sociedad, un puñado de rosas que adornarán nuestra tumba: la tumba del animal humano que él conoció tan bien.
Y ya está.
March 12, 2019
Después de (creo) dos años y medio o tal vez tres, acabo de terminar el volumen Todos los cuentos, de Raymond Carver, en la edición de Anagrama (de la cual me pudre que se niegue a hacer traducciones a otro español que no sea el de España).
Un cuento de excelente factura tras otro se acumulan en la obra de Carver, y conforme uno avanza a través de los libros que lo componen, el salto de calidad en el estilo de uno al siguiente es notorio. Tal vez los mejores cuentos, a mi parecer, sean Fiebre, Caballos en la niebla (donde da la impresión de que Carver emula en ciertos aspectos a Poe, en específico respecto al estado mental del protagonista), ¿Es usted médico?, Cajas y Tres rosas amarillas. En todos ellos, y me atrevo a decir que en toda la obra narrativa de Carver, pulsa continuamente la fragilidad enorme que encarnan sus personajes, logrados hasta el punto de lo conmovedor especialmente en los últimos cuentos de Tres rosas amarillas.
Mención aparte merece Si me necesitas, llámame; ejercicio de laconismo y contención emotiva del cual convendría hacer un pequeño estudio analítico.
Así como a Quiroga, Chéjov, Poe, Hemingway, Rulfo o Cortázar, hay que leerlos si uno quiere aprender a escribir cuento, Carver merece un lugar entre los mejores cuentistas del canon.
Un cuento de excelente factura tras otro se acumulan en la obra de Carver, y conforme uno avanza a través de los libros que lo componen, el salto de calidad en el estilo de uno al siguiente es notorio. Tal vez los mejores cuentos, a mi parecer, sean Fiebre, Caballos en la niebla (donde da la impresión de que Carver emula en ciertos aspectos a Poe, en específico respecto al estado mental del protagonista), ¿Es usted médico?, Cajas y Tres rosas amarillas. En todos ellos, y me atrevo a decir que en toda la obra narrativa de Carver, pulsa continuamente la fragilidad enorme que encarnan sus personajes, logrados hasta el punto de lo conmovedor especialmente en los últimos cuentos de Tres rosas amarillas.
Mención aparte merece Si me necesitas, llámame; ejercicio de laconismo y contención emotiva del cual convendría hacer un pequeño estudio analítico.
Así como a Quiroga, Chéjov, Poe, Hemingway, Rulfo o Cortázar, hay que leerlos si uno quiere aprender a escribir cuento, Carver merece un lugar entre los mejores cuentistas del canon.
October 16, 2025
Wow menudo viaje por carreteras, moteles, rulottes y casas de alquiler en suburbios. Pequeños fragmentos de miserias cotidianas, de personas aplastadas por el peso de una vida que se complica sin que lleguemos a entenderlo del todo. Carver nos recuerda con sus cuentos que, por mucho que América se mire el ombligo, hay algo profundamente roto y fallido en el interior de la sociedad estadounidense. Ese lugar recurrente de la otra cara del american dream aquí es abordado no desde el tono hiperbólico y denunciante de Steinbeck o Hubert Shelby, sino desde la tristeza y desesperación contenida de quien implícitamente asume la derrota de verse arrojado al fin de la historia, al infierno del presente perpetuo.
January 17, 2022
Un genio.
December 12, 2016
I illuminate (myself)
with immensity (Ungaretti)
or
I illuminate (myself)
with minimalism
Je suis revenu chercher un asile dans l’impeccable naïveté (Baudelaire)
“Più di una volta ho cercato, (…), di rinchiudermi in un sistema per predicarvi a mio agio. Un sistema però è una sorta di dannazione, che ci spinge a una perpetua abiura: occorre sempre inventarne un altro, e questa fatica è un crudele castigo. E sempre il mio sistema era bello, vasto, spazioso, comodo, proprio e soprattutto levigato, o perlomeno così mi sembrava. E sempre un prodotto della vitalità universale, spontaneo e inatteso, veniva a smentire la mia scienza infantile e vecchiotta, figlia deplorabile dell’utopia. Avevo un bel spostare o estendere il criterio, questo era sempre in ritardo sull’uomo universale, e correva senza posa dietro il bello multiforme e versicolore che si muove nelle spirali infinite della vita. Condannato senza fine all’umiliazione di una nuova conversione, ho preso una gran decisione. Per fuggire l’orrore di queste apostasie filosofiche, mi sono orgogliosamente rassegnato alla modestia: mi sono accontentato di sentire, sono tornato a cercare asilo nell’impeccabile ingenuità” (Baudelaire)
WILL YOU PLEASE BE QUIET, PLEASE? (*****)
It is August.
My life is going to change. I feel it. (7)
Bill and Arlene Miller were a happy couple. But now and then they felt they alone among their circle had been passed by somehow, leaving Bill to attend to his bookkeeping duties and Arlene occupied with secretarial chores. They talked about it sometimes, mostly in comparison with the lives of their neighbors, Harriet and Jim Stone. It seemed to the Millers that the Stones lived a fuller and brighter life. The Stones were always going out for dinner, or entertaining at home, or traveling about the country somewhere in connection with Jim’s work. (8)
“Vern, you want something to eat?” I called.
He didn’t answer. I could hear water running in the bathroom. But I thought he might want something. We get hungry this time of night. I put bread and lunchmeat on the table and I opened a can of soup. I got out crackers and peanut butter, cold meat loaf, pickles, olives, potato chips. I put everything on the table. Then I thought of the apple pie. (16)
From where he stood he could see his mother’s fingers working in her lap, tracing the raised design in the blanket. (57)
Then they drove to the market and bought cream soda and potato chips and corn chips and onion flavored snack crackers. At the checkout counter he added a handful of U-No bars to the order.
“Hey, yeah,” she said when she saw them. (61)
I was out of work. But any day I expected to hear from up north. I lay on the sofa and listened to the rain. Now and then I’d lift up and look through the curtain for the mailman.
There was no one on the street, nothing. (78)
“Mike? Honey? I wish you’d rub my legs. My legs hurt,” she said.
“God,” he said softly, “I was sound asleep.” (96)
I hadn’t realize he was so drunk until we started driving again. I noticed the way he was driving. It was terribly slow. He was all hunched over the wheel. His eyes staring. We were talking about a lot of things that didn’t make sense. I can’t remember. We were talking about Nietzsche. Strindberg. (178)
Poor Friedrich Wilhelm…
FROM FURIOUS SEASONS AND OTHER STORIES.
PASTORAL (****)
We're none of us the same. We're moving on. The story
continues, but we're no longer the main characters.
James Salter, Light Years (192)
Slow, thick flakes sifted down through the freezing air, sticking on his coat collar, melting cold and wet against his face. He stared at the wordless, distorted things around him. (204)
FURIOUS SEASONS (****)
That duration which maketh Pyramids
pillars of snow, and all that's past a moment.
Sir Thomas Browne.
The gutter water rushed over his feet, swirled frothing into a great whirlpool at the drain on the corner and rushed down to the center of the earth. (220)
WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LOVE (*****)
“When we were just kids before we married?” Holly goes. “When we had big plans and hopes? You remember?”
She was sitting on the bed, holding her knees and her drink. (238)
I thought for a minute of the world outside my house, and then I didn’t have any more thoughts except the thought that I had to hurry up and sleep. (243)
They saw each other every Saturday and Sunday, sometimes oftener if it was a holiday. If the weather was good, they’d be over at Jerry’s to barbecue hot dogs and turn the kids loose in the wading pool Jerry had got for next to nothing, like a lot of other things he got from the Mart. (259)
“What do any of us really know about love?” Mel said. (314)
He said, “I just want to say one more thing.”
But then he could not think what it could possibly be. (326)
STORIES FROM FIRES (****)
THE LIE
She kicked off her shoes and leaned back on the sofa. Then she sat up and tugged her sweater over her head. She patted her hair into place. She took one of the cigarettes from the tray. I held the lighter for her and was momentarily astonished by the sight of her slim, pale fingers and her well-manicured nails. It was as if I were seeing them in a new and somewhat revealing way. (330)
Lying is just a sport for some people. (331)
CATHEDRAL (****)
It was early evening, nice and warm, and we saw pastures, rail fences, milk cow moving slowly toward old barns. We saw red-winged blackbirds on the fences, and pigeons circling around haylofts. There were gardens and such, wildflowers in bloom, and little houses set back from the road. I said, “I wish we had us a place out here.” (361)
She moved in front of him and started taking things off the shelves and putting stuff on the table. He helped. He took the meat out of the freezer and put the packages on the table. The he took the other things out of the freezer and put them in a different place on the table. He took everything out and then found the paper towels and the dishcloth and started wiping up inside. (387)
“You probably need to eat something,” the baker said. “I hope you’ll eat some of my hot rolls. You have to eat and keep going. Eating is a small, good thing in a time like this,” he said. (424)
“Anyway, we need to try something. We’ll try this first. If it doesn’t work, we’ll try something else. That’s life, isn’t it?” (445)
She moves forward in the chair. She tries to take her hand back.
“What would you tell them?”
She sighs and leans back. She lets me keep the hand. “I’d say, ‘Dreams, you know, are what you wake up from.’ That’s what I say. (507)
He says he can’t understand these people. “People who sail through life like the world owes them a living.” (512)
(from) WHERE I’M CALLING FROM (***** )
A tribute to Chekhov.
The crows work their way through the grass in the front yard. I hear the mower howl and then thud as it picks up a clump of grass in the blade and comes to a stop. In a minute, after several tries, Larry gets it going again. The crows fly off, back to their wire. (541)
I get into bed and take some covers. But the covers don’t feel right. I don’t have any sheet; all I have is blanket. I look down and see my feet sticking out. I turn onto my side, facing her, and bring my legs up so that my feet are under the blanket. We should make up the bed again. (547)
I looked out the window. The sky was blue, with a few white clouds in it. Some birds clung to a telephone wire. I wiped my face on my sleeve. (591)
It could be said, for instance, that to take a wife is to take a history. (613)
OTHER FICTION (****)
Best novels: Kindling, and Call If You Need Me.
He thought for a minute, then opened the notebook, and at the top of a blank white page he wrote the words Emptiness is the beginning of all things.
(657)
SELECTED ESSAYS (****)
My Father’s Life
“What are you going to write about?” he wanted to know. Then, as if to help me out, he said, “Write about stuff you know about. Write about those fishings trip we took.” I said I would, but I knew I wouldn’t.
(725)
On Writings
What creates tension in a piece of fiction is partly the way the concrete words are linked together to make up the visible action of the story.
(732)
BEGINNERS (****)
Best novels: If It Please You, Dummy (remembering Steinbeck), Distance, and Beginners.
“When we were just kids before we married?” Holly goes. “When we drove around every night and spent every possible minute together and talked and big plans and hopes? Do you remember?” She was sitting in the center of the bed, holding her knee and her drink.
“I remember, Holly.”
(778)
I came back hard, twice. I had him, all right. The steel casting rod bowed over and sprung wildly back and forth. Father kept yelling, “Let him go, let him go! Let him run with it! Give him more line, Jack! Now wind in! Wind in! No, let him run! Woo-ee! Look at him go!”
(895)
But he continues to stand at the window, remembering that gone life. After that morning there would be those hard times ahead, other women for him and another man for her, but that morning, that particular morning, they had danced. They danced, and then they held to each other as if there would always be that morning, and later they laughed about the waffle. They leaned on each other and laughed about it until tears came, while outside everything froze, for a while anyway.
(926)
Sometimes you can hear the snow falling.
(941)
with immensity (Ungaretti)
or
I illuminate (myself)
with minimalism
Je suis revenu chercher un asile dans l’impeccable naïveté (Baudelaire)
“Più di una volta ho cercato, (…), di rinchiudermi in un sistema per predicarvi a mio agio. Un sistema però è una sorta di dannazione, che ci spinge a una perpetua abiura: occorre sempre inventarne un altro, e questa fatica è un crudele castigo. E sempre il mio sistema era bello, vasto, spazioso, comodo, proprio e soprattutto levigato, o perlomeno così mi sembrava. E sempre un prodotto della vitalità universale, spontaneo e inatteso, veniva a smentire la mia scienza infantile e vecchiotta, figlia deplorabile dell’utopia. Avevo un bel spostare o estendere il criterio, questo era sempre in ritardo sull’uomo universale, e correva senza posa dietro il bello multiforme e versicolore che si muove nelle spirali infinite della vita. Condannato senza fine all’umiliazione di una nuova conversione, ho preso una gran decisione. Per fuggire l’orrore di queste apostasie filosofiche, mi sono orgogliosamente rassegnato alla modestia: mi sono accontentato di sentire, sono tornato a cercare asilo nell’impeccabile ingenuità” (Baudelaire)
WILL YOU PLEASE BE QUIET, PLEASE? (*****)
It is August.
My life is going to change. I feel it. (7)
Bill and Arlene Miller were a happy couple. But now and then they felt they alone among their circle had been passed by somehow, leaving Bill to attend to his bookkeeping duties and Arlene occupied with secretarial chores. They talked about it sometimes, mostly in comparison with the lives of their neighbors, Harriet and Jim Stone. It seemed to the Millers that the Stones lived a fuller and brighter life. The Stones were always going out for dinner, or entertaining at home, or traveling about the country somewhere in connection with Jim’s work. (8)
“Vern, you want something to eat?” I called.
He didn’t answer. I could hear water running in the bathroom. But I thought he might want something. We get hungry this time of night. I put bread and lunchmeat on the table and I opened a can of soup. I got out crackers and peanut butter, cold meat loaf, pickles, olives, potato chips. I put everything on the table. Then I thought of the apple pie. (16)
From where he stood he could see his mother’s fingers working in her lap, tracing the raised design in the blanket. (57)
Then they drove to the market and bought cream soda and potato chips and corn chips and onion flavored snack crackers. At the checkout counter he added a handful of U-No bars to the order.
“Hey, yeah,” she said when she saw them. (61)
I was out of work. But any day I expected to hear from up north. I lay on the sofa and listened to the rain. Now and then I’d lift up and look through the curtain for the mailman.
There was no one on the street, nothing. (78)
“Mike? Honey? I wish you’d rub my legs. My legs hurt,” she said.
“God,” he said softly, “I was sound asleep.” (96)
I hadn’t realize he was so drunk until we started driving again. I noticed the way he was driving. It was terribly slow. He was all hunched over the wheel. His eyes staring. We were talking about a lot of things that didn’t make sense. I can’t remember. We were talking about Nietzsche. Strindberg. (178)
Poor Friedrich Wilhelm…
FROM FURIOUS SEASONS AND OTHER STORIES.
PASTORAL (****)
We're none of us the same. We're moving on. The story
continues, but we're no longer the main characters.
James Salter, Light Years (192)
Slow, thick flakes sifted down through the freezing air, sticking on his coat collar, melting cold and wet against his face. He stared at the wordless, distorted things around him. (204)
FURIOUS SEASONS (****)
That duration which maketh Pyramids
pillars of snow, and all that's past a moment.
Sir Thomas Browne.
The gutter water rushed over his feet, swirled frothing into a great whirlpool at the drain on the corner and rushed down to the center of the earth. (220)
WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LOVE (*****)
“When we were just kids before we married?” Holly goes. “When we had big plans and hopes? You remember?”
She was sitting on the bed, holding her knees and her drink. (238)
I thought for a minute of the world outside my house, and then I didn’t have any more thoughts except the thought that I had to hurry up and sleep. (243)
They saw each other every Saturday and Sunday, sometimes oftener if it was a holiday. If the weather was good, they’d be over at Jerry’s to barbecue hot dogs and turn the kids loose in the wading pool Jerry had got for next to nothing, like a lot of other things he got from the Mart. (259)
“What do any of us really know about love?” Mel said. (314)
He said, “I just want to say one more thing.”
But then he could not think what it could possibly be. (326)
STORIES FROM FIRES (****)
THE LIE
She kicked off her shoes and leaned back on the sofa. Then she sat up and tugged her sweater over her head. She patted her hair into place. She took one of the cigarettes from the tray. I held the lighter for her and was momentarily astonished by the sight of her slim, pale fingers and her well-manicured nails. It was as if I were seeing them in a new and somewhat revealing way. (330)
Lying is just a sport for some people. (331)
CATHEDRAL (****)
It was early evening, nice and warm, and we saw pastures, rail fences, milk cow moving slowly toward old barns. We saw red-winged blackbirds on the fences, and pigeons circling around haylofts. There were gardens and such, wildflowers in bloom, and little houses set back from the road. I said, “I wish we had us a place out here.” (361)
She moved in front of him and started taking things off the shelves and putting stuff on the table. He helped. He took the meat out of the freezer and put the packages on the table. The he took the other things out of the freezer and put them in a different place on the table. He took everything out and then found the paper towels and the dishcloth and started wiping up inside. (387)
“You probably need to eat something,” the baker said. “I hope you’ll eat some of my hot rolls. You have to eat and keep going. Eating is a small, good thing in a time like this,” he said. (424)
“Anyway, we need to try something. We’ll try this first. If it doesn’t work, we’ll try something else. That’s life, isn’t it?” (445)
She moves forward in the chair. She tries to take her hand back.
“What would you tell them?”
She sighs and leans back. She lets me keep the hand. “I’d say, ‘Dreams, you know, are what you wake up from.’ That’s what I say. (507)
He says he can’t understand these people. “People who sail through life like the world owes them a living.” (512)
(from) WHERE I’M CALLING FROM (***** )
A tribute to Chekhov.
The crows work their way through the grass in the front yard. I hear the mower howl and then thud as it picks up a clump of grass in the blade and comes to a stop. In a minute, after several tries, Larry gets it going again. The crows fly off, back to their wire. (541)
I get into bed and take some covers. But the covers don’t feel right. I don’t have any sheet; all I have is blanket. I look down and see my feet sticking out. I turn onto my side, facing her, and bring my legs up so that my feet are under the blanket. We should make up the bed again. (547)
I looked out the window. The sky was blue, with a few white clouds in it. Some birds clung to a telephone wire. I wiped my face on my sleeve. (591)
It could be said, for instance, that to take a wife is to take a history. (613)
OTHER FICTION (****)
Best novels: Kindling, and Call If You Need Me.
He thought for a minute, then opened the notebook, and at the top of a blank white page he wrote the words Emptiness is the beginning of all things.
(657)
SELECTED ESSAYS (****)
My Father’s Life
“What are you going to write about?” he wanted to know. Then, as if to help me out, he said, “Write about stuff you know about. Write about those fishings trip we took.” I said I would, but I knew I wouldn’t.
(725)
On Writings
What creates tension in a piece of fiction is partly the way the concrete words are linked together to make up the visible action of the story.
(732)
BEGINNERS (****)
Best novels: If It Please You, Dummy (remembering Steinbeck), Distance, and Beginners.
“When we were just kids before we married?” Holly goes. “When we drove around every night and spent every possible minute together and talked and big plans and hopes? Do you remember?” She was sitting in the center of the bed, holding her knee and her drink.
“I remember, Holly.”
(778)
I came back hard, twice. I had him, all right. The steel casting rod bowed over and sprung wildly back and forth. Father kept yelling, “Let him go, let him go! Let him run with it! Give him more line, Jack! Now wind in! Wind in! No, let him run! Woo-ee! Look at him go!”
(895)
But he continues to stand at the window, remembering that gone life. After that morning there would be those hard times ahead, other women for him and another man for her, but that morning, that particular morning, they had danced. They danced, and then they held to each other as if there would always be that morning, and later they laughed about the waffle. They leaned on each other and laughed about it until tears came, while outside everything froze, for a while anyway.
(926)
Sometimes you can hear the snow falling.
(941)
September 24, 2023
For the last two months, I've been picking at these amazing stories, which I see as a kind of working-class/middle-class counterpart to John Cheever. And I know that's simplifying things a little bit, but Carver had a similar gift for zeroing in on the strange moments of life -- such as the highly memorable baker (seen in two stories) who harasses a couple over a cake that hasn't picked up -- that makes existence surreal. We are also graced with the manuscript version of WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LOVE before Gordon Lish got his hands on it and it's a useful exercise to flip between the Lish and the pure Carver versions. The deLished version of Carver sees our magnificent bard more smitten with long paragraphs and sentences that stand on their own, rather than unified by commas. And I think I prefer unvarnished Carver to Lishified Carver -- if only because it represents more of a free-flowing commitment to consciousness than Lish sternly insisting on splitting up Carver's flow for "readability."
June 25, 2025
4,5 ⭐
- ¿Quieres hacer el favor de callarte, por favor? 4 ⭐
- De qué hablamos cuando hablamos de amor. 4,5 ⭐
- Catedral. 5 ⭐
- Tres rosas amarillas. 4 ⭐
- Si me necesitas, llámame. 4 ⭐
Todos los cuentos de Carver son de un gran nivel, aunque si tuviera que elegir, creo que me quedaría con el Carver que tuvo un mayor control sobre su obra. Son cuentos con bastante más desarrollo, se percibe una mirada más humana, y por tanto, dejan en el lector un poso diferente. Su editor, Gordon Lish, intervino sobre todo en sus dos primeros libros, y aunque no se puede decir que son peores cuentos, sí son mucho más fríos y minimalistas. A partir de "Catedral" se nota que el autor tomó las riendas, aunque como he dicho al principio, el nivel es altísimo en toda la obra de Carver.
- ¿Quieres hacer el favor de callarte, por favor? 4 ⭐
- De qué hablamos cuando hablamos de amor. 4,5 ⭐
- Catedral. 5 ⭐
- Tres rosas amarillas. 4 ⭐
- Si me necesitas, llámame. 4 ⭐
Todos los cuentos de Carver son de un gran nivel, aunque si tuviera que elegir, creo que me quedaría con el Carver que tuvo un mayor control sobre su obra. Son cuentos con bastante más desarrollo, se percibe una mirada más humana, y por tanto, dejan en el lector un poso diferente. Su editor, Gordon Lish, intervino sobre todo en sus dos primeros libros, y aunque no se puede decir que son peores cuentos, sí son mucho más fríos y minimalistas. A partir de "Catedral" se nota que el autor tomó las riendas, aunque como he dicho al principio, el nivel es altísimo en toda la obra de Carver.
July 10, 2021
Completados de un tirón los 63 cuentos de Raymond Carver en la recopilación de @AnagramaEditor: obra maestra absoluta.
January 3, 2020
Els contes del Raymond Carver m'han anat acompanyant durant tot aquest 2019, gràcies a aquest volum que recull els seus 5 millors llibres de contes. N'hi ha de més bons i encertats que altres, alguns més originals, d'altres absolutament punyents, descriuen tota mena de relacions humanes i una societat americana lluny del glamour i l'èxit amb la que sovint es ven (i es venia). I tot amb un estil realista, però amb cert sentit de l'humor. A més, té la capacitat d'enganxar-te a la història a partir de la tercera frase, cosa que s'agraeix en els contes. Em quedo amb els dos primers llibres: "¿Quieres hacer el favor de callarte, por favor?" i "De qué hablamos cuando hablamos de amor". Carver va morir jove, però ens va deixar històries magnífiques!
July 25, 2012
I knew this was going to be a 5-star book before I read it. I had already read and loved many of the stories collected here. I assumed I would love the stories that were new to me just as much. I did. I can now say that I have read every short story by Raymond Carver and I have loved each one.
The main attraction of this book is the inclusion of the manuscript form of Carver's most well-known book, "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love". We can see the stories as Carver wrote them and compare that to the published stories, edited by Gordon Lish. We discover that Lish took an ax to the manuscript, cutting 40%-60% from each story. Carver's original manuscript is good. Published by itself it would have been a fine collection. Lish's edits, though, make the stories leaner and punchier. They leave wide open spaces for the reader to fill with his own imagination and interpretations. Therefore, WWTA, in its published form, can be seen as a work of sculpture. The beauty arises from what was cut away.
This is not to say that Lish was responsible for Carver's greatness. Lish created something great out of something good with WWTA. However, Lish edited Carver's next collection, "Cathedral", as well but Carver had more editorial control and Lish didn't use his ax. You can tell - the writing is fuller in WWTA and the stories have more color. The title story may be Carver's finest. If anyone were to read just one Carver story that would be the one.
Carver was an amazing short story writer and this collection of his work is a treasure. This is definitely a desert island book.
The main attraction of this book is the inclusion of the manuscript form of Carver's most well-known book, "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love". We can see the stories as Carver wrote them and compare that to the published stories, edited by Gordon Lish. We discover that Lish took an ax to the manuscript, cutting 40%-60% from each story. Carver's original manuscript is good. Published by itself it would have been a fine collection. Lish's edits, though, make the stories leaner and punchier. They leave wide open spaces for the reader to fill with his own imagination and interpretations. Therefore, WWTA, in its published form, can be seen as a work of sculpture. The beauty arises from what was cut away.
This is not to say that Lish was responsible for Carver's greatness. Lish created something great out of something good with WWTA. However, Lish edited Carver's next collection, "Cathedral", as well but Carver had more editorial control and Lish didn't use his ax. You can tell - the writing is fuller in WWTA and the stories have more color. The title story may be Carver's finest. If anyone were to read just one Carver story that would be the one.
Carver was an amazing short story writer and this collection of his work is a treasure. This is definitely a desert island book.
September 15, 2018
Recorrer el compendio de Carver permite entender cómo llegó a crear su universo y el camino para construir sus narraciones. Su profunda mirada sobre la condición humana, sobre la derrota y la vida misma es el meollo de su prosa.
Sorprende encontrarse acercamientos diferentes a un mismo tema, desde encontrar la mejor manera de narrar un cuento (la muerte de un niño en un accidente el día de su cumpleaños en "El baño" y "Parece una tontería", este último para mí uno de sus mejores cuentos) o sucesos como la aparición de los caballos en la niebla en el momento en que la esposa está por dejar al narrador ("Caballos en la niebla" y "Si me necesitas, llámame") o sucesos que repercuten de manera muy distinta como un incendio ("Sueños" y "Vándalos"). O el alcoholismo y sus problemas.
La prosa de Carver es deudora de Chejov, una deuda que se solventa con el hermoso cuento "Tres rosas amarillas", la narración de los últimos días y muerte de Chejov. Uno de los más bellos homenajes literarios.
La cotidianidad y el estreñimiento son los puntos a partir de los cuales se construyen sus historias. Con una aparente sencillez que esconde el colmillo de un narrador avezado qur conocía sus capacidades a fondo, así como sus limitaciones.
Apenas termino de leer este libro y ya deseo reemprender su lectura.
Sorprende encontrarse acercamientos diferentes a un mismo tema, desde encontrar la mejor manera de narrar un cuento (la muerte de un niño en un accidente el día de su cumpleaños en "El baño" y "Parece una tontería", este último para mí uno de sus mejores cuentos) o sucesos como la aparición de los caballos en la niebla en el momento en que la esposa está por dejar al narrador ("Caballos en la niebla" y "Si me necesitas, llámame") o sucesos que repercuten de manera muy distinta como un incendio ("Sueños" y "Vándalos"). O el alcoholismo y sus problemas.
La prosa de Carver es deudora de Chejov, una deuda que se solventa con el hermoso cuento "Tres rosas amarillas", la narración de los últimos días y muerte de Chejov. Uno de los más bellos homenajes literarios.
La cotidianidad y el estreñimiento son los puntos a partir de los cuales se construyen sus historias. Con una aparente sencillez que esconde el colmillo de un narrador avezado qur conocía sus capacidades a fondo, así como sus limitaciones.
Apenas termino de leer este libro y ya deseo reemprender su lectura.
September 3, 2016
I first came across Raymond Carver when I began to study creative writing with the Open University. I was recommended to revisit some of his short stories having not fully understood the relevance of them the first time. The usefulness of this collection is that it contains just about every short story that Carver ever published, and is a compilation of other, smaller collections.
The four stories I was recommended to read are: 'Neighbors', 'Why Don't You Dance?', 'A Small, Good Thing', and 'Cathedral'. I am now reading as many of the others as I can. Some of them are obviously not of the same standard as the four recommended ones but, for a student of creative writing, some of the poor ones are as instructive as the good ones.
Carver is considered to be an outstanding exponent of the principle of "getting out quickly" in short story writing. I was encouraged to read him after having submitted a story which was technically defective because it lacked an epiphany in the development of the main character. Interestingly, I have noticed the same defect in some of Carver's own stories.
The four stories I was recommended to read are: 'Neighbors', 'Why Don't You Dance?', 'A Small, Good Thing', and 'Cathedral'. I am now reading as many of the others as I can. Some of them are obviously not of the same standard as the four recommended ones but, for a student of creative writing, some of the poor ones are as instructive as the good ones.
Carver is considered to be an outstanding exponent of the principle of "getting out quickly" in short story writing. I was encouraged to read him after having submitted a story which was technically defective because it lacked an epiphany in the development of the main character. Interestingly, I have noticed the same defect in some of Carver's own stories.
May 18, 2011
I found myself starting this - having already read almost every single story at least twice in the collections they first appeared in - thinking I'd just dip in now and then until I found the next novel to read that would become my "main" book. But I got caught in the Carver beauty drone. Soon I was past the 800 page mark and felt like I'd sat across a greasy old table from Carver far too many late nights to count. Occasionally it would feel like you were hearing the same voice, but then there would be a story about the sociopath who becomes a polititician, and "So Close to Home" and perfectly worded everyday-ness juxtaposed with the darkness a person can descend to just packs a wallop. I feel like I just had a small college course in lower middle class Americana miserablism post-American dream, but still close enough to the time of the dream that you could catch the fading smell of the perfect lawn.
March 19, 2010
This is a beautiful and comprehensive collection of Raymond Carver's writing. I love that it includes the original manuscript for What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, originally called Beginners. It's interesting to see the heavy hand of his editor, Gordon Lish, who was the man behind Carver's trademark minimalism. Some people prefer Carver's longer version, but I actually think the edits, though dramatic, make the stories more powerful, more mysterious.
You can't read this book all in one sitting; many of the stories are about dissolving marriages and reading one after another would be a grim undertaking. But in small doses, Carver's writing proves as powerful and real now as it was when I first read him in high school almost 20 years ago.
You can't read this book all in one sitting; many of the stories are about dissolving marriages and reading one after another would be a grim undertaking. But in small doses, Carver's writing proves as powerful and real now as it was when I first read him in high school almost 20 years ago.
September 30, 2025
Carver logra lo imposible: convertir lo cotidiano en algo revelador. Sus cuentos, secos y precisos, muestran la vida de gente común atrapada en silencios, tensiones y pequeños gestos que dicen más que las palabras. Leerlo es asomarse a escenas mínimas que, de pronto, iluminan lo esencial: la soledad, el amor, la fragilidad y también la ternura. Un libro que deja ecos largos en la memoria, aun después de cerrar la última página.
La magia de Carver está en su economía narrativa: frases cortas, diálogos directos, ausencia de adornos. Su estilo sugiere más de lo que dice, y esa sobriedad deja al lector un espacio enorme para completar los silencios, las tensiones y lo no dicho.
Mis favoritos Catedral, Gordos, y De que hablamos cuando hablamos de amor. Me remitió bastante a Chejov principalmente por la ausencia de desenlace.
La magia de Carver está en su economía narrativa: frases cortas, diálogos directos, ausencia de adornos. Su estilo sugiere más de lo que dice, y esa sobriedad deja al lector un espacio enorme para completar los silencios, las tensiones y lo no dicho.
Mis favoritos Catedral, Gordos, y De que hablamos cuando hablamos de amor. Me remitió bastante a Chejov principalmente por la ausencia de desenlace.
February 14, 2021
A remarkable body of work. In a collection this varied, there are bound to be some ups and downs, but I found few of these stories less than engaging, and found many of them bracing (“Tell the Women We’re Going”, “Popular Mechanics”), haunting (“Neighbors,” “Chef’s House”), enigmatic (“Cathedral,” “The Aficionados”), moving (“A Small, Good Thing,” “Whoever Was Using This Bed”).
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