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Errand
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About the author
Raymond Carver
360 books5,110 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 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 26, 2023
A real interesting account of Chekhov's illness and death on Badenweiler. Fluid descriptions and dialogue, and even Tolstoy makes an appearance. I respect Carver even more now, which I didn't think was possible.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2023
This is the first story of Carver’s that I’ve read (it was recommended by a JHU classmate who said it was unlike most of his stories but mentioned his “fluid narrative perspective”) and to me the attention to detail was very Chekovian, and the story was humming ordinarily along, and then, wait, wow! what? What just happened with the point of view in the last part of the story. What an amazing - and seamless - transition in who was narrating and do I say where or when they were narrating, and then, snap! back to reality (?) in the last sentence.
It really is an amazing ride from what seems/is factual biographical material to the fiction and point of view changes that come.
So Tolstoy’s quip (which I’ve read before) critical of Chekhov’s plays, that they were static and lacking in any moral vision, is here: “where do your characters take you? From the sofa to the junk room and back.” (Though I seen variations on this depending on the translation)
“He murmured a few words of condolence. Olga inclined her head. ‘An honor,’ Dr. Schwöhrer said. He picked up his bag and left the room and, for that matter, history.”
It really is an amazing ride from what seems/is factual biographical material to the fiction and point of view changes that come.
So Tolstoy’s quip (which I’ve read before) critical of Chekhov’s plays, that they were static and lacking in any moral vision, is here: “where do your characters take you? From the sofa to the junk room and back.” (Though I seen variations on this depending on the translation)
“He murmured a few words of condolence. Olga inclined her head. ‘An honor,’ Dr. Schwöhrer said. He picked up his bag and left the room and, for that matter, history.”
July 21, 2025
Errand by Raymond Carver
Another version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
This is like nothing else written by Raymond Carver.
And he is saying that himself.
While the past few previous accounts dealt with domestic issues, misunderstandings and divorce, this is about…Chekhov.
Anton Chekhov and his last days.
He is invited for an evening out, in a restaurant.
And when the two friends are about to begin, the wondrous writer is starting to spill out blood and is taken ill.
He is apologizing for “the scandal”…
And we learn that he is such a wonderful, modest and likeable man…
- Well, he used to be because his condition is very serious
- He is diagnosed with TB and tuberculosis is deadly at that time
Among those who come to see him we have Tolstoy, the most famous man in Russia and one who likes Chekhov.
The man, not his works.
Leo Tolstoy says that the plays of Chekhov are:
- “Static, they keep moving from the kitchen and back”
But Anton Chekhov is such a humble, modest man…like a girl.
He is married to an actress who is about ten years younger.
Chekhov was more interested in courtship and flirting than marriage, but after three years he married this excellent professional.
The writer has to be treated urgently and he moves abroad.
He is so famous that the doctor knows about him and his works, but alas he can’t do anything about the writer’s condition.
It is too late.
And Anton Chekhov, who is trained as a doctor himself knows it.
In the final stage, the doctor orders expensive champagne- Moet.
And there is a character that is invented by Raymond Carver and is told by the wife to bring the best mortician.
At the end of the short story there is an assessment, an account by Raymond Carver in which he explains the Errand.
It is meant to be an homage to Chekhov.
Anton Chekhov has had a great impact on the American writer.
And he has read a biography of Chekhov.
In order to create this tale that has been included on the best American Short Stories list, he has had to come up with the good approach.
And he obviously did.
Another version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
This is like nothing else written by Raymond Carver.
And he is saying that himself.
While the past few previous accounts dealt with domestic issues, misunderstandings and divorce, this is about…Chekhov.
Anton Chekhov and his last days.
He is invited for an evening out, in a restaurant.
And when the two friends are about to begin, the wondrous writer is starting to spill out blood and is taken ill.
He is apologizing for “the scandal”…
And we learn that he is such a wonderful, modest and likeable man…
- Well, he used to be because his condition is very serious
- He is diagnosed with TB and tuberculosis is deadly at that time
Among those who come to see him we have Tolstoy, the most famous man in Russia and one who likes Chekhov.
The man, not his works.
Leo Tolstoy says that the plays of Chekhov are:
- “Static, they keep moving from the kitchen and back”
But Anton Chekhov is such a humble, modest man…like a girl.
He is married to an actress who is about ten years younger.
Chekhov was more interested in courtship and flirting than marriage, but after three years he married this excellent professional.
The writer has to be treated urgently and he moves abroad.
He is so famous that the doctor knows about him and his works, but alas he can’t do anything about the writer’s condition.
It is too late.
And Anton Chekhov, who is trained as a doctor himself knows it.
In the final stage, the doctor orders expensive champagne- Moet.
And there is a character that is invented by Raymond Carver and is told by the wife to bring the best mortician.
At the end of the short story there is an assessment, an account by Raymond Carver in which he explains the Errand.
It is meant to be an homage to Chekhov.
Anton Chekhov has had a great impact on the American writer.
And he has read a biography of Chekhov.
In order to create this tale that has been included on the best American Short Stories list, he has had to come up with the good approach.
And he obviously did.
September 20, 2023
اقتباسی نیمه داستانی از روز های پایانی و مرگ چخوف، یکی از اسطوره های کارور که خود به چخوف آمریکا شهره است
از میزان کیفیت این داستان کوتاه هنوز در بهت و حیرت به سر میبرم
بعد ها بی شک باز به سراغش خواهم آمد، شاید حتی چندباره
از میزان کیفیت این داستان کوتاه هنوز در بهت و حیرت به سر میبرم
بعد ها بی شک باز به سراغش خواهم آمد، شاید حتی چندباره
April 23, 2021
Qué bien escrito. Una historia muy corta, pero muy recomendable. Mejor en inglés.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews