The smallest details, 27 Jun 2008
I have been dipping in an out of this book for a few months inbetween reading longers novels. Every story in it is a pleasure. Carver is an expert in observing human relationships and human behaviour in general. He captures the wonder of everyday situations that most of us probably take for granted. His prose is simple and honest but the stories are very deep and meaningful. A lighter read than chekhov in my opinion;but but certainly not lighter in quality.

You can't go wrong with Carver, 17 Nov 2007
This man could write a short story. Every story is a mini-master piece from 'feathers' to 'where I'm calling from' to 'boxes', all managing to resonant at a deeply human level. It's the little tragedies that accumulate through everyday circumstance that Carver just chews up and spits out with a pared down even-handed prose. His stories manage to lever the most basic but cramped difficulties of life and always leaves the reader asking 'how the hell did he just do that?' This collection are his favourites and a brilliant introduction to the one of greatest short-story writers of all time.

No Regrets!, 16 Aug 2007
These short stories are simply brilliant! Carver writes about those tipping points in life, the moment when the effort to keep it all together gets too much, when the awkwardness can no longer be avoided. The dialogue is so convincing.... like a tape recorder which has been left running. The stories are told simply and honestly which belies their depth - human weakness is brought to the surface and whole lives are exposed.

The stories are mainly set in America's West Coast, but far from what you might expect - none of LA's glamour, fame and fortune to distract or hide in. No, these are ordinary people, their flaws do not seem excessive but their consequences bite. There are themes of breakdown, separation, isolation and alcohol, but there is also a diversity making each story unique.

In a story appropriately called 'Intimacy' we appear to come closest to the author, and the quote "I admit I hold to to dark view of things. Sometimes, anyway. But regret? I don't think so." But I don't find the stories altogether pessimistic or gloomy, there is a facing up to the truth which appears a positive step, even if there are no answers and the powers against seem over-whelming. (Samuel Beckett?)

Many of the stories have been blended into the equally brilliant and unique film 'Short Cuts,' so if you are familiar with the film you will certainly suffer flashbacks when reading the stories! To my mind, a small distraction and an added dimension.

Better than Chekov, 10 Apr 2007
The back cover quotes a review that calls Carver the American Chekhov. In my humble estimation, Chekhov could have learned a thing or two from Carver.

As others here have remarked, Carver's Spartan, beautiful prose recalls Hemingway. That and his devastating no nonsense, truthfulness and insights about humans. I think Carver's achievement with the short story is astonishing. I have that feeling (hopefully temporary) of "...what's the point in reading anyone else now...?"

The introduction by Carver is the best piece of advice about writing that I have encountered - not that I'm a writer.

This is one of my most prized literary possessions.


"I admit I hold to the dark view of things.", 11 Mar 2007
Where I'm Calling From is a collection of solidly good short stories but also a kind of autobiography. This was a man, remember, who, like Bukowski, had lived all the arguments and alcohol. You get the feeling, reading his stories back to back, that he just wanted to work out all his frustration at being for so long "your basic, normal, unaccomplished person". His characters all argue too much, drink too much, laugh at each other, fall broke, run away with boyfriends, sleep too little, and generally sing dispossession.

He gets this all out with his `Dirty Realism', reliant on short, physical sentences the accuracy of which recalls the stark realism of a Hopper painting. He saturates his stories with a forlorn solitude of neighbours and broken relationships; people stand fixed and mute at the telephone (as in Boxes, and Elephant); some are transfixed by neighbours coming and going; some hide, watching the world from behind curtains. In the later story, Menudo, he even recreates the stillness of a vanitas: "...a jar of metamucil, two grapefruits, a carton of cottage cheese, a quart of buttermilk, some potatoes and onions, and a package of ground meat that was beginning to change colour. Boy! I cried when I saw those things. I couldn't stop."

It was said of Chekhov, "He often expressed his thought not in speeches, but in pauses or between the lines or in replies consisting of a single word . . . the characters often feel and think things not expressed in the lines they speak". Similarly, Carver's technique, which relies so much on context for meaning, circumscribes his characters whilst we fill in the rest. The narrator of Intimacy, for example, has about ten lines in the whole story but his uneasy catharsis by the end is palpable. Even the baker of A Small, Good Thing, who is hardly there, we end up sympathising with completely. We manage to care about each of his characters, because we can somehow see ourselves stuck in the same world.
My personal favourites are Cathedral and Intimacy; they both re-work the main character's assumptions, and are good examples of what Carver calls the `enrichment' of his later writing, after all the hell-fire of alcoholism and unaccomplishment had passed behind him.

The smallest details, 27 Jun 2008
I have been dipping in an out of this book for a few months inbetween reading longers novels. Every story in it is a pleasure. Carver is an expert in observing human relationships and human behaviour in general. He captures the wonder of everyday situations that most of us probably take for granted. His prose is simple and honest but the stories are very deep and meaningful. A lighter read than chekhov in my opinion;but but certainly not lighter in quality.

You can't go wrong with Carver, 17 Nov 2007
This man could write a short story. Every story is a mini-master piece from 'feathers' to 'where I'm calling from' to 'boxes', all managing to resonant at a deeply human level. It's the little tragedies that accumulate through everyday circumstance that Carver just chews up and spits out with a pared down even-handed prose. His stories manage to lever the most basic but cramped difficulties of life and always leaves the reader asking 'how the hell did he just do that?' This collection are his favourites and a brilliant introduction to the one of greatest short-story writers of all time.

No Regrets!, 16 Aug 2007
These short stories are simply brilliant! Carver writes about those tipping points in life, the moment when the effort to keep it all together gets too much, when the awkwardness can no longer be avoided. The dialogue is so convincing.... like a tape recorder which has been left running. The stories are told simply and honestly which belies their depth - human weakness is brought to the surface and whole lives are exposed.

The stories are mainly set in America's West Coast, but far from what you might expect - none of LA's glamour, fame and fortune to distract or hide in. No, these are ordinary people, their flaws do not seem excessive but their consequences bite. There are themes of breakdown, separation, isolation and alcohol, but there is also a diversity making each story unique.

In a story appropriately called 'Intimacy' we appear to come closest to the author, and the quote "I admit I hold to to dark view of things. Sometimes, anyway. But regret? I don't think so." But I don't find the stories altogether pessimistic or gloomy, there is a facing up to the truth which appears a positive step, even if there are no answers and the powers against seem over-whelming. (Samuel Beckett?)

Many of the stories have been blended into the equally brilliant and unique film 'Short Cuts,' so if you are familiar with the film you will certainly suffer flashbacks when reading the stories! To my mind, a small distraction and an added dimension.

Better than Chekov, 10 Apr 2007
The back cover quotes a review that calls Carver the American Chekhov. In my humble estimation, Chekhov could have learned a thing or two from Carver.

As others here have remarked, Carver's Spartan, beautiful prose recalls Hemingway. That and his devastating no nonsense, truthfulness and insights about humans. I think Carver's achievement with the short story is astonishing. I have that feeling (hopefully temporary) of "...what's the point in reading anyone else now...?"

The introduction by Carver is the best piece of advice about writing that I have encountered - not that I'm a writer.

This is one of my most prized literary possessions.


"I admit I hold to the dark view of things.", 11 Mar 2007
Where I'm Calling From is a collection of solidly good short stories but also a kind of autobiography. This was a man, remember, who, like Bukowski, had lived all the arguments and alcohol. You get the feeling, reading his stories back to back, that he just wanted to work out all his frustration at being for so long "your basic, normal, unaccomplished person". His characters all argue too much, drink too much, laugh at each other, fall broke, run away with boyfriends, sleep too little, and generally sing dispossession.

He gets this all out with his `Dirty Realism', reliant on short, physical sentences the accuracy of which recalls the stark realism of a Hopper painting. He saturates his stories with a forlorn solitude of neighbours and broken relationships; people stand fixed and mute at the telephone (as in Boxes, and Elephant); some are transfixed by neighbours coming and going; some hide, watching the world from behind curtains. In the later story, Menudo, he even recreates the stillness of a vanitas: "...a jar of metamucil, two grapefruits, a carton of cottage cheese, a quart of buttermilk, some potatoes and onions, and a package of ground meat that was beginning to change colour. Boy! I cried when I saw those things. I couldn't stop."

It was said of Chekhov, "He often expressed his thought not in speeches, but in pauses or between the lines or in replies consisting of a single word . . . the characters often feel and think things not expressed in the lines they speak". Similarly, Carver's technique, which relies so much on context for meaning, circumscribes his characters whilst we fill in the rest. The narrator of Intimacy, for example, has about ten lines in the whole story but his uneasy catharsis by the end is palpable. Even the baker of A Small, Good Thing, who is hardly there, we end up sympathising with completely. We manage to care about each of his characters, because we can somehow see ourselves stuck in the same world.
My personal favourites are Cathedral and Intimacy; they both re-work the main character's assumptions, and are good examples of what Carver calls the `enrichment' of his later writing, after all the hell-fire of alcoholism and unaccomplishment had passed behind him.

An American Classic, 31 Jul 2005
Short stories are one of my favourite forms, and Carver is masterful. His sparse prose reminds me of Hemingway, and his characters - all struggling with their own small-town psychoses - hit you directly from the page. I'm not the biggest fan of American literature, to be honest, but embarked on my first experience of Carver after recommendations from a friend (who is a huge fan). Carver's stories wheedle their way into your consciousness. His portraits of everyday yet remarkable people are sharp and linger long after the few pages devoted to each tale. There's still something cerebral rather than emotional about the stories, but this alienation is part of the package. If you want to see beautiful craftsmanship and feel in the mood to take the wry, sometimes deeply sad, stories of failed promise or everday accident, then Carver is a rewarding experience.

The smallest details, 27 Jun 2008
I have been dipping in an out of this book for a few months inbetween reading longers novels. Every story in it is a pleasure. Carver is an expert in observing human relationships and human behaviour in general. He captures the wonder of everyday situations that most of us probably take for granted. His prose is simple and honest but the stories are very deep and meaningful. A lighter read than chekhov in my opinion;but but certainly not lighter in quality.

You can't go wrong with Carver, 17 Nov 2007
This man could write a short story. Every story is a mini-master piece from 'feathers' to 'where I'm calling from' to 'boxes', all managing to resonant at a deeply human level. It's the little tragedies that accumulate through everyday circumstance that Carver just chews up and spits out with a pared down even-handed prose. His stories manage to lever the most basic but cramped difficulties of life and always leaves the reader asking 'how the hell did he just do that?' This collection are his favourites and a brilliant introduction to the one of greatest short-story writers of all time.

No Regrets!, 16 Aug 2007
These short stories are simply brilliant! Carver writes about those tipping points in life, the moment when the effort to keep it all together gets too much, when the awkwardness can no longer be avoided. The dialogue is so convincing.... like a tape recorder which has been left running. The stories are told simply and honestly which belies their depth - human weakness is brought to the surface and whole lives are exposed.

The stories are mainly set in America's West Coast, but far from what you might expect - none of LA's glamour, fame and fortune to distract or hide in. No, these are ordinary people, their flaws do not seem excessive but their consequences bite. There are themes of breakdown, separation, isolation and alcohol, but there is also a diversity making each story unique.

In a story appropriately called 'Intimacy' we appear to come closest to the author, and the quote "I admit I hold to to dark view of things. Sometimes, anyway. But regret? I don't think so." But I don't find the stories altogether pessimistic or gloomy, there is a facing up to the truth which appears a positive step, even if there are no answers and the powers against seem over-whelming. (Samuel Beckett?)

Many of the stories have been blended into the equally brilliant and unique film 'Short Cuts,' so if you are familiar with the film you will certainly suffer flashbacks when reading the stories! To my mind, a small distraction and an added dimension.

Better than Chekov, 10 Apr 2007
The back cover quotes a review that calls Carver the American Chekhov. In my humble estimation, Chekhov could have learned a thing or two from Carver.

As others here have remarked, Carver's Spartan, beautiful prose recalls Hemingway. That and his devastating no nonsense, truthfulness and insights about humans. I think Carver's achievement with the short story is astonishing. I have that feeling (hopefully temporary) of "...what's the point in reading anyone else now...?"

The introduction by Carver is the best piece of advice about writing that I have encountered - not that I'm a writer.

This is one of my most prized literary possessions.


"I admit I hold to the dark view of things.", 11 Mar 2007
Where I'm Calling From is a collection of solidly good short stories but also a kind of autobiography. This was a man, remember, who, like Bukowski, had lived all the arguments and alcohol. You get the feeling, reading his stories back to back, that he just wanted to work out all his frustration at being for so long "your basic, normal, unaccomplished person". His characters all argue too much, drink too much, laugh at each other, fall broke, run away with boyfriends, sleep too little, and generally sing dispossession.

He gets this all out with his `Dirty Realism', reliant on short, physical sentences the accuracy of which recalls the stark realism of a Hopper painting. He saturates his stories with a forlorn solitude of neighbours and broken relationships; people stand fixed and mute at the telephone (as in Boxes, and Elephant); some are transfixed by neighbours coming and going; some hide, watching the world from behind curtains. In the later story, Menudo, he even recreates the stillness of a vanitas: "...a jar of metamucil, two grapefruits, a carton of cottage cheese, a quart of buttermilk, some potatoes and onions, and a package of ground meat that was beginning to change colour. Boy! I cried when I saw those things. I couldn't stop."

It was said of Chekhov, "He often expressed his thought not in speeches, but in pauses or between the lines or in replies consisting of a single word . . . the characters often feel and think things not expressed in the lines they speak". Similarly, Carver's technique, which relies so much on context for meaning, circumscribes his characters whilst we fill in the rest. The narrator of Intimacy, for example, has about ten lines in the whole story but his uneasy catharsis by the end is palpable. Even the baker of A Small, Good Thing, who is hardly there, we end up sympathising with completely. We manage to care about each of his characters, because we can somehow see ourselves stuck in the same world.
My personal favourites are Cathedral and Intimacy; they both re-work the main character's assumptions, and are good examples of what Carver calls the `enrichment' of his later writing, after all the hell-fire of alcoholism and unaccomplishment had passed behind him.

An American Classic, 31 Jul 2005
Short stories are one of my favourite forms, and Carver is masterful. His sparse prose reminds me of Hemingway, and his characters - all struggling with their own small-town psychoses - hit you directly from the page. I'm not the biggest fan of American literature, to be honest, but embarked on my first experience of Carver after recommendations from a friend (who is a huge fan). Carver's stories wheedle their way into your consciousness. His portraits of everyday yet remarkable people are sharp and linger long after the few pages devoted to each tale. There's still something cerebral rather than emotional about the stories, but this alienation is part of the package. If you want to see beautiful craftsmanship and feel in the mood to take the wry, sometimes deeply sad, stories of failed promise or everday accident, then Carver is a rewarding experience.

A good summation of Carver's work, 10 Apr 2006
Like his stories, this collection of Raymond Carver's work leaves us wanting more. It also provides a good overview of his regular themes and illustrates the breadth of his scope.

Before he died in 1988 at the age of 50, Carver had proved himself to be the greatest modern exponent of the short story in America. The stories in this collection include 'A Small, Good Thing', which was awarded the 1983 O. Henry Award. It also includes my favourite Carver story: the title story, 'Cathedral', which is so packed with emotion, clarity of thought, beauty and pain as to leave one breathless with admiration.

In my view, the short story is the pinnacle of prose writing and Carver is one of its few consistently successful exponents. This collection proves both points.

The smallest details, 27 Jun 2008
I have been dipping in an out of this book for a few months inbetween reading longers novels. Every story in it is a pleasure. Carver is an expert in observing human relationships and human behaviour in general. He captures the wonder of everyday situations that most of us probably take for granted. His prose is simple and honest but the stories are very deep and meaningful. A lighter read than chekhov in my opinion;but but certainly not lighter in quality.

You can't go wrong with Carver, 17 Nov 2007
This man could write a short story. Every story is a mini-master piece from 'feathers' to 'where I'm calling from' to 'boxes', all managing to resonant at a deeply human level. It's the little tragedies that accumulate through everyday circumstance that Carver just chews up and spits out with a pared down even-handed prose. His stories manage to lever the most basic but cramped difficulties of life and always leaves the reader asking 'how the hell did he just do that?' This collection are his favourites and a brilliant introduction to the one of greatest short-story writers of all time.

No Regrets!, 16 Aug 2007
These short stories are simply brilliant! Carver writes about those tipping points in life, the moment when the effort to keep it all together gets too much, when the awkwardness can no longer be avoided. The dialogue is so convincing.... like a tape recorder which has been left running. The stories are told simply and honestly which belies their depth - human weakness is brought to the surface and whole lives are exposed.

The stories are mainly set in America's West Coast, but far from what you might expect - none of LA's glamour, fame and fortune to distract or hide in. No, these are ordinary people, their flaws do not seem excessive but their consequences bite. There are themes of breakdown, separation, isolation and alcohol, but there is also a diversity making each story unique.

In a story appropriately called 'Intimacy' we appear to come closest to the author, and the quote "I admit I hold to to dark view of things. Sometimes, anyway. But regret? I don't think so." But I don't find the stories altogether pessimistic or gloomy, there is a facing up to the truth which appears a positive step, even if there are no answers and the powers against seem over-whelming. (Samuel Beckett?)

Many of the stories have been blended into the equally brilliant and unique film 'Short Cuts,' so if you are familiar with the film you will certainly suffer flashbacks when reading the stories! To my mind, a small distraction and an added dimension.

Better than Chekov, 10 Apr 2007
The back cover quotes a review that calls Carver the American Chekhov. In my humble estimation, Chekhov could have learned a thing or two from Carver.

As others here have remarked, Carver's Spartan, beautiful prose recalls Hemingway. That and his devastating no nonsense, truthfulness and insights about humans. I think Carver's achievement with the short story is astonishing. I have that feeling (hopefully temporary) of "...what's the point in reading anyone else now...?"

The introduction by Carver is the best piece of advice about writing that I have encountered - not that I'm a writer.

This is one of my most prized literary possessions.


"I admit I hold to the dark view of things.", 11 Mar 2007
Where I'm Calling From is a collection of solidly good short stories but also a kind of autobiography. This was a man, remember, who, like Bukowski, had lived all the arguments and alcohol. You get the feeling, reading his stories back to back, that he just wanted to work out all his frustration at being for so long "your basic, normal, unaccomplished person". His characters all argue too much, drink too much, laugh at each other, fall broke, run away with boyfriends, sleep too little, and generally sing dispossession.

He gets this all out with his `Dirty Realism', reliant on short, physical sentences the accuracy of which recalls the stark realism of a Hopper painting. He saturates his stories with a forlorn solitude of neighbours and broken relationships; people stand fixed and mute at the telephone (as in Boxes, and Elephant); some are transfixed by neighbours coming and going; some hide, watching the world from behind curtains. In the later story, Menudo, he even recreates the stillness of a vanitas: "...a jar of metamucil, two grapefruits, a carton of cottage cheese, a quart of buttermilk, some potatoes and onions, and a package of ground meat that was beginning to change colour. Boy! I cried when I saw those things. I couldn't stop."

It was said of Chekhov, "He often expressed his thought not in speeches, but in pauses or between the lines or in replies consisting of a single word . . . the characters often feel and think things not expressed in the lines they speak". Similarly, Carver's technique, which relies so much on context for meaning, circumscribes his characters whilst we fill in the rest. The narrator of Intimacy, for example, has about ten lines in the whole story but his uneasy catharsis by the end is palpable. Even the baker of A Small, Good Thing, who is hardly there, we end up sympathising with completely. We manage to care about each of his characters, because we can somehow see ourselves stuck in the same world.
My personal favourites are Cathedral and Intimacy; they both re-work the main character's assumptions, and are good examples of what Carver calls the `enrichment' of his later writing, after all the hell-fire of alcoholism and unaccomplishment had passed behind him.

An American Classic, 31 Jul 2005
Short stories are one of my favourite forms, and Carver is masterful. His sparse prose reminds me of Hemingway, and his characters - all struggling with their own small-town psychoses - hit you directly from the page. I'm not the biggest fan of American literature, to be honest, but embarked on my first experience of Carver after recommendations from a friend (who is a huge fan). Carver's stories wheedle their way into your consciousness. His portraits of everyday yet remarkable people are sharp and linger long after the few pages devoted to each tale. There's still something cerebral rather than emotional about the stories, but this alienation is part of the package. If you want to see beautiful craftsmanship and feel in the mood to take the wry, sometimes deeply sad, stories of failed promise or everday accident, then Carver is a rewarding experience.

A good summation of Carver's work, 10 Apr 2006
Like his stories, this collection of Raymond Carver's work leaves us wanting more. It also provides a good overview of his regular themes and illustrates the breadth of his scope.

Before he died in 1988 at the age of 50, Carver had proved himself to be the greatest modern exponent of the short story in America. The stories in this collection include 'A Small, Good Thing', which was awarded the 1983 O. Henry Award. It also includes my favourite Carver story: the title story, 'Cathedral', which is so packed with emotion, clarity of thought, beauty and pain as to leave one breathless with admiration.

In my view, the short story is the pinnacle of prose writing and Carver is one of its few consistently successful exponents. This collection proves both points.

Excellent, 09 May 2000
The taut sentences of Carver's prose effectively contain and transmit the understated emotions and subtle conflicts that dominate everyday life.

Carver's people do little and say even less : beautifully, 15 Oct 1999
I started reading Carver having seen Altman's film Short Cuts, and mainly because of its very funny portrayal of ordinary white working class American lives. How so different to this same world as portrayed by Carver himself. I have never read such sparse and quiet a narrative often so absent of events but which speak so directly to you and with such caring insight into people and their problems. The events and problems are often not those which can be translated or put into words for the benefit of a non-reader - Carver weaves impressions and lingering emotions which relate the lives of his folk rather than spreading out bare their lives before you, although paradoxically this is in fact exactly what he does achieve by standing back and allowing characters to tell their own story.

I find Carver the most original and intuitive voice - the craft of short story writing is much the poorer for his death.

In the presence of greatness., 21 Jun 1999
...It is a conundrum that some of our greatest writers are so under-read if you like.

What you get with RAYMOND CARVER is a deep insight into human behaviour and emotion. His stories are often set around the mundane and frequently have no satisfactory resolution of the problems/situations that confront the main characters , but what a web this man spins. It is the sign of greaatness to do all of the above in such simple but effective language.

His style of writing is so different , that you may find like I did , that initially you are confused by the stories within this book. Persist. It took me about three stories until I skipped to THE STUDENT'S WIFE and then followed this by reading BICYCLES , MUSCLES, CIGARETTES .

SMACK!

They literally blew me away.

Buy this book and treasure the wisdom within I am not a re-reader of books but I found myself reading this again .

Rest in peace RAYMOND CARVER . You brought a devasting original voice into the short story form , and for that I salute you.

The smallest details, 27 Jun 2008
I have been dipping in an out of this book for a few months inbetween reading longers novels. Every story in it is a pleasure. Carver is an expert in observing human relationships and human behaviour in general. He captures the wonder of everyday situations that most of us probably take for granted. His prose is simple and honest but the stories are very deep and meaningful. A lighter read than chekhov in my opinion;but but certainly not lighter in quality.

You can't go wrong with Carver, 17 Nov 2007
This man could write a short story. Every story is a mini-master piece from 'feathers' to 'where I'm calling from' to 'boxes', all managing to resonant at a deeply human level. It's the little tragedies that accumulate through everyday circumstance that Carver just chews up and spits out with a pared down even-handed prose. His stories manage to lever the most basic but cramped difficulties of life and always leaves the reader asking 'how the hell did he just do that?' This collection are his favourites and a brilliant introduction to the one of greatest short-story writers of all time.

No Regrets!, 16 Aug 2007
These short stories are simply brilliant! Carver writes about those tipping points in life, the moment when the effort to keep it all together gets too much, when the awkwardness can no longer be avoided. The dialogue is so convincing.... like a tape recorder which has been left running. The stories are told simply and honestly which belies their depth - human weakness is brought to the surface and whole lives are exposed.

The stories are mainly set in America's West Coast, but far from what you might expect - none of LA's glamour, fame and fortune to distract or hide in. No, these are ordinary people, their flaws do not seem excessive but their consequences bite. There are themes of breakdown, separation, isolation and alcohol, but there is also a diversity making each story unique.

In a story appropriately called 'Intimacy' we appear to come closest to the author, and the quote "I admit I hold to to dark view of things. Sometimes, anyway. But regret? I don't think so." But I don't find the stories altogether pessimistic or gloomy, there is a facing up to the truth which appears a positive step, even if there are no answers and the powers against seem over-whelming. (Samuel Beckett?)

Many of the stories have been blended into the equally brilliant and unique film 'Short Cuts,' so if you are familiar with the film you will certainly suffer flashbacks when reading the stories! To my mind, a small distraction and an added dimension.

Better than Chekov, 10 Apr 2007
The back cover quotes a review that calls Carver the American Chekhov. In my humble estimation, Chekhov could have learned a thing or two from Carver.

As others here have remarked, Carver's Spartan, beautiful prose recalls Hemingway. That and his devastating no nonsense, truthfulness and insights about humans. I think Carver's achievement with the short story is astonishing. I have that feeling (hopefully temporary) of "...what's the point in reading anyone else now...?"

The introduction by Carver is the best piece of advice about writing that I have encountered - not that I'm a writer.

This is one of my most prized literary possessions.


"I admit I hold to the dark view of things.", 11 Mar 2007
Where I'm Calling From is a collection of solidly good short stories but also a kind of autobiography. This was a man, remember, who, like Bukowski, had lived all the arguments and alcohol. You get the feeling, reading his stories back to back, that he just wanted to work out all his frustration at being for so long "your basic, normal, unaccomplished person". His characters all argue too much, drink too much, laugh at each other, fall broke, run away with boyfriends, sleep too little, and generally sing dispossession.

He gets this all out with his `Dirty Realism', reliant on short, physical sentences the accuracy of which recalls the stark realism of a Hopper painting. He saturates his stories with a forlorn solitude of neighbours and broken relationships; people stand fixed and mute at the telephone (as in Boxes, and Elephant); some are transfixed by neighbours coming and going; some hide, watching the world from behind curtains. In the later story, Menudo, he even recreates the stillness of a vanitas: "...a jar of metamucil, two grapefruits, a carton of cottage cheese, a quart of buttermilk, some potatoes and onions, and a package of ground meat that was beginning to change colour. Boy! I cried when I saw those things. I couldn't stop."

It was said of Chekhov, "He often expressed his thought not in speeches, but in pauses or between the lines or in replies consisting of a single word . . . the characters often feel and think things not expressed in the lines they speak". Similarly, Carver's technique, which relies so much on context for meaning, circumscribes his characters whilst we fill in the rest. The narrator of Intimacy, for example, has about ten lines in the whole story but his uneasy catharsis by the end is palpable. Even the baker of A Small, Good Thing, who is hardly there, we end up sympathising with completely. We manage to care about each of his characters, because we can somehow see ourselves stuck in the same world.
My personal favourites are Cathedral and Intimacy; they both re-work the main character's assumptions, and are good examples of what Carver calls the `enrichment' of his later writing, after all the hell-fire of alcoholism and unaccomplishment had passed behind him.

An American Classic, 31 Jul 2005
Short stories are one of my favourite forms, and Carver is masterful. His sparse prose reminds me of Hemingway, and his characters - all struggling with their own small-town psychoses - hit you directly from the page. I'm not the biggest fan of American literature, to be honest, but embarked on my first experience of Carver after recommendations from a friend (who is a huge fan). Carver's stories wheedle their way into your consciousness. His portraits of everyday yet remarkable people are sharp and linger long after the few pages devoted to each tale. There's still something cerebral rather than emotional about the stories, but this alienation is part of the package. If you want to see beautiful craftsmanship and feel in the mood to take the wry, sometimes deeply sad, stories of failed promise or everday accident, then Carver is a rewarding experience.

A good summation of Carver's work, 10 Apr 2006
Like his stories, this collection of Raymond Carver's work leaves us wanting more. It also provides a good overview of his regular themes and illustrates the breadth of his scope.

Before he died in 1988 at the age of 50, Carver had proved himself to be the greatest modern exponent of the short story in America. The stories in this collection include 'A Small, Good Thing', which was awarded the 1983 O. Henry Award. It also includes my favourite Carver story: the title story, 'Cathedral', which is so packed with emotion, clarity of thought, beauty and pain as to leave one breathless with admiration.

In my view, the short story is the pinnacle of prose writing and Carver is one of its few consistently successful exponents. This collection proves both points.

Excellent, 09 May 2000
The taut sentences of Carver's prose effectively contain and transmit the understated emotions and subtle conflicts that dominate everyday life.

Carver's people do little and say even less : beautifully, 15 Oct 1999
I started reading Carver having seen Altman's film Short Cuts, and mainly because of its very funny portrayal of ordinary white working class American lives. How so different to this same world as portrayed by Carver himself. I have never read such sparse and quiet a narrative often so absent of events but which speak so directly to you and with such caring insight into people and their problems. The events and problems are often not those which can be translated or put into words for the benefit of a non-reader - Carver weaves impressions and lingering emotions which relate the lives of his folk rather than spreading out bare their lives before you, although paradoxically this is in fact exactly what he does achieve by standing back and allowing characters to tell their own story.

I find Carver the most original and intuitive voice - the craft of short story writing is much the poorer for his death.

In the presence of greatness., 21 Jun 1999
...It is a conundrum that some of our greatest writers are so under-read if you like.

What you get with RAYMOND CARVER is a deep insight into human behaviour and emotion. His stories are often set around the mundane and frequently have no satisfactory resolution of the problems/situations that confront the main characters , but what a web this man spins. It is the sign of greaatness to do all of the above in such simple but effective language.

His style of writing is so different , that you may find like I did , that initially you are confused by the stories within this book. Persist. It took me about three stories until I skipped to THE STUDENT'S WIFE and then followed this by reading BICYCLES , MUSCLES, CIGARETTES .

SMACK!

They literally blew me away.

Buy this book and treasure the wisdom within I am not a re-reader of books but I found myself reading this again .

Rest in peace RAYMOND CARVER . You brought a devasting original voice into the short story form , and for that I salute you.

Absorbing and thought-provoking, 07 Jun 2007
These stories are all about characters facing a fact and making a change because of that fact - either their own mortality (Whoever Was Using This Bed), their failures as a husband and partner (Menudo) and their relationship with their mother (Boxes). They're all low-key and demand a second reading immediately as you finish them because there are so many nuances to Carver's characters and what they face that you find yourself picking up new layers on each subsequent reading.

My favourite story in the collection was Boxes - a story about a man dealing with is infuriating mother who has packed up to move to the other side of the country but still hasn't quite gotten around to doing it yet. It's a very sad story, in that you can feel the narrator's frustration at dealing with a mother who never listens to what he says but who he loves and feels obliged to nevertheless and the ending where she does leave and he realises that this is the last time that he will see her is particularly bittersweet.

softly bruising your soul, 18 Apr 2003
Read all of Raymond Carver's short stories. To begin there may not seem that much to them, but if you read slowly, taking in each of his precise words, you'll find the true impact of these heart wrenching stories- often a day or two later.
Carver shows us our quietest, loneliest moments. He makes no judgements, he just says: 'Here we are.' His short stories are gifts to humanity. Take the gift.

Beautifully written; a snapshot of small town America., 03 Feb 2000
The short stories in 'Elephant' are simply written without a hint of pretension and examine ordinary people facing everyday problems in small town America. The stories have no beginning nor an end and are merely a snapshot into people's lives. These snapshots are beautifully written, though sometimes it is necessary to read between the lines to absorb their full impact.

The smallest details, 27 Jun 2008
I have been dipping in an out of this book for a few months inbetween reading longers novels. Every story in it is a pleasure. Carver is an expert in observing human relationships and human behaviour in general. He captures the wonder of everyday situations that most of us probably take for granted. His prose is simple and honest but the stories are very deep and meaningful. A lighter read than chekhov in my opinion;but but certainly not lighter in quality.

You can't go wrong with Carver, 17 Nov 2007
This man could write a short story. Every story is a mini-master piece from 'feathers' to 'where I'm calling from' to 'boxes', all managing to resonant at a deeply human level. It's the little tragedies that accumulate through everyday circumstance that Carver just chews up and spits out with a pared down even-handed prose. His stories manage to lever the most basic but cramped difficulties of life and always leaves the reader asking 'how the hell did he just do that?' This collection are his favourites and a brilliant introduction to the one of greatest short-story writers of all time.

No Regrets!, 16 Aug 2007
These short stories are simply brilliant! Carver writes about those tipping points in life, the moment when the effort to keep it all together gets too much, when the awkwardness can no longer be avoided. The dialogue is so convincing.... like a tape recorder which has been left running. The stories are told simply and honestly which belies their depth - human weakness is brought to the surface and whole lives are exposed.

The stories are mainly set in America's West Coast, but far from what you might expect - none of LA's glamour, fame and fortune to distract or hide in. No, these are ordinary people, their flaws do not seem excessive but their consequences bite. There are themes of breakdown, separation, isolation and alcohol, but there is also a diversity making each story unique.

In a story appropriately called 'Intimacy' we appear to come closest to the author, and the quote "I admit I hold to to dark view of things. Sometimes, anyway. But regret? I don't think so." But I don't find the stories altogether pessimistic or gloomy, there is a facing up to the truth which appears a positive step, even if there are no answers and the powers against seem over-whelming. (Samuel Beckett?)

Many of the stories have been blended into the equally brilliant and unique film 'Short Cuts,' so if you are familiar with the film you will certainly suffer flashbacks when reading the stories! To my mind, a small distraction and an added dimension.

Better than Chekov, 10 Apr 2007
The back cover quotes a review that calls Carver the American Chekhov. In my humble estimation, Chekhov could have learned a thing or two from Carver.

As others here have remarked, Carver's Spartan, beautiful prose recalls Hemingway. That and his devastating no nonsense, truthfulness and insights about humans. I think Carver's achievement with the short story is astonishing. I have that feeling (hopefully temporary) of "...what's the point in reading anyone else now...?"

The introduction by Carver is the best piece of advice about writing that I have encountered - not that I'm a writer.

This is one of my most prized literary possessions.


"I admit I hold to the dark view of things.", 11 Mar 2007
Where I'm Calling From is a collection of solidly good short stories but also a kind of autobiography. This was a man, remember, who, like Bukowski, had lived all the arguments and alcohol. You get the feeling, reading his stories back to back, that he just wanted to work out all his frustration at being for so long "your basic, normal, unaccomplished person". His characters all argue too much, drink too much, laugh at each other, fall broke, run away with boyfriends, sleep too little, and generally sing dispossession.

He gets this all out with his `Dirty Realism', reliant on short, physical sentences the accuracy of which recalls the stark realism of a Hopper painting. He saturates his stories with a forlorn solitude of neighbours and broken relationships; people stand fixed and mute at the telephone (as in Boxes, and Elephant); some are transfixed by neighbours coming and going; some hide, watching the world from behind curtains. In the later story, Menudo, he even recreates the stillness of a vanitas: "...a jar of metamucil, two grapefruits, a carton of cottage cheese, a quart of buttermilk, some potatoes and onions, and a package of ground meat that was beginning to change colour. Boy! I cried when I saw those things. I couldn't stop."

It was said of Chekhov, "He often expressed his thought not in speeches, but in pauses or between the lines or in replies consisting of a single word . . . the characters often feel and think things not expressed in the lines they speak". Similarly, Carver's technique, which relies so much on context for meaning, circumscribes his characters whilst we fill in the rest. The narrator of Intimacy, for example, has about ten lines in the whole story but his uneasy catharsis by the end is palpable. Even the baker of A Small, Good Thing, who is hardly there, we end up sympathising with completely. We manage to care about each of his characters, because we can somehow see ourselves stuck in the same world.
My personal favourites are Cathedral and Intimacy; they both re-work the main character's assumptions, and are good examples of what Carver calls the `enrichment' of his later writing, after all the hell-fire of alcoholism and unaccomplishment had passed behind him.

An American Classic, 31 Jul 2005
Short stories are one of my favourite forms, and Carver is masterful. His sparse prose reminds me of Hemingway, and his characters - all struggling with their own small-town psychoses - hit you directly from the page. I'm not the biggest fan of American literature, to be honest, but embarked on my first experience of Carver after recommendations from a friend (who is a huge fan). Carver's stories wheedle their way into your consciousness. His portraits of everyday yet remarkable people are sharp and linger long after the few pages devoted to each tale. There's still something cerebral rather than emotional about the stories, but this alienation is part of the package. If you want to see beautiful craftsmanship and feel in the mood to take the wry, sometimes deeply sad, stories of failed promise or everday accident, then Carver is a rewarding experience.

A good summation of Carver's work, 10 Apr 2006
Like his stories, this collection of Raymond Carver's work leaves us wanting more. It also provides a good overview of his regular themes and illustrates the breadth of his scope.

Before he died in 1988 at the age of 50, Carver had proved himself to be the greatest modern exponent of the short story in America. The stories in this collection include 'A Small, Good Thing', which was awarded the 1983 O. Henry Award. It also includes my favourite Carver story: the title story, 'Cathedral', which is so packed with emotion, clarity of thought, beauty and pain as to leave one breathless with admiration.

In my view, the short story is the pinnacle of prose writing and Carver is one of its few consistently successful exponents. This collection proves both points.

Excellent, 09 May 2000
The taut sentences of Carver's prose effectively contain and transmit the understated emotions and subtle conflicts that dominate everyday life.

Carver's people do little and say even less : beautifully, 15 Oct 1999
I started reading Carver having seen Altman's film Short Cuts, and mainly because of its very funny portrayal of ordinary white working class American lives. How so different to this same world as portrayed by Carver himself. I have never read such sparse and quiet a narrative often so absent of events but which speak so directly to you and with such caring insight into people and their problems. The events and problems are often not those which can be translated or put into words for the benefit of a non-reader - Carver weaves impressions and lingering emotions which relate the lives of his folk rather than spreading out bare their lives before you, although paradoxically this is in fact exactly what he does achieve by standing back and allowing characters to tell their own story.

I find Carver the most original and intuitive voice - the craft of short story writing is much the poorer for his death.

In the presence of greatness., 21 Jun 1999
...It is a conundrum that some of our greatest writers are so under-read if you like.

What you get with RAYMOND CARVER is a deep insight into human behaviour and emotion. His stories are often set around the mundane and frequently have no satisfactory resolution of the problems/situations that confront the main characters , but what a web this man spins. It is the sign of greaatness to do all of the above in such simple but effective language.

His style of writing is so different , that you may find like I did , that initially you are confused by the stories within this book. Persist. It took me about three stories until I skipped to THE STUDENT'S WIFE and then followed this by reading BICYCLES , MUSCLES, CIGARETTES .

SMACK!

They literally blew me away.

Buy this book and treasure the wisdom within I am not a re-reader of books but I found myself reading this again .

Rest in peace RAYMOND CARVER . You brought a devasting original voice into the short story form , and for that I salute you.

Absorbing and thought-provoking, 07 Jun 2007
These stories are all about characters facing a fact and making a change because of that fact - either their own mortality (Whoever Was Using This Bed), their failures as a husband and partner (Menudo) and their relationship with their mother (Boxes). They're all low-key and demand a second reading immediately as you finish them because there are so many nuances to Carver's characters and what they face that you find yourself picking up new layers on each subsequent reading.

My favourite story in the collection was Boxes - a story about a man dealing with is infuriating mother who has packed up to move to the other side of the country but still hasn't quite gotten around to doing it yet. It's a very sad story, in that you can feel the narrator's frustration at dealing with a mother who never listens to what he says but who he loves and feels obliged to nevertheless and the ending where she does leave and he realises that this is the last time that he will see her is particularly bittersweet.

softly bruising your soul, 18 Apr 2003
Read all of Raymond Carver's short stories. To begin there may not seem that much to them, but if you read slowly, taking in each of his precise words, you'll find the true impact of these heart wrenching stories- often a day or two later.
Carver shows us our quietest, loneliest moments. He makes no judgements, he just says: 'Here we are.' His short stories are gifts to humanity. Take the gift.

Beautifully written; a snapshot of small town America., 03 Feb 2000
The short stories in 'Elephant' are simply written without a hint of pretension and examine ordinary people facing everyday problems in small town America. The stories have no beginning nor an end and are merely a snapshot into people's lives. These snapshots are beautifully written, though sometimes it is necessary to read between the lines to absorb their full impact.

I really tried to like this, 12 Nov 2004
I am doing Short Cuts for my A level. I really tried to like the story but i can't. They are so boring. I know we are supposed to read into the fiction- that the simple prose style allows us to look into these peoples lives. The dialogue is very convincing but is let down by a deep lack of coherence in the narrative and massive anticlimaxes. If this is a reflection of life in America.... then HELP

The Master of the Short Story Craft..., 21 Aug 2003
If you love Raymond Carver, or have yet to read any of his stories, this is a great book for you. These are selected stories by Carver, which inspired the movie "Short Cuts." Though I did enjoy the movie, reading the actual stories is ten times more satisfying.

Carver is a genius when it comes to the crafting of a short story. He's showed me that you don't need to have the most complex plot or the happiest ending in short stories. You don't even need a solid resolution. Carver creates some of the most memorable characters and is a pro when it comes to dialogue. These characters are faced with conflicts that can happen to anyone and anywhere. Some conflicts are small while others are major and life-changing. How these characters react to the situations thrown upon them are much like the way we could see ourselves dealing with them. That's why the stories work. They're very convincing and realistic.

I really enjoyed these stories. I liked the fact that some of these stories really caught me off guard. "Tell the Women We're Going," has to have one of the most horrifying and disturbing endings I have ever read in a story. I also liked the fact that these characters seem so real. It's like these are people you have known for all of your life. He writes the way people actually talk, and that is a great talent.

My favourite stories are, "They're Not Your Husband" "Neighbors," "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?" "A Small, Good Thing," "Tell the Women We're Going," and "So Much Water so Close to Home." These are very realistic stories that paint a picture of everyday life.

Raymond Carver was a brilliant writer. We need more like him. If you like Carver or you have yet to read any of his work, check out this book and read some of the stories. It doesn't have a lot, but the ones that are in here are very well done. A book I will read over and over again.

American Beauty!, 09 Dec 2001
Why are these Americans so damned good at writing quality short stories? I loved this book so much, I ran out and bought some of Carver's non-fiction too! Writing pared down to the essentials. Writing to make you gasp. It's such a pity that the Nobel Prize is only awarded to living authors.

no better example of the magic of the short story, 14 Jan 1999
Carver manages to create a sense of magic out of the ordinary. He sifts through the rough scraps of throw-away reality that make up l.a. or indeed any large city and he weaves them into a beautiful delicate whole.

The smallest details, 27 Jun 2008
I have been dipping in an out of this book for a few months inbetween reading longers novels. Every story in it is a pleasure. Carver is an expert in observing human relationships and human behaviour in general. He captures the wonder of everyday situations that most of us probably take for granted. His prose is simple and honest but the stories are very deep and meaningful. A lighter read than chekhov in my opinion;but but certainly not lighter in quality.

You can't go wrong with Carver, 17 Nov 2007
This man could write a short story. Every story is a mini-master piece from 'feathers' to 'where I'm calling from' to 'boxes', all managing to resonant at a deeply human level. It's the little tragedies that accumulate through everyday circumstance that Carver just chews up and spits out with a pared down even-handed prose. His stories manage to lever the most basic but cramped difficulties of life and always leaves the reader asking 'how the hell did he just do that?' This collection are his favourites and a brilliant introduction to the one of greatest short-story writers of all time.

No Regrets!, 16 Aug 2007
These short stories are simply brilliant! Carver writes about those tipping points in life, the moment when the effort to keep it all together gets too much, when the awkwardness can no longer be avoided. The dialogue is so convincing.... like a tape recorder which has been left running. The stories are told simply and honestly which belies their depth - human weakness is brought to the surface and whole lives are exposed.

The stories are mainly set in America's West Coast, but far from what you might expect - none of LA's glamour, fame and fortune to distract or hide in. No, these are ordinary people, their flaws do not seem excessive but their consequences bite. There are themes of breakdown, separation, isolation and alcohol, but there is also a diversity making each story unique.

In a story appropriately called 'Intimacy' we appear to come closest to the author, and the quote "I admit I hold to to dark view of things. Sometimes, anyway. But regret? I don't think so." But I don't find the stories altogether pessimistic or gloomy, there is a facing up to the truth which appears a positive step, even if there are no answers and the powers against seem over-whelming. (Samuel Beckett?)

Many of the stories have been blended into the equally brilliant and unique film 'Short Cuts,' so if you are familiar with the film you will certainly suffer flashbacks when reading the stories! To my mind, a small distraction and an added dimension.

Better than Chekov, 10 Apr 2007
The back cover quotes a review that calls Carver the American Chekhov. In my humble estimation, Chekhov could have learned a thing or two from Carver.

As others here have remarked, Carver's Spartan, beautiful prose recalls Hemingway. That and his devastating no nonsense, truthfulness and insights about humans. I think Carver's achievement with the short story is astonishing. I have that feeling (hopefully temporary) of "...what's the point in reading anyone else now...?"

The introduction by Carver is the best piece of advice about writing that I have encountered - not that I'm a writer.

This is one of my most prized literary possessions.


"I admit I hold to the dark view of things.", 11 Mar 2007
Where I'm Calling From is a collection of solidly good short stories but also a kind of autobiography. This was a man, remember, who, like Bukowski, had lived all the arguments and alcohol. You get the feeling, reading his stories back to back, that he just wanted to work out all his frustration at being for so long "your basic, normal, unaccomplished person". His characters all argue too much, drink too much, laugh at each other, fall broke, run away with boyfriends, sleep too little, and generally sing dispossession.

He gets this all out with his `Dirty Realism', reliant on short, physical sentences the accuracy of which recalls the stark realism of a Hopper painting. He saturates his stories with a forlorn solitude of neighbours and broken relationships; people stand fixed and mute at the telephone (as in Boxes, and Elephant); some are transfixed by neighbours coming and going; some hide, watching the world from behind curtains. In the later story, Menudo, he even recreates the stillness of a vanitas: "...a jar of metamucil, two grapefruits, a carton of cottage cheese, a quart of buttermilk, some potatoes and onions, and a package of ground meat that was beginning to change colour. Boy! I cried when I saw those things. I couldn't stop."

It was said of Chekhov, "He often expressed his thought not in speeches, but in pauses or between the lines or in replies consisting of a single word . . . the characters often feel and think things not expressed in the lines they speak". Similarly, Carver's technique, which relies so much on context for meaning, circumscribes his characters whilst we fill in the rest. The narrator of Intimacy, for example, has about ten lines in the whole story but his uneasy catharsis by the end is palpable. Even the baker of A Small, Good Thing, who is hardly there, we end up sympathising with completely. We manage to care about each of his characters, because we can somehow see ourselves stuck in the same world.
My personal favourites are Cathedral and Intimacy; they both re-work the main character's assumptions, and are good examples of what Carver calls the `enrichment' of his later writing, after all the hell-fire of alcoholism and unaccomplishment had passed behind him.

An American Classic, 31 Jul 2005
Short stories are one of my favourite forms, and Carver is masterful. His sparse prose reminds me of Hemingway, and his characters - all struggling with their own small-town psychoses - hit you directly from the page. I'm not the biggest fan of American literature, to be honest, but embarked on my first experience of Carver after recommendations from a friend (who is a huge fan). Carver's stories wheedle their way into your consciousness. His portraits of everyday yet remarkable people are sharp and linger long after the few pages devoted to each tale. There's still something cerebral rather than emotional about the stories, but this alienation is part of the package. If you want to see beautiful craftsmanship and feel in the mood to take the wry, sometimes deeply sad, stories of failed promise or everday accident, then Carver is a rewarding experience.

A good summation of Carver's work, 10 Apr 2006
Like his stories, this collection of Raymond Carver's work leaves us wanting more. It also provides a good overview of his regular themes and illustrates the breadth of his scope.

Before he died in 1988 at the age of 50, Carver had proved himself to be the greatest modern exponent of the short story in America. The stories in this collection include 'A Small, Good Thing', which was awarded the 1983 O. Henry Award. It also includes my favourite Carver story: the title story, 'Cathedral', which is so packed with emotion, clarity of thought, beauty and pain as to leave one breathless with admiration.

In my view, the short story is the pinnacle of prose writing and Carver is one of its few consistently successful exponents. This collection proves both points.

Excellent, 09 May 2000
The taut sentences of Carver's prose effectively contain and transmit the understated emotions and subtle conflicts that dominate everyday life.

Carver's people do little and say even less : beautifully, 15 Oct 1999
I started reading Carver having seen Altman's film Short Cuts, and mainly because of its very funny portrayal of ordinary white working class American lives. How so different to this same world as portrayed by Carver himself. I have never read such sparse and quiet a narrative often so absent of events but which speak so directly to you and with such caring insight into people and their problems. The events and problems are often not those which can be translated or put into words for the benefit of a non-reader - Carver weaves impressions and lingering emotions which relate the lives of his folk rather than spreading out bare their lives before you, although paradoxically this is in fact exactly what he does achieve by standing back and allowing characters to tell their own story.

I find Carver the most original and intuitive voice - the craft of short story writing is much the poorer for his death.

In the presence of greatness., 21 Jun 1999
...It is a conundrum that some of our greatest writers are so under-read if you like.

What you get with RAYMOND CARVER is a deep insight into human behaviour and emotion. His stories are often set around the mundane and frequently have no satisfactory resolution of the problems/situations that confront the main characters , but what a web this man spins. It is the sign of greaatness to do all of the above in such simple but effective language.

His style of writing is so different , that you may find like I did , that initially you are confused by the stories within this book. Persist. It took me about three stories until I skipped to THE STUDENT'S WIFE and then followed this by reading BICYCLES , MUSCLES, CIGARETTES .

SMACK!

They literally blew me away.

Buy this book and treasure the wisdom within I am not a re-reader of books but I found myself reading this again .

Rest in peace RAYMOND CARVER . You brought a devasting original voice into the short story form , and for that I salute you.

Absorbing and thought-provoking, 07 Jun 2007
These stories are all about characters facing a fact and making a change because of that fact - either their own mortality (Whoever Was Using This Bed), their failures as a husband and partner (Menudo) and their relationship with their mother (Boxes). They're all low-key and demand a second reading immediately as you finish them because there are so many nuances to Carver's characters and what they face that you find yourself picking up new layers on each subsequent reading.

My favourite story in the collection was Boxes - a story about a man dealing with is infuriating mother who has packed up to move to the other side of the country but still hasn't quite gotten around to doing it yet. It's a very sad story, in that you can feel the narrator's frustration at dealing with a mother who never listens to what he says but who he loves and feels obliged to nevertheless and the ending where she does leave and he realises that this is the last time that he will see her is particularly bittersweet.

softly bruising your soul, 18 Apr 2003
Read all of Raymond Carver's short stories. To begin there may not seem that much to them, but if you read slowly, taking in each of his precise words, you'll find the true impact of these heart wrenching stories- often a day or two later.
Carver shows us our quietest, loneliest moments. He makes no judgements, he just says: 'Here we are.' His short stories are gifts to humanity. Take the gift.

Beautifully written; a snapshot of small town America., 03 Feb 2000
The short stories in 'Elephant' are simply written without a hint of pretension and examine ordinary people facing everyday problems in small town America. The stories have no beginning nor an end and are merely a snapshot into people's lives. These snapshots are beautifully written, though sometimes it is necessary to read between the lines to absorb their full impact.

I really tried to like this, 12 Nov 2004
I am doing Short Cuts for my A level. I really tried to like the story but i can't. They are so boring. I know we are supposed to read into the fiction- that the simple prose style allows us to look into these peoples lives. The dialogue is very convincing but is let down by a deep lack of coherence in the narrative and massive anticlimaxes. If this is a reflection of life in America.... then HELP

The Master of the Short Story Craft..., 21 Aug 2003
If you love Raymond Carver, or have yet to read any of his stories, this is a great book for you. These are selected stories by Carver, which inspired the movie "Short Cuts." Though I did enjoy the movie, reading the actual stories is ten times more satisfying.

Carver is a genius when it comes to the crafting of a short story. He's showed me that you don't need to have the most complex plot or the happiest ending in short stories. You don't even need a solid resolution. Carver creates some of the most memorable characters and is a pro when it comes to dialogue. These characters are faced with conflicts that can happen to anyone and anywhere. Some conflicts are small while others are major and life-changing. How these characters react to the situations thrown upon them are much like the way we could see ourselves dealing with them. That's why the stories work. They're very convincing and realistic.

I really enjoyed these stories. I liked the fact that some of these stories really caught me off guard. "Tell the Women We're Going," has to have one of the most horrifying and disturbing endings I have ever read in a story. I also liked the fact that these characters seem so real. It's like these are people you have known for all of your life. He writes the way people actually talk, and that is a great talent.

My favourite stories are, "They're Not Your Husband" "Neighbors," "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?" "A Small, Good Thing," "Tell the Women We're Going," and "So Much Water so Close to Home." These are very realistic stories that paint a picture of everyday life.

Raymond Carver was a brilliant writer. We need more like him. If you like Carver or you have yet to read any of his work, check out this book and read some of the stories. It doesn't have a lot, but the ones that are in here are very well done. A book I will read over and over again.

American Beauty!, 09 Dec 2001
Why are these Americans so damned good at writing quality short stories? I loved this book so much, I ran out and bought some of Carver's non-fiction too! Writing pared down to the essentials. Writing to make you gasp. It's such a pity that the Nobel Prize is only awarded to living authors.

no better example of the magic of the short story, 14 Jan 1999
Carver manages to create a sense of magic out of the ordinary. He sifts through the rough scraps of throw-away reality that make up l.a. or indeed any large city and he weaves them into a beautiful delicate whole.

A Patchy reminder of a great talent, one for completionists, 27 May 2005
I'm not sure about the problems of authenticity but this is typical of these kind of books. There are some pieces that really do hit you between the eyes and remind you what a truly fine writer Carver was. And there's a lot of more obscurer stuff that simply falls well short of his more enduring work.

Nevertheless, if you are a fan of Carver then this is worth getting and reading,. but overall the books main function is to remind you how greta the man was, and to encourage you to re-read the really great stuff.

Don't judge this book by its cover, 05 Sep 2002
There are only five new stories in this volume, and three of them may not even be completely Raymond Carver's work. Several reviewers have questioned their authenticity. The rest is all reprinted material from NO HEROICS PLEASE. So don't waste your money unless you are a true-blue Carver fan. The book is beautifully printed and looks nice on the shelf next to Carver's collected poems, which has a similar binding in hardcover.

The smallest details, 27 Jun 2008
I have been dipping in an out of this book for a few months inbetween reading longers novels. Every story in it is a pleasure. Carver is an expert in observing human relationships and human behaviour in general. He captures the wonder of everyday situations that most of us probably take for granted. His prose is simple and honest but the stories are very deep and meaningful. A lighter read than chekhov in my opinion;but but certainly not lighter in quality.

You can't go wrong with Carver, 17 Nov 2007
This man could write a short story. Every story is a mini-master piece from 'feathers' to 'where I'm calling from' to 'boxes', all managing to resonant at a deeply human level. It's the little tragedies that accumulate through everyday circumstance that Carver just chews up and spits out with a pared down even-handed prose. His stories manage to lever the most basic but cramped difficulties of life and always leaves the reader asking 'how the hell did he just do that?' This collection are his favourites and a brilliant introduction to the one of greatest short-story writers of all time.

No Regrets!, 16 Aug 2007
These short stories are simply brilliant! Carver writes about those tipping points in life, the moment when the effort to keep it all together gets too much, when the awkwardness can no longer be avoided. The dialogue is so convincing.... like a tape recorder which has been left running. The stories are told simply and honestly which belies their depth - human weakness is brought to the surface and whole lives are exposed.

The stories are mainly set in America's West Coast, but far from what you might expect - none of LA's glamour, fame and fortune to distract or hide in. No, these are ordinary people, their flaws do not seem excessive but their consequences bite. There are themes of breakdown, separation, isolation and alcohol, but there is also a diversity making each story unique.

In a story appropriately called 'Intimacy' we appear to come closest to the author, and the quote "I admit I hold to to dark view of things. Sometimes, anyway. But regret? I don't think so." But I don't find the stories altogether pessimistic or gloomy, there is a facing up to the truth which appears a positive step, even if there are no answers and the powers against seem over-whelming. (Samuel Beckett?)

Many of the stories have been blended into the equally brilliant and unique film 'Short Cuts,' so if you are familiar with the film you will certainly suffer flashbacks when reading the stories! To my mind, a small distraction and an added dimension.

Better than Chekov, 10 Apr 2007
The back cover quotes a review that calls Carver the American Chekhov. In my humble estimation, Chekhov could have learned a thing or two from Carver.

As others here have remarked, Carver's Spartan, beautiful prose recalls Hemingway. That and his devastating no nonsense, truthfulness and insights about humans. I think Carver's achievement with the short story is astonishing. I have that feeling (hopefully temporary) of "...what's the point in reading anyone else now...?"

The introduction by Carver is the best piece of advice about writing that I have encountered - not that I'm a writer.

This is one of my most prized literary possessions.


"I admit I hold to the dark view of things.", 11 Mar 2007
Where I'm Calling From is a collection of solidly good short stories but also a kind of autobiography. This was a man, remember, who, like Bukowski, had lived all the arguments and alcohol. You get the feeling, reading his stories back to back, that he just wanted to work out all his frustration at being for so long "your basic, normal, unaccomplished person". His characters all argue too much, drink too much, laugh at each other, fall broke, run away with boyfriends, sleep too little, and generally sing dispossession.

He gets this all out with his `Dirty Realism', reliant on short, physical sentences the accuracy of which recalls the stark realism of a Hopper painting. He saturates his stories with a forlorn solitude of neighbours and broken relationships; people stand fixed and mute at the telephone (as in Boxes, and Elephant); some are transfixed by neighbours coming and going; some hide, watching the world from behind curtains. In the later story, Menudo, he even recreates the stillness of a vanitas: "...a jar of metamucil, two grapefruits, a carton of cottage cheese, a quart of buttermilk, some potatoes and onions, and a package of ground meat that was beginning to change colour. Boy! I cried when I saw those things. I couldn't stop."

It was said of Chekhov, "He often expressed his thought not in speeches, but in pauses or between the lines or in replies consisting of a single word . . . the characters often feel and think things not expressed in the lines they speak". Similarly, Carver's technique, which relies so much on context for meaning, circumscribes his characters whilst we fill in the rest. The narrator of Intimacy, for example, has about ten lines in the whole story but his uneasy catharsis by the end is palpable. Even the baker of A Small, Good Thing, who is hardly there, we end up sympathising with completely. We manage to care about each of his characters, because we can somehow see ourselves stuck in the same world.
My personal favourites are Cathedral and Intimacy; they both re-work the main character's assumptions, and are good examples of what Carver calls the `enrichment' of his later writing, after all the hell-fire of alcoholism and unaccomplishment had passed behind him.

An American Classic, 31 Jul 2005
Short stories are one of my favourite forms, and Carver is masterful. His sparse prose reminds me of Hemingway, and his characters - all struggling with their own small-town psychoses - hit you directly from the page. I'm not the biggest fan of American literature, to be honest, but embarked on my first experience of Carver after recommendations from a friend (who is a huge fan). Carver's stories wheedle their way into your consciousness. His portraits of everyday yet remarkable people are sharp and linger long after the few pages devoted to each tale. There's still something cerebral rather than emotional about the stories, but this alienation is part of the package. If you want to see beautiful craftsmanship and feel in the mood to take the wry, sometimes deeply sad, stories of failed promise or everday accident, then Carver is a rewarding experience.

A good summation of Carver's work, 10 Apr 2006
Like his stories, this collection of Raymond Carver's work leaves us wanting more. It also provides a good overview of his regular themes and illustrates the breadth of his scope.

Before he died in 1988 at the age of 50, Carver had proved himself to be the greatest modern exponent of the short story in America. The stories in this collection include 'A Small, Good Thing', which was awarded the 1983 O. Henry Award. It also includes my favourite Carver story: the title story, 'Cathedral', which is so packed with emotion, clarity of thought, beauty and pain as to leave one breathless with admiration.

In my view, the short story is the pinnacle of prose writing and Carver is one of its few consistently successful exponents. This collection proves both points.

Excellent, 09 May 2000
The taut sentences of Carver's prose effectively contain and transmit the understated emotions and subtle conflicts that dominate everyday life.

Carver's people do little and say even less : beautifully, 15 Oct 1999
I started reading Carver having seen Altman's film Short Cuts, and mainly because of its very funny portrayal of ordinary white working class American lives. How so different to this same world as portrayed by Carver himself. I have never read such sparse and quiet a narrative often so absent of events but which speak so directly to you and with such caring insight into people and their problems. The events and problems are often not those which can be translated or put into words for the benefit of a non-reader - Carver weaves impressions and lingering emotions which relate the lives of his folk rather than spreading out bare their lives before you, although paradoxically this is in fact exactly what he does achieve by standing back and allowing characters to tell their own story.

I find Carver the most original and intuitive voice - the craft of short story writing is much the poorer for his death.

In the presence of greatness., 21 Jun 1999
...It is a conundrum that some of our greatest writers are so under-read if you like.

What you get with RAYMOND CARVER is a deep insight into human behaviour and emotion. His stories are often set around the mundane and frequently have no satisfactory resolution of the problems/situations that confront the main characters , but what a web this man spins. It is the sign of greaatness to do all of the above in such simple but effective language.

His style of writing is so different , that you may find like I did , that initially you are confused by the stories within this book. Persist. It took me about three stories until I skipped to THE STUDENT'S WIFE and then followed this by reading BICYCLES , MUSCLES, CIGARETTES .

SMACK!

They literally blew me away.

Buy this book and treasure the wisdom within I am not a re-reader of books but I found myself reading this again .

Rest in peace RAYMOND CARVER . You brought a devasting original voice into the short story form , and for that I salute you.

Absorbing and thought-provoking, 07 Jun 2007
These stories are all about characters facing a fact and making a change because of that fact - either their own mortality (Whoever Was Using This Bed), their failures as a husband and partner (Menudo) and their relationship with their mother (Boxes). They're all low-key and demand a second reading immediately as you finish them because there are so many nuances to Carver's characters and what they face that you find yourself picking up new layers on each subsequent reading.

My favourite story in the collection was Boxes - a story about a man dealing with is infuriating mother who has packed up to move to the other side of the country but still hasn't quite gotten around to doing it yet. It's a very sad story, in that you can feel the narrator's frustration at dealing with a mother who never listens to what he says but who he loves and feels obliged to nevertheless and the ending where she does leave and he realises that this is the last time that he will see her is particularly bittersweet.

softly bruising your soul, 18 Apr 2003
Read all of Raymond Carver's short stories. To begin there may not seem that much to them, but if you read slowly, taking in each of his precise words, you'll find the true impact of these heart wrenching stories- often a day or two later.
Carver shows us our quietest, loneliest moments. He makes no judgements, he just says: 'Here we are.' His short stories are gifts to humanity. Take the gift.

Beautifully written; a snapshot of small town America., 03 Feb 2000
The short stories in 'Elephant' are simply written without a hint of pretension and examine ordinary people facing everyday problems in small town America. The stories have no beginning nor an end and are merely a snapshot into people's lives. These snapshots are beautifully written, though sometimes it is necessary to read between the lines to absorb their full impact.

I really tried to like this, 12 Nov 2004
I am doing Short Cuts for my A level. I really tried to like the story but i can't. They are so boring. I know we are supposed to read into the fiction- that the simple prose style allows us to look into these peoples lives. The dialogue is very convincing but is let down by a deep lack of coherence in the narrative and massive anticlimaxes. If this is a reflection of life in America.... then HELP

The Master of the Short Story Craft..., 21 Aug 2003
If you love Raymond Carver, or have yet to read any of his stories, this is a great book for you. These are selected stories by Carver, which inspired the movie "Short Cuts." Though I did enjoy the movie, reading the actual stories is ten times more satisfying.

Carver is a genius when it comes to the crafting of a short story. He's showed me that you don't need to have the most complex plot or the happiest ending in short stories. You don't even need a solid resolution. Carver creates some of the most memorable characters and is a pro when it comes to dialogue. These characters are faced with conflicts that can happen to anyone and anywhere. Some conflicts are small while others are major and life-changing. How these characters react to the situations thrown upon them are much like the way we could see ourselves dealing with them. That's why the stories work. They're very convincing and realistic.

I really enjoyed these stories. I liked the fact that some of these stories really caught me off guard. "Tell the Women We're Going," has to have one of the most horrifying and disturbing endings I have ever read in a story. I also liked the fact that these characters seem so real. It's like these are people you have known for all of your life. He writes the way people actually talk, and that is a great talent.

My favourite stories are, "They're Not Your Husband" "Neighbors," "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?" "A Small, Good Thing," "Tell the Women We're Going," and "So Much Water so Close to Home." These are very realistic stories that paint a picture of everyday life.

Raymond Carver was a brilliant writer. We need more like him. If you like Carver or you have yet to read any of his work, check out this book and read some of the stories. It doesn't have a lot, but the ones that are in here are very well done. A book I will read over and over again.

American Beauty!, 09 Dec 2001
Why are these Americans so damned good at writing quality short stories? I loved this book so much, I ran out and bought some of Carver's non-fiction too! Writing pared down to the essentials. Writing to make you gasp. It's such a pity that the Nobel Prize is only awarded to living authors.

no better example of the magic of the short story, 14 Jan 1999
Carver manages to create a sense of magic out of the ordinary. He sifts through the rough scraps of throw-away reality that make up l.a. or indeed any large city and he weaves them into a beautiful delicate whole.

A Patchy reminder of a great talent, one for completionists, 27 May 2005
I'm not sure about the problems of authenticity but this is typical of these kind of books. There are some pieces that really do hit you between the eyes and remind you what a truly fine writer Carver was. And there's a lot of more obscurer stuff that simply falls well short of his more enduring work.

Nevertheless, if you are a fan of Carver then this is worth getting and reading,. but overall the books main function is to remind you how greta the man was, and to encourage you to re-read the really great stuff.

Don't judge this book by its cover, 05 Sep 2002
There are only five new stories in this volume, and three of them may not even be completely Raymond Carver's work. Several reviewers have questioned their authenticity. The rest is all reprinted material from NO HEROICS PLEASE. So don't waste your money unless you are a true-blue Carver fan. The book is beautifully printed and looks nice on the shelf next to Carver's collected poems, which has a similar binding in hardcover.

A Patchy reminder of a great talent, one for completionists, 27 May 2005
I'm not sure about the problems of authenticity but this is typical of these kind of books. There are some pieces that really do hit you between the eyes and remind you what a truly fine writer Carver was. And there's a lot of more obscurer stuff that simply falls well short of his more enduring work.

Nevertheless, if you are a fan of Carver then this is worth getting and reading,. but overall the books main function is to remind you how greta the man was, and to encourage you to re-read the really great stuff.

Don't judge this book by its cover, 05 Sep 2002
There are only five new stories in this volume, and three of them may not even be completely Raymond Carver's work. Several reviewers have questioned their authenticity. The rest is all reprinted material from NO HEROICS PLEASE. So don't waste your money unless you are a true-blue Carver fan. The book is beautifully printed and looks nice on the shelf next to Carver's collected poems, which has a similar binding in hardcover.