Cathedral (Vintage Contemporaries) (edit title)

• Rated 5 stars

“A short story master. Eloquent and sparse, yet powerful”

• Rated 3 stars

“While "Where I'm Calling From" and "Cathedral" are probably two of the best short-stories in American literature, the rest of the stories in this collection don't reach the same high-water mark. These are snapshots into the mundane lives of ordinary people - which may be poetic in one sense but makes for a boring read in another. While there isn't much happening in the stories, Carver's pacing is also painfully slow at times. Nonetheless, Carver is a master of the craft - what he does with point-of-view is amazing. I recommend this book to all short-story writers - take notes - there's much to learn from Carver's style.”

• Rated 5 stars

“Fantastic reading - Carver is one of the best writers of this age.”

• Rated 5 stars

“Man, I don’t think I would have ever developed a serious interest in reading or writing if it weren’t for Raymond Carver’s Cathedral. Carver showed me this low-key, minimalist approach for evoking the saddest stories that made you laugh at the same time. Did you ever see “Short Cuts”? (or am I showing my age?) I think they used his “A Small, Good Thing” as part of their ensemble. They used this hokey country and western singer to play the role of the baker, and man, I think he nailed it. I’m not sure of his acting abilities, but he absolutely terrorized this poor family. It’s not like he had anything evil in his heart either. He was just taking care of business…
I think that’s probably Carver’s secret to success. He can dig down into our everyday behavior for his stories.
My favorite part of Carver’s story comes at the end when the grieving parents of the dead boy confront the baker in his shop with the horrible news, and the baker ends up feeding the two with hot rolls out of his oven. I mean, what else could he do? That’s what he does. That’s what got him in trouble in the first place. I remember how they sat there, the three of them together, talking in front of the fogged up windows until the morning came. Like tomorrow was another day…
Once you get done with “A Small, Good Thing” please go to “Fever”. I think that one has to be my all time favorite!
Paz,
Jam Maestro Jay”

• Rated 3 stars

“so wonderful”

• Rated 0 stars

“I was totally mystified by this. I read the first four stories and had no idea what they were about and why they ended when they did and found it all baffling and not in any way interesting.”

• Rated 5 stars

“One of my favorite story tellers. This is a great collection.”

• Rated 5 stars

“all of the stories in this book were wonderfully written. Real standouts are the title story, "Where I'm Calling From", and "A Small, Good Thing"”