Raymond Carver

[superunknown]

We are moving house today so yesterday we were throwing out all the junk that we didn't want to keep for the move, including all the masses of unread paperbacks we've accumulated over the years. I picked up a collection of short stories by Raymond Carver called Where I'm Calling From, and upon seeing the front cover describing him as "one of the great short story writers of our time - of any time," though I'm familiar with how references in books can sometimes grossly exaggerate the value of mediocre works, I flipped through it to see if there was anything interesting. What a revelation. I've only read 3 stories so far (Fat, Little Things, Chef's House) as I'm currently finishing up "The Dead" from Dubliners for the book club, but they are extremely engaging and original, with really dark humor. I'll definitely be reading this whole collection and maybe getting a few others of his too.

[Morten]

I don't know if I would credit Carver with a dark sense of humour. It's probably there, but it isn't the first thing that springs to mind when I think of his name.

I find him incredibly human and honest, always achieving maximum emotion from a minimal - but very strict and disciplined - use of words. His characters are outwardly unremarkable; lower middle class-ish with mediocre jobs, often divorced or dealing with an ex-wife or husband, frequently alcoholic, frequently emotionally rock-bottomed, leading those "quiet lives of desperation". Think of stories like "Where I'm Calling From", "Cathedral", "A Small Good Thing", "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love"...

Considering the fascination with wealth and glamour, celebrities and TV-personalities, Carver's naked and honest portraits of America's forgotten men and women seems extra powerful, at least to this self-professed Carver-admirer.