Sr3yas's Reviews > Cathedral

I had no Idea who Raymond Carver was before I picked this collection of short stories. Of course, I asked the great oracles of the Internet to feed me information about him, and they told me that Mr.Carver is one of the American literary gods who revived the dying short story literary form in the 80s. My primary concern was for the short story medium that almost died in the 80s, and don't worry, I checked and they are thriving nowadays.

As I read Carver's stories, I understood that he is a maestro in creating minimalistic stories that hold a plethora of themes inside its simple exterior. To be honest, his stories can be considered as disguised ciphers, as while reading, you may think the story is about bananas, but in fact, It might just be about the potassium and carbohydrates or even oranges.

The bananas are just a metaphor, Carver never wrote about bananas to my knowledge. His themes were repetitive, yet effective, and he wrote about isolation, loneliness, alcoholism, marriages, miscommunication, and the human condition. Most of the stories in Cathedral uses middle-class couples and their marriages as stage setting, and from there Carver unleashes a torrent of words to create effective stories.

There were twelve short stories, and while I enjoyed all of them, these are my top three picks:

A Small, Good Thing: This one hit me hard. Too hard, to be honest. It's about a couple in a hospital waiting for the news about their young son's recovery from a hit-and-run case. The pain, the uncertainty, and the fear are so well written that you couldn't help but be in the room with the characters. If I am asked to recommend one serious short story to anyone, this will be the one I endorse.



Feathers: This one is about an evening dinner with two colleagues and their wives. The story is filled with metaphors and bewildering domestic moments, but it was the uncomfortable feelings of the characters, that kind of osmosis to the reader, made me enjoy this story immensely.



The Compartment: In this story, we find ourselves riding a train with a man who is traveling to meet his estranged son. Richly told, and it was the implication of the story's finale which made me love this tale.

Parting thoughts

Carver writes stories which are brimming with life. Yes, it is a depressing set, but no one can ever accuse them of being dull. Also, If you are the right kind of audience, it will invoke insecurities and fears you never knew you had.

It sure did for me.