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Cathedral

By Raymond Carver
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Cathedral by Raymond Carver is a collection of short stories that explore the lives of ordinary people dealing with personal challenges, misunderstandings, and moments of connection. He delves into themes such as isolation, communication, and the complexity of human relationships. Each story invites readers to ponder the subtle emotional dynamics between characters, often revealing deeper insights about life and intimacy.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're drawn to deeply human stories that explore ordinary life with acute emotional insight. The collection of short stories offers a glimpse into the complexities of human relationships and moments of personal revelation, making it perfect for readers who appreciate nuanced character studies and subtle, poignant narratives.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Raymond Carver said it was possible 'to write about commonplace things and objects using commonplace but precise language and endow these things - a chair, a window curtain, a fork, a stone, a woman's earring - with immense, even startling power'.

All the stories in Cathedral are different; some funny, some hauntingly sad. Each has its own individual and curious power' Daily Telegraph

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

'All the stories in Cathedral are different; some funny, some hauntingly sad. Each has its own individual and curious power' Daily Telegraph

Raymond Carver said it was possible 'to write about commonplace things and objects using commonplace but precise language and endow these things - a chair, a window curtain, a fork, a stone, a woman's earring - with immense, even startling power'. Nowhere is this alchemy more striking than in the title story of Cathedral in which a blind man guides the hand of a sighted man as together they draw the cathedral the blind man can never see. Many view this story, and indeed this collection, as a watershed in the maturing of Carver's work to a more confidently poetic style.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Raymond Carver's Cathedral is praised for its original vision and simple prose. The book is seen as cementing Carver's status as a distinctive new voice in American fiction, appreciated for his honest and compassionate storytelling. His writing is noted for its clear and heartfelt depiction of the world.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780099530336

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 05 November 2009

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 14.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 164g

Pages: 224

Collections

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About the Author

Raymond Carver was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, in 1938. His first short stories appeared in Esquire during Gordon Lish's tenure as fiction editor in the 1970s. Carver's work began to reach a wider audience with the 1976 publication of Will You Please be Quiet, Please, but it was not until the 1981 publication of What We Talk About When We Talk About Love under Gordon Lish, then at Knopf, that he began to achieve real literary fame. This collection was edited by more than 40 per cent before publication, and Carver dedicated it to his fellow writer and future wife, Tess Gallagher, with the promise that he would one day republish his stories at full length. He went on to write two more collections of stories, Cathedral and Elephant, which moved away from the earlier minimalist style into a new expansiveness, as well as several collections of poetry. He died in 1988, aged fifty.

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