Monday, March 7, 2022

Moody Monday Book Review - Cathedral (short stories) by Raymond Carver


 For a mere fifty cents at the library book sale, I bought Cathedral by Raymond Carver. It's a collection of short stories from the early 1980s and considered some of his best work. 

jealousy, insecurity, isolation, detachment and connection

Old Raymond is a bummer to read. Then again, he captures a lot of quiet desperation against stark backdrops. 

Yes, the writing is good but it was a bit jarring here in 2022. The man was an alcoholic and every story, every character practically starts their day with a drink and continues from there. Plenty of smoking too. It seemed a bit dated, like watching some old black and white films. 

I try to revisit classics, but this was a tough one. 


4 comments:

  1. Sounds like it's good it was only 50 cents. But, one never knows until one reads a book. As the saying goes, you can't judge a book by it's cover. And you helped the library, so that's a win win. Now you have a book to pass on, recycle or perhaps drop off at a used book store.
    Traveling Suitcase

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    1. indeed. It was worth a shot and it's already in the used book bag.

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  2. Hi Joanne - I've never heard of Carver ... but I'll certainly keep an eye open. Difficult reads - always open our minds to things ... thanks for alerting us - cheers Hilary

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    1. I remember reading some of his short stories a long time ago in English class and analyzing his style. Now, at least in this collection, the stories seemed so dated.

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