January 2004
Book Selection:
Cathedral
by Raymond Carver
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From the publisher:
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 a 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.
About the author:
Raymond Carver was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, in 1938. He married early and for years writing had to come second to earning a living for his young family. Despite, small-press publication, it was not until "Will You Please Be Quiet Please?" appeared in 1976 that his work began to reach a wider audience. This was the year in which he gave up alcohol, which had contributed to the collapse of his marriage. In 1977 he met the writer Tess Gallagher, with whom he shared the last eleven years of his life. During this prolific period he wrote three collections of stories: "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love," "Cathedral" and "Elephant." "Fires," a collection of essays, poems and stories, appeared in 1985, followed by three further collections of poetry. In 1988 he completed the poetry collection "A New Path to the Waterfall."
Stories in this collection:
"Feathers"
"Chef's House"
"Preservation"
"The Compartment"
"A Small, Good Thing"
"Vitamins"
"Careful"
"Where I'm Calling From"
"The Train"
"Fever"
"The Bridle"
"Cathedral"
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