Cathedral (short story collection)

Cathedral is the third major-press collection of short stories by American writer Raymond Carver, published in 1983.[1]

Cathedral
First edition cover, 1983
AuthorRaymond Carver
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreShort story
PublisherKnopf
Publication date
1983
Media typePrint
Pages228
813/.54
LC ClassPS3553.A7894 C3 1983

Reception

Cathedral was enthusiastically received by critics. In The New York Times book Review, critic Irving Howe wrote:

Mr. Carver has been mostly a writer of strong but limited effects - the sort of writer who shapes and twists his material to a high point of stylization. In his newest collection of stories, Cathedral, there are a few that suggest he is moving toward a greater ease of manner and generosity of feeling; but in most of his work it's his own presence, the hard grip of his will, that is the strongest force. It's not that he imposes moral or political judgments; in that respect, he's quite self-effacing. It's that his abrupt rhythms and compressions come to be utterly decisive."[2]

The Washington Post wrote that "there are no arid places in Cathedral. Instead there are a dozen stories that overflow with the danger, excitement, mystery and possibility of life."[3]

The stories

The collection contains the following stories:

  • "Feathers"
  • "Chef's House"
  • "Preservation"
  • "The Compartment"
  • "A Small, Good Thing" - An extended version of his earlier short story "The Bath".
  • "Vitamins"
  • "Careful"
  • "Where I'm Calling From"
  • "The Train"
  • "Fever"
  • "The Bridle"
  • "Cathedral" - Narrated by a man whose wife is old friends with a blind man, the story shows the husband/narrator's distaste for the blind man who is coming to visit him and his wife for a few days. At times it seems that the man is jealous of the blind man for being so close to his wife; at other times it seems that the husband is disgusted by the man's blindness. In the end they bond in a way through the communication they share about what a cathedral looks like.
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References
  • Carver, Raymond. Cathedral New York: Knopf (1983); London: Collins (1984)
  1. "CATHEDRAL | Kirkus Reviews" – via www.kirkusreviews.com.
  2. Irving Howe, "Stories of Our Loneliness," The New York Times Book Review, September 11, 1983.
  3. Yardley, Jonathan (September 4, 1983). "Ordinary People From An Extraordinary Writer" – via www.washingtonpost.com.


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