The past two weeks, Raymond Carver - short story writer and poet - has been putting me to sleep. But not in a bad way. More in a dull soul ache or the grasping, lingering fingers of the day. His short stories are those of every day people, doing every day sorts of things, seemingly bland until you realize that the people (and their actions) are so much more than just that. The rabbit hole goes even deeper and as you fall, you pick up speed. There are alcoholics, wife abusers, nosy neighbors, fighting couples, easily imaginable as people that you and I know. To me, Carver's stories are like a piece of a puzzle. He's found a corner piece, let's say, and starts building around it, adding snippets about the characters, a few insights into their motivations and their fears. But then, almost a little abruptly, the short story ends. He's completed maybe 20% of the puzzle and in some cases, only 5%. The rest of it is up to your mind. What does the bigger picture (literally) look like? It allows the reader to create, to elaborate on the story in his or her mind. Of course this is only a reflection of how you see everyone else's "real" life. When you meet / interact with someone, have you got a hold of a corner piece, an edge, or maybe even just the blank space where a missing piece should have been? Before I tumble off into dreamland, I place my bookmark between the pages and give Mr. Carver a salute or a hat tip... and then let my imagination take me the rest of the way.
i first read carver when i was a teenager and at first i put one of his books down and thought "ugh, that was depressing! and for what?!" i didn't like him. or so i thought. then i realized i thought about his characters every single day long after i read that first book. i could picture them perfectly at their shabby tables, or in a dim lit smoke-filled room. it didn't take me long to realize that while there was always a sort of uncomfortableness while reading his work, and he wasn't going to tie anything up with a bow for you, i loved him. he is now one of my most favorites ever. i love his writing style.
ReplyDeleteI'm ashamed to admit I don't think I've read Raymond Carver at all.:( I find that except for Salinger's works, I never read too many short stories in my leisure time. Must really change this.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge fan of short stories, but these are intriguing, I'll admit. I love stories like this and if you and Christine give him a thumbs up, I'm on board!
ReplyDeleteyou've piqued my interest! i wanna check him out!
ReplyDeletesometimes it kills me when it's left up to my imagination but other times i love it. i haven't heard of raymond carver but you bet i'll be google-ing him after this post :)
ReplyDeleteI do love short stories...definitely going to read him sometime soon!
ReplyDeleteIt's not that I like 100% tidy endings, some ambiguity and reader-input is necessary, but only 5% of the story? Dude, that would frustrate me to no end! I try to read before falling asleep, but I never make it more than 10 pages. I always think I'm going to get a lot accomplished and then I'm OUT. xo
ReplyDeleteSounds like my kind of thing! I will check his short stories out! Thanks for always having such great recommendations!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to add him to my reading list!
ReplyDeleteI think I would like his stories--I enjoy making up background stories for people I encounter. The kids seem to get a kick out of it.
ReplyDeleteadded to my reading list :)
ReplyDeleteI do love Raymond Carver. Sigh.
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