Rating: 
Summary: What else is there?
Review: Unlike so many writers who came before him, Carver cuts to the bone--with a sharp, jagged knife. Sometimes what you find there isn't what you were looking for: the epiphanies aren't astounding; you're not going to scream anything (especially not Eureka!). No, Carver will, though, leave you nodding, talking to yourself ("It's just like that, isn't it?"), as you fill your glass and wonder why you were fooled by the gloss and shimmer of modern living. "A Small, Good Thing," "Feathers," "Cathedral"--these are contemporary masterpieces. You know they are because when you're done reading them you can't tell whether you've been cheated or rewarded beyond your investment--it's the latter, it's the latter! What do you give to a short story? An hour, maybe? Usually, you give less. What do you hope to take with you? A smile? A smirk? Certainly, no answers? Ah! But, guess what? Carver answers questions nobody who is well paid and well fed and not dying for a drink wouldn't ever think of asking. Not that you have to be desperate to get it. But if you are (in your own secret, silent way), then read these stories. The flowers won't be any brighter, the sky any clearer, when you're done. But you'll see yourself a bit more clearly (more honestly, I almost want to say, but how many of us do that?) and maybe understand those people you've never understood, who don't waste too much time trying to amuse themselves.
Rating:
Summary: so simple/so complex
Review: Upon finishing the title story i just laid on my bed and stared at the book for a few minutes. Then I went out on the back porch to smoke a cigarette. About three or four drags later emotion gave way to physical expression and I quietly began to cry.
Rating:
Summary: Carver at his most sentimental
Review: Why do so many people feel that this collection is depressing? Carver's earlier stories were a lot more bleak (though equally excellent). The best stories in "Cathedral" actually end on a note of optimism (this is relative to Carver's other work, remember): see the great title story, "Fever", and my favorite, "A Small, Good Thing", the famous revision of "The Bath" from "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love". But, depressing or not--who cares, really? What matters is the art that Carver used to craft his fiction. Read these stories and enjoy them--and yes, you can enjoy the "depressing" ones just as much as the uplifting ones if you have any idea how to really read.
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