Short Story Reviews
In Kindling by Raymond Carver we have the theme of alcoholism, belief, revival, discovery, recovery and change. Taken from his Call If You Need Me collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and some readers may recognize the main character Myers from two other Carver short stories (Put Yourself […]
Read moreIn How About This? by Raymond Carver we have the theme of hopelessness, struggle, acceptance, change and separation. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and from the opening sentence of the story the reader realises that Carver is exploring […]
Read moreIn Popular Mechanics by Raymond Carver we have the theme of separation, conflict, struggle and communication (or rather the lack of it). Taken from his What We Talk About When We Talk About Love collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and the tone of the story is one […]
Read moreIn Put Yourself in My Shoes by Raymond Carver we have the theme of connection, identity, conflict, confrontation and writing. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and very early on in the story the reader realises that Carver may […]
Read moreIn The Lie by Raymond Carver we have the theme of conflict, confusion, uncertainty, honesty, trust and control. Taken from his Fires collection the story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed male narrator and from the beginning of the story the reader realises that Carver may be exploring the theme of conflict. […]
Read moreIn Will You Please Be Quiet, Please by Raymond Carver we have the theme of connection, fear, crisis, escape, defeat, memories, letting go and identity. Taken from his collection of the same name the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and very early on in the story the reader realises […]
Read moreIn Viewfinder by Raymond Carver we have the theme of loss, suffering, connection, loneliness, acceptance, letting go and moving on. Taken from his What We Talk About When We Talk About Love collection the story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator and from the beginning of the story the reader realises that Carver may be exploring […]
Read moreIn The Ducks by Raymond Carver we have the theme of connection, mortality, detachment, doubt, fear and conflict. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and from the beginning of the story the reader realises that Carver is using the […]
Read moreIn Are These Actual Miles by Raymond Carver we have the theme of appearance, infidelity, trust, consumerism, honesty and materialism. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet Please collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and very early on in the story the reader realises that Carver may […]
Read moreIn The Student’s Wife by Raymond Carver we have the theme of longing, confinement, desperation, paralysis and powerlessness. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator, however it does appear that the point of view of the narrator matches that of […]
Read moreIn What We Talk about When We Talk about Love by Raymond Carver we have the theme of love and the difficulties that can come with trying to define (through language) what love is. Taken from his collection of the same name the story is narrated in the first person by a man called Nick […]
Read moreIn Everything Stuck to Him by Raymond Carver we have the theme of identity, commitment, escape, maturity, responsibility, choices and unity. Taken from his What We Talk About When We Talk About Love collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and is a frame narrative (story within a story). […]
Read moreIn The Idea by Raymond Carver we have the theme of secrecy, privacy, excitement and voyeurism. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed female narrator and immediately the reader is brought into the sense of secrecy in the story. The narrator […]
Read moreIn Vandals by Raymond Carver we have the theme of friendship, loyalty, responsibility, acceptance, letting go and paralysis. Taken from his Call If You Need Me collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the reader realises that Carver may be exploring the theme or […]
Read moreIn I Could See the Smallest Things by Raymond Carver we have the theme of regret, change, control, paralysis and awareness. Taken from his What We Talk About When We Talk About Love collection the story is narrated in the first person by a middle-aged woman called Nancy and after reading the story the reader […]
Read moreIn What’s in Alaska? by Raymond Carver we have the theme of awareness, infidelity, trust, acceptance, freedom and paralysis (or inaction). Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator, however it does appear that the view-point of the narrator matches that […]
Read moreIn Mr Coffee and Mr Fixit by Raymond Carver we have the theme of change, conflict, connection, acceptance and alcoholism. Taken from his What We Talk About When We Talk About Love collection the story is narrated in first person by an unnamed narrator and very early on Carver introduces the reader to two of […]
Read moreIn Fever by Raymond Carver we have the theme of trust, helplessness, letting go and acceptance. Taken from his Cathedral collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and very early in the story the reader realises that Carver is exploring one of the main themes of the story, the […]
Read moreIn The Train by Raymond Carver we have the theme of connection, desperation and acceptance. Taken from his Cathedral collection, the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and is a follow up of a John Cheever short story called ‘The Five-Forty-Eight.’ What is interesting about the story it that there […]
Read moreIn Nobody Said Anything by Raymond Carver we have the theme of conflict, escape, desire, curiosity and resolution. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the first person by a young teenage boy called R. and begins with R. waking up and hearing his parents arguing. Immediately […]
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