Raymond Carver's complete uncollected fiction and nonfiction, including the recently discovered "last" stories, found a decade after Carver's death...
read full description
reviews
Sep 21, 2011
Patrick
rated it: 
Raymond Carver has been a favorite writer of mine since college, and when I saw Call If You Need Me: The Uncollected Fiction and Others Prose, I decided to revisit an old friend. The new stories are solid, but not like my favorites “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” or “Are These Original Miles” or “What’s In Alaska.” The prose is informative since it tells us about his literary inclinations, influences and opinions on writing and other subjects. It was nice to revisit an old favorite,
More...
Oct 25, 2010
Sarah
rated it: 
This book is a made up of previously uncollected short stories, intros and essays written by Carver, and book reviews he penned as well. My favourite of all the short stories is the title one, "Call If You Need Me," in which a middle-aged couple decides to move to an isolated little beach house in Northern California or Southern Oregon to put their marriage back together. They leave their other lovers and kids and family behind and spend just a little while together to see if things ca
More...
Jul 11, 2008
Richard
rated it:
I guess it was bound to happen one day--Carver died when I was in college, when I was still a young writer who was finding inspiration from his work. I didn't really mean to, but I most likely built a kind of Carver mythology in my head and made the mistake of taking my reverence for his writing as a reason to also revere the man as a wise soul. Perhaps it was also knowing the story of the Lish-Carver split, of a writer who broke free from the confines of an editor who had helped bring him to no
More...
Mar 13, 2008
Danger
rated it:
I don’t think it would be fair of me to judge Carver by this book alone, and I haven’t ever read him before. Published posthumously by his wife, it groups together several unpublished stories, a novel fragment, and far too many essays and book reviews.
The stories were, by and large, beautiful, and quite literally close to home for me. He knows how to tell an honest story about heartbreak, alcoholism, and the Northwest, and since my life up to this point has been one of those, I c More...
The stories were, by and large, beautiful, and quite literally close to home for me. He knows how to tell an honest story about heartbreak, alcoholism, and the Northwest, and since my life up to this point has been one of those, I c More...
May 13, 2010
Greg
rated it:
In retrospect maybe this book isn't worth four stars. Stories that at the time of his death hadn't been collected in books yet, along with some essays about writing and literature. Yet another review for a book I read at some indeterminate number of years ago that I remember very little about. In lieu of a real review, here is a piece I'd like to call:
What I Thought about When I Thought about Raymond Carver Today.
Thinking about what to write today I was thinking More...
What I Thought about When I Thought about Raymond Carver Today.
Thinking about what to write today I was thinking More...
14 comments
like
(7 people liked it)
Aug 26, 2008
Christian
rated it:
Well, it's a mixed bag. Some of the stories are great (Dreams, Kindling in the group of new ones, The hair in the group of "only published in magazines). Some of the essays are beautiful and moving (My father's live, On writing). But the rest is just there for completeness. For example, the prologues and the reviews read in sequence get a bit repetitive and plain. Still, Carver is such a great writer that a turn of a phrase in a boring story can sometimes redeem it. My conclusion is this: h
More...
Dec 17, 2009
Nicholas
rated it:
"Emptiness is the beginning of all things"
-from his Uncollected Short Story "Kindling"
Carver recieved a letter from Chekov - one that inspired Carver to write the stories he wrote:
"Friend, you don't have to write about extrodinary people who accomplish extrodinary and memorable deeds"
-Chekov
My interperation of this quote is life isn't composed of the "extrodinary" but rather the " More...
-from his Uncollected Short Story "Kindling"
Carver recieved a letter from Chekov - one that inspired Carver to write the stories he wrote:
"Friend, you don't have to write about extrodinary people who accomplish extrodinary and memorable deeds"
-Chekov
My interperation of this quote is life isn't composed of the "extrodinary" but rather the " More...
Feb 08, 2010
Matthew
rated it:
It's touching how Carver looked up to Leonard Gardner when he was in his community college creative writing class, a guy with a flat top and unpublished novels he carried around in boxes. Gardner gave Carver the key to his office so he could write on Sundays and on those Sundays he would see Gardner arrive with his wife through the window and watch them enter the church across the street.
Aug 25, 2008
M.
rated it:
The book is described as "the uncollected fiction" of Raymond Carver but it is more like the unfinished fiction of Carver. After reading so many of Carver's other collected work, I was surprised at how different these stories were--surprised enough to do a bit of research about this book and Carver. I learned that Carver had a heavy-handed editor. Not a bad thing sometimes when he edited out the sentimentality by editing out thousands of words in some of Carver's stories. The editor al
More...
Nov 23, 2008
Litbitch
rated it:
Carver is one of my favorite short story writers, and it's nice to read uncollected works of his. But his introductions and essays aren't particularly enlightening, and the stories aren't his best. A little redundant at times. It made me want to go back and read his short story collections (one of which has apparently gone missing; damn friends).
Aug 06, 2009
Masamune's Song
rated it:
I found this quite difficult to get through. It gets an extra star because Carver is an excellent writer, and this book has some very rich writing advice.
But a great deal of this book is devoted to essays written to specific audiences (that are never explained) and book reviews. I have just read a stack of book reviews for books I have never heard of.
Carver's later, more popular short stories are works that I need to have explained to me. His early works, to me anyw More...
But a great deal of this book is devoted to essays written to specific audiences (that are never explained) and book reviews. I have just read a stack of book reviews for books I have never heard of.
Carver's later, more popular short stories are works that I need to have explained to me. His early works, to me anyw More...
Oct 22, 2010
چشم هایم خیلی وقت پیش باز شد،اما همون وقت هم دیگر خیلی دیر بود.بعد از آن دفعه که ول کردی و رفتی مثل این بود که نمی دانستم چه بلایی سرم آمده.انگار زندگی متوقف شده بود.زندگی ادامه داشت و بعد یک دفعه ایستاد.ایستادنی با صدای ناهنجار.بدترین احساسی بود که داشتم.یکی دیگر برای خودت پیدا کردی؟نه؟تا مدت های مدید دل شکسته بودم.از سر تجربه می گویم که این اندوه بارترین کلمه در زبان است.من تمام کردم
More...
Oct 25, 2010
Aaron
rated it:
3.5 stars. This collection has 4 newer stories, along with previously collected essays and poems, including the excellent essay on inspiration, "Fires".
Mar 05, 2011
Oleg
rated it:
Raymond Carver is a gifted short story writer but collections like this, which present works like introductions, reviews, and small essays without the benefit of context do him a disservice. While the short stories here (the newer much more than the older) are typical quality Carver, everything else is limited to occasionally quotable snippets amongst, for example, descriptions of now random short stories to follow.
A book like this is for big Carver fans, and should be avoided by mer More...
A book like this is for big Carver fans, and should be avoided by mer More...
Nov 03, 2010
Carver's last 5 short stories, and lots of essays, and excerpt of an unfinished novel (?). Am enjoying reading this a lot.
Nov 22, 2011
Sean
rated it:
Stories and Essays and Prose were all awesome, not so much on the Book reviews
Nov 19, 2008
Tina
rated it:
love raymond carver. these are assorted writings. really enjoying picking it up and being moved for a few minutes. Also nice to find out that he has heavily influenced the writings of a friend. I was aware of him when in high school. He was compared to Hemingway and I had discovered Hemingway and so I sought out Carver. I remember hearing he died when I was at City College and it was shocking to hear that he was much younger than he seemed. It's comforting to revisit his towns.
Mar 17, 2008
Jeremy
rated it:
Not a true collection of Carver's work, this was published posthumously if I remember correctly, and contains several short stories along with essays ranging from reviews of other authors to his personal thoughts on writing. Kindling is a fantastic story and he is probably the best short story writer I've read. For me, he pummels Updike. I would recommend this for aspiring writers and devoted fans of Carver. If you're looking for an introduction I would steer you toward Cathedral.
Mar 01, 2011
Rodney
rated it:
The essays make this essential Carver. The five previously unpublished stories are good, with "Kindling" probably being my favorite, but none of them rank anywhere near his best work.
Apr 07, 2011
Sean
rated it:
I was introduced to Raymond Carver's work about seven years ago while studying for my MFA in Creative Writing and he quickly rose to the top of my favorites list. His sparse prose fleshes out very human stories that deal with the life often lived in the margins while we aspire to an expectation of what society demands of us. Like all his works, I found this an instructive and engrossing read!
Dec 17, 2009
Thomas
rated it: 
It's Raymond Carver- what else do I need to say!!
The book includes a group of 5 previously unpublished stories, 5 essays, 5 of his earliest published stories, part of The Augustiune Notebook, and several book reviews and comments on other works.
It's a great condensed look into the Carver's mind. Definetly a must-have for short-story writers and readers.
The book includes a group of 5 previously unpublished stories, 5 essays, 5 of his earliest published stories, part of The Augustiune Notebook, and several book reviews and comments on other works.
It's a great condensed look into the Carver's mind. Definetly a must-have for short-story writers and readers.
Jan 26, 2008
Laura
rated it:
I love anything by Carver but this book taught me the most about him because it has his unfinished work as well as his famous stories and some of his essays, etc. so you feel like you get in his head. Whatever he writes sticks with me forever. "The Hair" is one story always running through my mind, even though it's not one of his more well-known works.
Sep 12, 2008
Christie
rated it:
Carver was an excellent writer and worked at the craft of writing. This collection of short stories, memoirs, and reviews was wonderful. If you want an introduction to Carver, I suggest this one, but I also suggest the collection "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?"
May 09, 2008
Nancy
rated it:
I read all the short stories in the "Uncollected Stories" section of the book. It's amazing how one can convey so much emotion, not only by using words sparingly, but by making note of the smallest nuances that take place in the everyday interactions between human beings.
Jun 30, 2008
Red
rated it:
This month's selection for the Short Attention Span Book Club. We meet at Red Hill the third Monday in July at 6:30pm.
Then mosey over to Progressive Grounds for tea and talk.
Somewhere between Ava Gardner and Paul Auster lies Raymond Carver.
Then mosey over to Progressive Grounds for tea and talk.
Somewhere between Ava Gardner and Paul Auster lies Raymond Carver.
Mar 08, 2008
Zoe
rated it:
There are a lot of different things in this collection and I didn't read all of them. My favorite part was "Five Essays and a Meditation", which included a couple of great pieces about writing and Carver's time as a student under John Gardner.
Jul 11, 2007
Simon A.
rated it:
The short stories here are not his best and I sort of wish they hadn't been included, but his essays are phenomenal. I'd recommend anyone interested in becoming a writer read his critiques with intense focus. "No tricks."
Feb 04, 2010
Peter
rated it:
This is my first experience with Carver. I made it through the fiction only. He is a wonderful writer but none appear to hold hope or redemption as possibilities. His must have been a sad, alienated, and boozy life.
