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Cattedrale
L'opera più importante, amata e celebrata di Raymond Carver. 55.000 copie vendute.
Raymond Carver è unanimemente riconosciuto come un classico della letteratura americana del Novecento. Le sue storie di esistenze normali, popolate da personaggi comuni e raccontate in uno stile limpido e potente, hanno conquistato nel corso degli anni i lettori di tutto il mondo e ispirato u...more
Raymond Carver è unanimemente riconosciuto come un classico della letteratura americana del Novecento. Le sue storie di esistenze normali, popolate da personaggi comuni e raccontate in uno stile limpido e potente, hanno conquistato nel corso degli anni i lettori di tutto il mondo e ispirato u...more
Paperback, Biblioteca editori associati di tascabili #2, 221 pages
Published
January 1st 2010
by Beat
(first published 1983)
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The name 'Carver' is a fit for the writer's name. He does carve his stories well.
'Chef's House' - his first New Yorker publication - had me reading it repeatedly, amazed at the poise and spareness of the prose, while ever acknowledging the danger of the story careening to a place I didn't want it to. This is the thing with Carver's stories. They create some dread and then they take you to the source of that dread.
'Chef's House' - his first New Yorker publication - had me reading it repeatedly, amazed at the poise and spareness of the prose, while ever acknowledging the danger of the story careening to a place I didn't want it to. This is the thing with Carver's stories. They create some dread and then they take you to the source of that dread.
This book changed my life, sent me on my way to becoming a writer, and quite literally was the reason my girlfriend and I got together. Yeah. Soul mates. Me and Carver.
After years of being told that Raymond Carver was the epitome of quality short story writing I finally read one of his books. I'm all in favour of sparse, concise prose that describe the minutiae of everyday life if it offers reveals the extraordinary within the ordinary. With many of the stories in "Cathedral" I kept thinking, "And...?" I did not feel that Carver's subtle observations amounted to any great insight. The only story that lingers in my mind is "A Small, Good Thing" in which a coupl...more
4 likes · like · see review
There's a scene in Raymond Carver's short story 'Cathedral' that vaguely outlines the workings of great literature.
Here we have a blind visitor guiding his seeing host in drawing a cathedral. As a final touch the blind man asks his host to close his eyes and draw some people. "What's a cathedral without people?" he says.
The blind guides, the seeing follows. We feel this is not impossible, no. It's happening as we read it.
Here we have a blind visitor guiding his seeing host in drawing a cathedral. As a final touch the blind man asks his host to close his eyes and draw some people. "What's a cathedral without people?" he says.
The blind guides, the seeing follows. We feel this is not impossible, no. It's happening as we read it.
So we kept on with it. His fingers rode my fingers as my hand went over t...more
8 likes · like · see review
Avete presente quei libri che si leggono da bambini, mi sembra che li chiamino libri animati, che hanno delle linguette laterali? Tu le tiri e sulla pagina ti si rivela un’immagine, oppure magicamente si alza una figura e la pagina diventa 3D. Spero di essermi spiegata. Comunque, ecco, la sensazione che ho avuto leggendo questo libro di Carver è stata così. Un’esperienza rivelatrice, illuminante.
I critici, parlando dei racconti di Carver, li descrivono come onesti. Sono d’accordo, se con onestà...more
I critici, parlando dei racconti di Carver, li descrivono come onesti. Sono d’accordo, se con onestà...more
16 likes · like · see review
This is my favorite collection of short stories bar none. I'm even impressed with the the way in which the collection is arranged. The title story comes last, if I remember correctly and it's a perfect bookend and the strongest here. It may be his most famous. My best pal Andy turned me on to Carver a long time ago and if I never learn Aikido like we had contracted to do, he will be winner by default because of this recommendation. Again, if you need your characters actually doing things (chasin...more
May 05, 2012
Paul
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
modern-classic,
short-modern-americans
Just another genius collection of laconic grimly funny or just grim short stories by Carver, like his other four. My favourites :
“Feathers”. A guy and his wife are invited for dinner at a workmate’s house. Bud and Olla have a peacock and a really ugly baby. (“Even calling it ugly does it credit.”)
“Preservation”. A guy loses his job and his life disintegrates. The fridge breaks down. His wife gets ready to go to an auction to buy a new one. That's all, folks.
“A Small Good Thing”. A boy is hit b...more
“Feathers”. A guy and his wife are invited for dinner at a workmate’s house. Bud and Olla have a peacock and a really ugly baby. (“Even calling it ugly does it credit.”)
“Preservation”. A guy loses his job and his life disintegrates. The fridge breaks down. His wife gets ready to go to an auction to buy a new one. That's all, folks.
“A Small Good Thing”. A boy is hit b...more
19 likes · like · see review
Sep 28, 2007
J.P.
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
short story writers, short fiction fans
On Christmas Eve, 1989, I sat in my room as snow fell outside. I was 20 years old. That night, I read this book cover-to-cover. I didn't mean to---Carver's voice and characters just grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let go. It's one of the few books I've ever read in one sitting.
These characters, I found, weren't like 'made-up' people from most other fiction I'd read up to that time. They were my friends, neighbors, coworkers---and to some extent, me.
Upon completing Cathedral, I was certain of t...more
These characters, I found, weren't like 'made-up' people from most other fiction I'd read up to that time. They were my friends, neighbors, coworkers---and to some extent, me.
Upon completing Cathedral, I was certain of t...more
OK, so the craft and the talent of/behind these stories is undoubted, but there was very little about them to love.
They were mostly about endings and people keeping on anyway. Sometimes they had a shred of hope like in the title story or "Where I'm Calling From", but mostly it was about keeping your head down and just accepting the dull current of life.
This is the first time in a long time that I've felt too young to have read something. I can get a bit down and moody on occasion, but the next t...more
They were mostly about endings and people keeping on anyway. Sometimes they had a shred of hope like in the title story or "Where I'm Calling From", but mostly it was about keeping your head down and just accepting the dull current of life.
This is the first time in a long time that I've felt too young to have read something. I can get a bit down and moody on occasion, but the next t...more
Brilliant, Brutal, Devastating - these short stories by the preeminent artist of dirty realism manage to chip away the universals other writers deem necessary and lay bare the particulars, the mundane, the absurd in everyday life. Carver must have had a craggy, unsentimental stare, coz he is always bloody right on target.
2 likes · like · see review
Alla fine, in piedi, ho riconosciuto qualche volto. Forse non proprio amico, ma almeno un po' familiare. Istantanee, sempre. Minimaliste le chiamano in America, dicono. Sarò più propensa alle ottocentesche sperimentazioni, mi sa.
Toccante, però, il racconto Una piccola, buona cosa.
Toccante, però, il racconto Una piccola, buona cosa.
نمی دانم...
بین 3 و 4 سرگردانم!
بعضی قصه هایش، بعضی لحظه هایش و به خصوص دو نوشته ی اوّل کتاب (اسم یکی اش شور بود، آن یکی را یادم نیست) لایق 4 اند.
و به خصوص به دلیل بصیرتی که به واسطه ی این کتاب نسبت به موضع خودم درباره ی نوشتن و نوشتن داستان کوتاه پیدا کردم، بایستی بهش 4 بدهم...
امّا درست به دلیل همان بصیرت و به دلیل آن که با خواندن این کتاب مطمئن شدم که هرگز نمی خواهم داستان کوتاه هایی مثل این بنویسم، برایم 3 ستاره است...
و حالا که بهتر فکر می کنم، می بینم که باید بهش 5 بدهم، چون بسیار و بی نهایت م...more
بین 3 و 4 سرگردانم!
بعضی قصه هایش، بعضی لحظه هایش و به خصوص دو نوشته ی اوّل کتاب (اسم یکی اش شور بود، آن یکی را یادم نیست) لایق 4 اند.
و به خصوص به دلیل بصیرتی که به واسطه ی این کتاب نسبت به موضع خودم درباره ی نوشتن و نوشتن داستان کوتاه پیدا کردم، بایستی بهش 4 بدهم...
امّا درست به دلیل همان بصیرت و به دلیل آن که با خواندن این کتاب مطمئن شدم که هرگز نمی خواهم داستان کوتاه هایی مثل این بنویسم، برایم 3 ستاره است...
و حالا که بهتر فکر می کنم، می بینم که باید بهش 5 بدهم، چون بسیار و بی نهایت م...more
Although most of the stories have similar texture (style, suburban setting, middle-aged adults with some sort of marital tension, etc.), each one feels entirely rich and unique. The stories are diverse in their aspirations, and the overall collection explores the human condition from many angles and varied depths.
Highlights:
"A Small, Good Thing" - Tense, plotty. My heart stopped during this story. If you're looking to only read one story out of this collection. Read this one. For sure.
"The Co...more
Highlights:
"A Small, Good Thing" - Tense, plotty. My heart stopped during this story. If you're looking to only read one story out of this collection. Read this one. For sure.
"The Co...more
***spoiler alert***
“Cathedral” is told through the viewpoint of the narrator, who puts together his narrative crudely, with rough transitions and defensive interruptions. Though not explicitly stated, he is an unhappy man. Evidence of this comes from descriptions of his marriage, especially in his strained conversations with his wife. The couple does not sleep at the same time, and even when the narrator does retire, he suffers from jarring dreams that make his heart “crazy." Then, there is the...more
“Cathedral” is told through the viewpoint of the narrator, who puts together his narrative crudely, with rough transitions and defensive interruptions. Though not explicitly stated, he is an unhappy man. Evidence of this comes from descriptions of his marriage, especially in his strained conversations with his wife. The couple does not sleep at the same time, and even when the narrator does retire, he suffers from jarring dreams that make his heart “crazy." Then, there is the...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
In “Cathedral”, I interpreted a simple paradigm change. A judgmental man displays his prejudice in a number of ways. These ways include racism, astonished that the man might have a black wife, and prejudice against blindness. His wife has grown fond of a blind man, and the man grows jealous.
I interpreted a sense of hypocrisy from the story. The man doesn’t sleep with his wife, and smokes pot until he falls asleep every night. He pokes fun at the blind man that he could never see his wife, when...more
I interpreted a sense of hypocrisy from the story. The man doesn’t sleep with his wife, and smokes pot until he falls asleep every night. He pokes fun at the blind man that he could never see his wife, when...more
I was particularly fond of the use of a biased narrator in this piece because you could feel the narrator coming around and changing his attitude towards the blind man. The bias gave a unique insight to the reader so they could not only understand how the man evolved in the story, but gave perspective on why he felt the bias he had towards the blind man in the beginning. The bias can be seen through his inner dialogue, using both blatant statements such as, “A blind man in my house was not somet...more
Cathedral is filled with passive animosity. In any case, this would be just another man jealous of his wife’s –in essence- past lover. Right off the bat, the reader is familiarized with the husband’s angst towards the Blind man. The husband is threatened by blind man’s swagger. The husband is pessimistic about the blind man’s visit. The husband has many reasons to feel this way; his wife always stayed in contact with the blind man even after all these years. The blind man is objectified by the h...more
“Cathedral” by Ramond Carver left me perplexed. No sooner was it until the end of the book had I understood what in fact I was reading. I was unaware, even oblivious to the title, such a perfect place to be taken into by a story. I found myself in the eyes of the narrator: a cynic, a doubter. Someone who I have been active to avoid being in my life, yet he was a character I seemed to have known my whole life. The blind man in the story was by a good account an ethereal being. As I read the inter...more
In the short story “Cathedral”, the narrator wrote the story in the first person view. From the story, I can tell that the narrator is the kind of person who is lack of confidence, he doesn’t want that blind man Robert to come over because Robert was very close to his wife, somewhere inside his heart he must feel very insecure, he is afraid of the possibility that Robert might take his wife away from him. He says he never believed in any religion, which implies that he might not trust anybody bu...more
I would give the book more of a 3- 3 and half than an actual four because the events that happened in the story, but I can not rate it that way from the website. I believe the story holds a lot of truth with how society is today. The story can easily be applied to current day even though the technology and other parts of the story show that it is not. The second husband is proof of the high divorce ratio because he seems very far disconnected from his wife. Every night he prefers to smoke mariju...more
Raymond Carver’s Cathedral follows the conversation of a man meeting his wife’s blind friend, named Robert, who had recently lost his wife to cancer. As this is the man’s first time meeting a blind person, he does not know what to expect of the meeting. I found this premise interesting because I, myself have never met a blind person, nor do I know what I would talk to one about. The most intense conversation between the main character and Robert occurs when the man’s wife is asleep and they enga...more
Cathedral is a story about prejudice and realizing that the world doesn’t necessarily always work the way we think it should. It is clear from the beginning of the story that the narrator is kind of insecure and does not like most people. For example, he refuses to call his wife’s first husband anything other than officer. His reasoning for this is that he was her childhood sweetheart and that should be enough. As the story goes on and he learns more and more about the blind man he is quick to...more
Raymond Carver is considered by many to be the greatest American short story writer of all time. Cathedral was written after Carver got sober and found love with the poet Tess Gallagher. These stories often portray the damage wrought by alcohol in a marriage, or the loneliness inherent in the human experience. Sounds depressing, but it's not. Touching, that's what it is. The characters become real, and their suffering is universal and easy to relate with. In Cathedral, the final story, a blind...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Cathedral is a collection of short stories by Raymond Carver. Each story explores everyday moments in humanity, as well as common issues like relationships and alcoholism. Carver’s writing style is minimalist, so there are no moments of long description of setting or characters. Carver focuses on plot and themes, and each story ends with a slight cliffhanger, leaving it up to the reader to decide what happens.
I read this book for my Contemporary American Literature class, and I loved it. All the...more
I read this book for my Contemporary American Literature class, and I loved it. All the...more
The title Story "cathedral" is one of the best American stories of last century.
The theme is the communication gap that isolates relationships. The narrator drinks too much and seems unable to adequately communicate with his wife. The wife has earlier tried to commit suicide because of loneliness. Both the narrator and his wife are unable to effectively communicate with one another; however, his wife communicates freely and well with the blind man. The narrator is very resistant to getting to kn...more
The theme is the communication gap that isolates relationships. The narrator drinks too much and seems unable to adequately communicate with his wife. The wife has earlier tried to commit suicide because of loneliness. Both the narrator and his wife are unable to effectively communicate with one another; however, his wife communicates freely and well with the blind man. The narrator is very resistant to getting to kn...more
This is an excellent set of short stories and personally my first introduction to Carver. The back of my edition has a quote from Carver himself that sums up why these are so extraordinary better than I can: he has the ability "to write about commonplace things and objects using commonplace but precise language and endow these things - a chair, a window curtain, a fork, a stone, a woman's earring - with immense, even startling power."
Which is exactly what he does to - fill his stories with the k...more
Which is exactly what he does to - fill his stories with the k...more
This is the collection where Carver shakes off the label of "minimalist".
His previous editor, Gordon Lish, was known for paring Carver's stories down to the bone. But in this collection, free from Lish's pencil, he is able to be more expansive. The stories still concern average shmoes living clumsy lives, but now Carver gives himself the space for more incident. More emotional nuance. Not only that, but he's funnier, and he was fairly funny to begin with.
I read a volume of his poems recently. Li...more
His previous editor, Gordon Lish, was known for paring Carver's stories down to the bone. But in this collection, free from Lish's pencil, he is able to be more expansive. The stories still concern average shmoes living clumsy lives, but now Carver gives himself the space for more incident. More emotional nuance. Not only that, but he's funnier, and he was fairly funny to begin with.
I read a volume of his poems recently. Li...more
Honestly didn't care much for the stories at first, though the talent and skill, especially with style and construction, were obvious. Just seemed to me that the characters NEVER thought, "Things aren't going so well; maybe I should do something different. Like, stop drinking, for example." But then came "A Small, Good Thing," which is one of the better short stories ever, and the tide shifted to stories about characters who at least realized that maybe improvement and moving on was possible. It...more
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Carver was born into a poverty-stricken family at the tail-end of the Depression. The son of a violent alcoholic, he married at 19, started a series of menial jobs and his own career of 'full-time drinking as a serious pursuit'. A career that would eventually kill him. Constantly struggling to support his wife and family Carver enrolled in a writing programme under author John Gardner in 1958 and...more
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“You've got to work with your mistakes until they look intended. Understand?”
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“There is no answer. It's okay. But even if it wasn't okay, what am I supposed to do?”
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Oct 18, 2008 10:21pm