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Cathedral
Cathedral
Dec 6, 2024 2:05 AM

Author:Raymond Carver

Cathedral

Raymond Carver said it was possible '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'. Nowhere is this alchemy more striking than in the title story of Cathedral in which a blind man guides the hand of a sighted man as together they draw the cathedral the blind man can never see. Many view this story, and indeed this collection, as a watershed in the maturing of Carver's work to a more confidently poetic style.

Reviews

The twelve stories collected in his book Cathedral are remarkable for the originality of vision which he manages to convey in scrupulously simple prose. Carver's is a considerable and an enterprising talent

—— Guardian

Cathedral ought to establish his reputation as one of the most original new voices in fiction to appear from the United States for many years

—— Bill Buford , Times Literary Supplement

Carver is a writer of astonishing compassion and honesty, utterly free of pretence and affection, his eye set only on describing and revealing the world as he sees it. His eye is so clear, it almost breaks your heart

—— Washington Post

An important book in a unique career

—— New York Review of Books

The stories themselves are interwoven skilfully and each provides a satisfying probe into the characters' illicit lives, which engage you wholly, in the same guilty way as a gossip magazine. Oulton's prose is effective, nakedly frank and at intervals, truly delightful.

—— Time Out

This new series of Central European Classics is important well beyond simply providing 'good reads'.

—— Stephen Vizinczey , Daily Telegraph

Enright writes beautifully about the distance of desire

—— Financial Times

Dazzling ...These narrative snapshots are skilfully framed and in-focus, the language forthright and fresh

—— Time Out

This short story collection gives those new to her oeuvre a chance to delve into gems from her past...precociously vibrant

—— Melissa McClements , Financial Times

All the elements of Welsh's best work remain in tact here: the brilliant imagination, the phonetically-transcribed Scots dialect, the humour, the gritty realism

—— Woman's Way

What's striking about these early stories is that the thicker Welsh was steeped in the primordial goo of his Edinburgh Scots phonetics, the better the storytelling got

—— Alexander Linklater , Observer

As you would expect, the stories in this collection involve a certain amount of cultural tourism to the lower depths, undertaken with black humour... Welsh's relish for degradation covers up a strong sentimental streak

—— Victor Sebestyen , Sunday Times

Welsh's transcription of Scots dialect is brilliant... Welsh also has a fabulous sense of the absurd... The overall vibe of these stories is dark and grim. And fierily, fiercely funny

—— Brandon Robshaw , Independent on Sunday

A sparkling and adventurous writer

—— Dennis Potter
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