Raymond Carver (1938–1988) was an American short story writer and poet known for his spare, minimalist prose and influential short fiction collections such as Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? (1976), What We Talk About When We Talk About Love / Beginners (1981), and Cathedral (1983).

Early stories were heavily edited by editor Gordon Lish; later editions restored original texts (the manuscript 'Beginners' is associated with these editorial disputes). Carver's work commonly depicts working-class Americans, alcohol, and ordinary domestic crises.

Reviews focus on Carver's spare, minimalist short fiction and his attention to ordinary lives. Readers note many stories feel open-ended or fragmentary. Some find the effect sublime and emotionally powerful; others call it empty. Several comments highlight Carver's careful prose and realistic dialogue.

For:Readers of literary short fiction, students, fans of minimalist prose

 Pieces of life in pieces, without a beginning and without an end, with a seemingly senseless sense like my days, our days.

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 He buries them. He omits everything unnecessary, and so you drink the story with gusto, damn he writes well, but the sense and the ending at first escape you.

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 Stories that do not start and do not end, without ethics, without judgments, without morality, without teaching, without revelations or twists.

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