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    Cathedral
    Cathedral
    Cathedral
    Audiobook7 hours

    Cathedral

    Written by Raymond Carver

    Narrated by Norman Dietz

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    This is Raymond Carver's third collection of stories, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, including the canonical titular story about blindness and learning to enter the very different world of another. The twelve stories in Cathedral mark a turning point in Carver's work and "overflow with the danger, excitement, mystery and possibility of life. . . . Carver is a writer of astonishing compassion and honesty . . . his eye set only on describing and revealing the world as he sees it. His eye is so clear, it almost breaks your heart" (Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World).
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateMay 16, 2017
    ISBN9781515984542
    Cathedral
    Author

    Raymond Carver

    (1939-1988) falleció en pleno reconocimiento de su carrera como narrador y poeta. Sus cuentos lo consagraron internacionalmente como uno de los maestros del género. En Anagrama se han publicado sus seis libros de relatos. ¿Quieres hacer el favor de callarte, por favor?, De qué hablamos cuando hablamos de amor, Catedral, Tres rosas amarillas y los póstumos Si me necesitas, llámame y Principiantes, además de la antología Short Cuts (Vidas cruzadas). Asimismo se ha publicado Carver Country, que contiene textos del autor (cuentos, poemas y cartas inéditas) y fotografías de Bob Adelman.

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    Reviews for Cathedral

    4/5

    717 ratings22 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I never realized that Altman's Short Cuts was a rip on Carver's stories. Had I known that earlier I would've been less impressed with Altman!
    • 3/5
      This would be a great listen but the narration is awful.
    • 5/5
      The stories in Cathedral are muscular and powerful, made more so by Carver’s clean and unvarnished writing. “They were into something now, something hard.”In some, there’s a sense that hope is over and done – nothing else good is going to happen to these characters after the story is over (Chef’s House, Preservation). Paradoxically, other stories that ought to finish with no hope, offer a glimmer, or a glimpse of a glimmer. In the title story, a blind man opens the eyes, or mind, of a cynical man. In A Small, Good Thing, the death of a child near his birthday and an ugly episode with the baker that made his cake ends up with a moment of grace between the baker and the grieving parents. In all, loose ends are not neatly wrapped, very little is resolved. Life continues.
    • 3/5
      Interesting set of short stories. Some better than others. A tad bit strange, but some gems as well.
    • 5/5
      In Cathedral, Raymond Carver offers the reader a powerful set of stories of people who are experiencing the worst things in their lives: divorce or abandonment, alcoholism, the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, feeling isolated and trapped in a relationship, and so on. In each of the dozen tales comprising the volume, we are dropped into the middle of a situation in which an otherwise unexceptional person faces some sort of crisis or cathartic event and struggles to deal with the situation. Whether these characters ever find their way out of their respective messes is something we never really learn, as the stories are left largely unresolved in the end. In fact, the real genius that the author brings to bear in this compelling collection is that he takes his protagonists as he finds them and is content to just tell a piece of their stories in a tender, if unflinching, manner. If there is a recurring theme connecting this fiction it is the slow and heartbreaking destruction that alcoholism can have on everyone connected to the one doing the drinking.While there is not a weak story in the entire book, there were some that stood out well above the others. The title tale ‘Cathedral’ is a masterful look at both the regret that can sometimes overwhelm a marriage as well as having to confront long-held prejudices in surprising ways. ‘A Small, Good Thing’ is an ironic look at how a simple miscommunication can spiral out of control when conflated with a truly harrowing personal tragedy. ‘Where I’m Calling From’ probably comes the closest to being optimistic storytelling, despite its setting in a rehabilitation facility populated by people who have been there on multiple occasions. ‘Chef’s House’ is a very intimate portrait of the fragility involved in trying to confront one’s demons and get sober. To be sure, these are not happy stories or stories in which the characters are redeemed at the end of a long, fraught struggle. Apparently, the author himself suffered as a recovering alcoholic and, if that is true, he definitely wrote the life that he knew. That he was able to write it so very well was his lasting gift to all of us.
    • 4/5
      My first book by Raymond Carver. I admire everything he manages to packs into each story but have always had trouble picking up on symbolism and reading into deeper meanings than what I feel intuitively and have difficulty verbalizing. One recurring theme is the difficulty we have communicating with one another and with understanding ourselves. This is borne out with repeated references to heavy drinkers and alcoholism; how so many people choose this easy escape in a glass to deal with inconvenient feelings and situations. Not all the stories in this collection involve booze, but miscommunication is a major theme and they are overall rather bleak and depressing, so I took my time reading them bit by bit, not wanting to be dragged down with despair. The title story Cathedral illustrates this perfectly. The narrators wife announces an old blind friend is coming over for a visit after losing his wife to cancer. She and this friend have had a regular correspondence over many years and exchanged many intimate details about their inner lives and their marriages. As for the narrator, he can barely think of a blind person as a fully realized human being and seems to think their lack of sight means they aren’t able to enjoy life. It is soon revealed that while most people are able to look, few take the time to actually see. With his simple pared down language, Carver invites us to look beyond the surface and to find true meaning. I think that’s what he’s doing in any case. I’ll need to read more articles analyzing his work maybe. But then again, sometimes I think it’s okay to just intuit things without seeking to understand them logically either. Our inner eye sees so much more than we allow for after all.
    • 5/5
      “In those olden days, when they built cathedrals, men wanted to be close to God” This collection of twelve stories, might be my favorite of Carver's work. He writes very well about ordinary lives but favors the messiness of life. Alcohol abuse, infidelities and heartache. The opening story, "Feathers" prominently features a peacock. A homage to O' Connor, perhaps? And the title story, which wraps up the collection, is a stunning look at blindness and religion. A knockout.
    • 5/5
      There is something that only Carver can do: boil down the American short story to something denser, more emotionally striking. He was the absolute master of his craft, with not a single word out of place. Cathedral is just one of his many compilations of masterpieces.
    • 4/5
      Raymond Carver is a master of the short story genre, which he uses to depict middle class America and its issues.
    • 5/5
      Quickly devoured this whole collection as well as some other Carver pieces from the New Yorker archive. Great characters with a depth and complexity matching those found in some of the best novels. Carver's reputation as the master of the short story is well deserved.
    • 5/5
      I've read this collection many times over the years. It never disappoints. Like meeting an old friend or putting on a worn, shapeless, old T-shirt, rereading these very familiar stories was a wonderful gift to myself. The pleasure of rereading a favorite book is a hope I have for every new book I start ... someday I might be able to return to that book and get even more out of it.
    • 5/5
      These stories are about people I don't know and don't think I would like. If someone described them to me I would think, why would I want to read that? About hairdressers and waitresses and lots of alcoholics, people down on their luck, in lousy relationships, getting divorces, growing apart. But these stories are so well written that they are completely engrossing and leave me with a feeling of having seen something amazing nearly every one. Raymond Carver works some kind of magic over ordinary people and situations that leaves an imprint on the brain, an epiphany, almost a feeling of enlightenment. I feel like reading these stories has changed me for the better. I cannot give high enough praise.
    • 5/5
      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. Like these stories, those poems were written in the eighties, during Carver's sobriety. Whereas poetry is usually about economy of language, finding that perfect word or phrase, Carver's poems were like listening to a friend who's had a few drinks and is telling you a story. If his audience is laughing, he's not afraid to lay it on. Reiterate certain comic points. Be a little redundant. Rant a bit. Play to the crowd. These stories have a bit of that same flavor.

      The best example is of this is in the title story. The protagonist is a husband who's annoyed that his wife has invited an old friend, a blind man, over to spend the night. The character initially feels uncomfortable about the man's blindness, and expresses this to the reader by sarcastically riffing on how put out he feels, and how alien and creepy the man's blindness seems to him. But this is only the setup. The payoff is truly remarkable, emotional, and inspiring. I won't give it away.

      Carver's early work was great, but lay in the shadow of his alcoholism, and for that reason was somewhat morbid. The later Carver seems to be poking fun at the morbidity in his past, all the while embracing life and its small wondrous experiences.
    • 3/5
      Cathedral is a story about a husband and his wife who has a blind friend. The husband is quite close-minded about the blind man and doesn't seem to relate well to him. Carver expertly conceals the husband’s insecurity by allowing it to come forth over the course of the story. For example, deep down, and rightly so, the husband is worried about the blind man winning over his wife’s heart. The blind man is the only person that seems to have had a lasting and important impact on the wife’s life through the good times and the bad. This is why it is so important for her to be there for him in his time of grief. The husband, who is also the narrator, cowers in front of the problems in his life and masks them with substances like alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana. This substance abuse is an escape from the problems within his marriage and most of all, within himself. Even though by the end of the story the narrator finds himself empathizing and opening up with Robert, the blind man, it is not clear to me whether he has solved his own difficulties or those of his marriage.
    • 4/5
      Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” examines the inter-workings of a failing marriage through the metaphorically blind and limited eyes of a husband juxtaposed to the literal blindness and understanding of his wife’s friend Robert. The husband has an uneasiness with Robert, rooting from his lack of interaction with a blind person and his suspicions of his intimate relationship with his wife. His views of Robert are entirely imbued by stereotypes of how blind men behave, believing they wear dark glasses and do not smoke. Carver uses his ignorance of the man to essentially emphasize his ignorance in his marriage. This first-person viewpoint and behavior allow the reader to better understand the husband and his outlook on his relationship. The conversation and relationship between husband and wife are limited. The wife disregards his emotions and focuses completely on Robert, except for the occasional arguing with her husband. The husband, on the other hand, attempts to make the rare comment in her conversations with Robert to show his engagement and care, but is nearly totally focused upon Robert’s blindness. Thus, Carver’s use of detailed description from the first-person viewpoint of the husband alongside the extended metaphor of blindness shines light on the schism between husband and wife in their relationship. Despite having each other, there exists an isolation and alienation. Furthermore, the husband’s interaction with Robert brings about new revelation and change in the husband. The uneasiness disappears with time as the whiskey and peace pipe emerge. The epitome of his transition occurs with the conversation over the cathedral on the television. His attempts at communicating the cathedral by closing his eyes and allowing Robert to follow his hands in drawing it, give him a facet of connection. Carver goes beyond cathedral’s being “something to look at” in order to parallel his relationship with his wife. The husband delves into deeper understanding and introspection, understanding blindness and freeing himself from the isolation. The husband’s transformation over the course of the short story and his understanding of the blindness give hope of a dynamic change in his stagnant, passive character and possible resolution in his marriage.
    • 5/5
      Like Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” I particularly enjoyed Carver’s “Cathedral”. I thought it was a very truthful short story about the thoughts of this one man who was somewhat jealous of a blind man. It sounds like an idiotic thing to be jealous of but in the circumstances he presents to us, the reader can really understand why he would be jealous. The wife annoyed me beyond reason. There was obviously something going on between her and the blind man. So when she thought of herself being above her husband I really wanted her character to be thrown off a cliff. However I’m pretty sure that that was the author’s direct intentions. I loved the ending. It was just so perfect for this story. In the end he and the blind man bond together and I think they made a real connection as friends. I thought this was perfect because I’m pretty sure the wife brought the blind man down to show how terrible he is. Instead of her plans unfolding they become friends and she is just left to watch and stare. This story, in my opinion, is a perfect revenge story without hurting or harming anyone. It accomplishes revenge very subtly, which I love.
    • 5/5
      When mentioning the art of the short story, we eventually come to the subject of Raymond Carver. Brought to the height of his career in the 1980s, Carver was known for revival of the short form and for his curt, direct style of writing that came to be known as dirty realism. Of course, there was the controversy between Carver and his editor, Gordon Lish, but by the time Cathedral came out, Carver had already distanced himself away from the editor (he actually re-wrote "The Bath" which in a 21 page extension re-titled "A Small Good Thing.) Cathedral, Carver's last book, shows an evolved writer beyond the minimalist to show something sad (yes, the book is rather depressing) yet essentially human.Among the stories collected here is of course the title story, widely anthologized and widely held as Carver's masterpiece. Within its 19 pages, we see a story of a marriage falling apart and a man's blindness to his love life. The falling apart of life is a theme in the collection. In the dozen stories, we see not only marriages falling apart ("Vitamins") but also families ("The Compartment") and selfhoods ("Where I'm Calling From"). What makes Carver's collection distinct though, is that people don't just fall apart, life slips away from them, but they really have no choice but to survive.His movement is called dirty realism for a reason.Among my favorite stories are "Vitamins," "A Small Good Thing," and "The Train," but everything is worth reading, and you shouldn't be skipping around in a short story collection anyway. To read Cathedral, like any short story collection, you read the first story and then you progress, you savor.Within the Carver's stories, what we taste is a bitter sadness mixed with a subtle hint of fear, but Carver realistically portrays life (that depressing thing) a raw, simple language that you can't help but feel cut, yet want to read on, maybe a bit more.While some might complain that the stories don't progress and that "nothing happens," these are the same people looking at fiction for escapism. Which is not wrong. It's just not what Carver does. To read Carver to examine your own life and the lives of other through a magnifying glass. This aren't fables, kids.
    • 5/5
      loved this even though several endings baffled me a bit, but likely that was the point, I was immediately captivated with each scenario within a sentence or 2 and wanted to know what happens next....not always the case today with modern fiction, but it is, after all, why i love to read!!
    • 3/5
      While "Where I'm Calling From" and "Cathedral" are probably two of the best short-stories in American literature, the rest of the stories in this collection don't reach the same high-water mark. These are snapshots into the mundane lives of ordinary people - which may be poetic in one sense but makes for a boring read in another. While there isn't much happening in the stories, Carver's pacing is also painfully slow at times. Nonetheless, Carver is a master of the craft - what he does with point-of-view is amazing. I recommend this book to all short-story writers - take notes - there's much to learn from Carver's style.
    • 4/5
      reminiscent of hemingway in his simple prose, the stories are not always there. some of these pieces are vignettes, as they do not have a perceivable climax or denouement. in fact, sometimes it seems the piece simply ends without any notice. i like reading these and do get a feeling of wonder from them. maybe he has a style all his own, but if he does, it can get better.
    • 3/5
      Short stories.
    • 5/5
      Like his stories, this collection of Raymond Carver's work leaves us wanting more. It also provides a good overview of his regular themes and illustrates the breadth of his scope.Before he died in 1988 at the age of 50, Carver had proved himself to be the greatest modern exponent of the short story in America. The stories in this collection include 'A Small, Good Thing', which was awarded the 1983 O. Henry Award. It also includes my favourite Carver story: the title story, 'Cathedral', which is so packed with emotion, clarity of thought, beauty and pain as to leave one breathless with admiration.In my view, the short story is the pinnacle of prose writing and Carver is one of its few consistently successful exponents. This collection proves both points.