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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Each story is just as beautiful, tragic and horrifying as the last. The title story was definitely my favourite. It asks the question "what is love really?" and I believe the answer is "whatever we perceive it as".
Muistin just et luin tän ykkösvuonna ja tää oli hiton hyvä gurrdayum pitää lainata uuestaa
I really loved this collection. All the stories are really sparse and have this tone of detachment; it was really different reading this often very emotive subject matter being narrated in almost a cold tone. I feel like this aspect of the collection really worked well; the icy tone of the narration really heightened my own emotional reactions, particularly in stories like The Bath, Tell The Women We're Going, and Popular Mechanics. The title story is really thought provoking, I'm still thinking about it days after finishing it. Will definitely be picking up another of his collections soon!
Ugh. Carver I wanted to like you. I have an issue with any one writer that ends up ultimately falling into an entire genre of writers that believe they are redefining fiction. This is especially true for writers in the 60s - 80s, these men who were writing absolute trash and believed they were changing the genre when in reality, it doesn’t mean anything!!! These stories - even the ones I liked - everything stuck to him & what we talk about when we talk about love- lack any real analytical end product about the world. Which would be fine, if it didn’t feel like carver was pushing us so hard to see something or be moved to criticize. Carver’s inability to provide an ending that is conducive to a memorable or moving piece is the thing I felt the most issue with while reading. The endings felt both lazy & try hard, wilted, encouraging the reader to grasp for meaning where there simply was none. Reading Carver reminded me a lot of Brautigan, in the sense that they lean towards writing stories about poverty & white America. However instead of doing so with acknowledgement of oppressive elements of our society or saying something fresh and nuanced, they seem to mock people at every turn. The great American novel was a scam invented to trick people into thinking white guys are smarter than everyone else when in reality they’re mediocre.
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
An interesting collections of short stories. Each one is very unique from the next, often with no real common thread to bind them together.
The one thing that each story has is that it explores human relationships. Parent and child. Lover. Husband and wife. Friends. The complexity of these relationships is a common thread.
The majority of the stories have some sort of disfunction, or problem and many of them seem to end abruptly or with no real resolution to speak of.
As odd as it was, I really enjoyed this book. Some of the referencesI. It are obviously aged, but it seems to add some nostalgia to the stories.
The one thing that each story has is that it explores human relationships. Parent and child. Lover. Husband and wife. Friends. The complexity of these relationships is a common thread.
The majority of the stories have some sort of disfunction, or problem and many of them seem to end abruptly or with no real resolution to speak of.
As odd as it was, I really enjoyed this book. Some of the referencesI. It are obviously aged, but it seems to add some nostalgia to the stories.
medium-paced
Why did this book make me hate men more?
No but for real it took a whole bottle of wine to help me polish this one off and I’m convinced Carver not only cheated on his partner but also potentially stabbed her 47 times. These short stories are the ramblings of a man who hates himself but hates women more.
The one short I would give some merit to is the namesake of the book, what we talk about when we talk about love. It showed interesting dynamics across two different couples discussing love and abuse and how they overlap.
Carver had some random things there and I found some of his stories pretty boring. The interesting ones were the ones which were a bit fucked up, in which women were on the receiving end of some male bullshit.
Overall, I’d say this book was a waste of brain space, and I rolled my eyes quite a few times at the audacity that is the patriarchy…
No but for real it took a whole bottle of wine to help me polish this one off and I’m convinced Carver not only cheated on his partner but also potentially stabbed her 47 times. These short stories are the ramblings of a man who hates himself but hates women more.
The one short I would give some merit to is the namesake of the book, what we talk about when we talk about love. It showed interesting dynamics across two different couples discussing love and abuse and how they overlap.
Carver had some random things there and I found some of his stories pretty boring. The interesting ones were the ones which were a bit fucked up, in which women were on the receiving end of some male bullshit.
Overall, I’d say this book was a waste of brain space, and I rolled my eyes quite a few times at the audacity that is the patriarchy…
challenging
reflective
medium-paced