I see Barthelme as a display of the "human condition," as many claim should be the focus of most literary works, through dialect. The voice of a narrator is deliberately forged to express their character: their background, their values, their faults. It's a spare but innovative way of writing. From a linguistic perspective and even a general literary perspective these short stories were interesting.
Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, and War