It's truly a challenge to remain quiet when short story writing reaches such a remarkable level.

I have this overwhelming urge to shout from the rooftops -

"Read Raymond Carver!"

No doubt, someone might look up in confusion and shout back "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please!"

This happens to be Carver's first published collection of short stories, yet it's the one I read last, after 'Cathedral', 'What We Talk About When We Talk About Love' (which is my personal favorite), and 'Elephant and Other Stories'. Carver didn't merely infuse new vitality into the short story; he essentially crafted an entirely new one on his own.

His approach is minimalist, lacking in gloss, and pared-down in style, as he writes about the everyday ordinary Americans who simply go about their unremarkable lives. There's nothing fancy here; just the common problems and hiccups that most people encounter. His characters are incredibly believable, and the dialogue he employs between them is outstanding and so true to life. It's as if one is standing unnoticed in someone's living room or bedroom, eavesdropping on all kinds of conversations and interactions.

Carver is a writer who, quite simply, understands people to perfection. Through love, lust, sorrow, loss, bitterness, sadness, exuberance, darkened thoughts, suspicions, he brings to vivid life the world that exists behind closed doors and gets to the very core of our being. Some claim he is phenomenal, while others call him a genius.

I would tend to concur. His prose is tight and concise, sometimes raw and melancholic, yet always magnificent in its simplicity. He engages with the reader on such a profound level and directly delves into the uncomfortable subtext of the everyday. He is the ultimate kitchen sink writer, who never becomes sentimental or melodramatic, but simply adheres to the bare truths, whether they are comfortable or not. We feel his characters as if they were our own. Great stuff! So why only four stars and not five?

Simple - his other two collections of 'Cathedral' & 'What We Talk About When We Talk About Love' are even better!

There are those for whom life always comes up roses. They seem to have everything going their way, with success, happiness, and good fortune following them around.

And there are those to whom life always shows its backside. They face one setback after another, with hardships and difficulties constantly plaguing them.

People live ordinary day-to-day lives, going about their routines and dealing with the mundane tasks at hand.

But when they meet each other, they see each other as the strange ones.

Accidental encounters can lead to unusual behavior. A truant schoolboy might go fishing instead of attending classes, trespassing on private property in the process.

Testing a new hookah with friends can also lead to drinking and drunkenness, as well as feelings of loneliness, emptiness, and desolation.

Tiffs and quarrels can break out, adding to the chaos and drama of life.

Idleness and promiscuity can also be problems, especially among those who have nothing better to do.

Beatniks, as they might have been called, were a group of people who rejected the norms and values of society. They wore strange clothes, had unusual hairstyles, and engaged in activities that were considered taboo.

Life is as bad as one makes it. If we choose to focus on the negative, then our lives will be filled with pain and suffering. But if we look for the good and try to make the best of every situation, then our lives can be filled with joy and happiness.

“Not in pictures she had seen nor in any book she had read had she learned a sunrise was so terrible as this.”

― Raymond Carver, "The Student's Wife" in Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?

A collection of 22 short stories, each averaging about 6 - 8 pages (a couple might extend to 11 - 15 pages), that Carver penned during what he termed his "Bad Raymond days" or "First Life" (1960 - 1974).

Disclosure, similar to other short story collections, I might have awarded one star too many to some and inadvertently omitted a star when it should have been included for several. I read these stories in San Diego, sipping Diet Coke while lying under the shade of palm trees on artificial grass at the Hotel del Coronado. Perhaps I should have been drinking cheap bourbon to truly immerse myself further. But that's the thing. I can't fathom getting any more involved. Carver's spare writing pierces me to the core. I feel exposed, raw, and tender. He is unrelenting. Several stories nearly brought me to tears (and I'm not one to cry easily over literature). As I read, I continuously wondered how different directors (not Altman) would adapt these stories. Some seemed almost Lynchian, with the macabre lurking beneath the banal and ordinary, while others gave off a vibe more like a K-Mart meets Alfonso Cuarón. I liked the concept of him being the poor-man's Hemingway, but he is more human and brutal than that. He captures humanity at the moment when we break (and we all do break).

1 "Fat" - ★★★★

2 "Neighbors" - ★★★★★

3 "The Idea" - ★★★★

4 "They're Not Your Husband" - ★★★★★

5 "Are You a Doctor?" - ★★★

6 "The Father" - ★★★

7 "Nobody Said Anything" - ★★★★

8 "Sixty Acres" - ★★★

9 "What's In Alaska?" - ★★★★★

10 "Night School" - ★★★★

11 "Collectors" - ★★★★

12 "What Do You Do in San Francisco" - ★★★★

13 "The Student's Wife" - ★★★★★

14 "Put Yourself In My Shoes" - ★★★★

15 "Jerry and Molly and Sam" - ★★★★★

16 "Why, Honey?" - ★★★★

17 "The Ducks" - ★★★★★

18 "How About This?" - ★★★★

19 "Bicycles, Muscles, Cigarettes" - ★★★★★

20 "Are These Actual Miles?" - ★★★★★

21 "Signals" - ★★★★

22 "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?" - ★★★★★

I had to drive a bit today and as I was on the road, I happened to come across an audiobook edition of the collection from a master short story writer. In my opinion, he is one of the best ever. He is sometimes referred to in a disparaging way as a "K-mart realist", which means he is a working class writer, writing about those who are down and out. Since I grew up in the working class, I have always been drawn to the world that Carver writes about.

He is a minimalist in the tone of Edward Hopper. Or you could think of him as a working class Hemingway, with no adverbs and everything stripped down to match the edge of the abyss that his characters face. I read these stories to a soundtrack by Tom Waits. The working class folks that Carver writes about here are not elegant or particularly insightful. They drink too much and make serious mistakes. They are mostly screw-ups, but I still come to care for them.

These stories are not always enjoyable to read for their plots (although they are often very entertaining in a black humor vein), but they are wonderful for helping us see what a story can do and be. And how fragile humans can be. The dialogue is rich. I like "What We Talk About When We Talk about Love" better, but these are still fine stories. Many of them were featured in some way in Robert Altman’s excellent movie "Short Cuts".

Some of the highlights include "Fat", where a waitress serves a morbidly obese man and while everyone else in the restaurant makes fun of him, she is moved and changed by him. "Neighbors" is about a couple house-sitting for their neighbors who become voyeuristic and gradually take over the house in an almost absurd way. In "They’re Not your Husband", a guy visits his wife at her restaurant, hears some guys laugh at how fat she is, and without referring to the incident, encourages her to diet. She agrees and he helps her. Weeks later, he goes back to the restaurant and says complimentary things about her to a guy without identifying himself as her husband.

"Jerry and Molly and Sam" is about a man on the edge of anxiety or doom who decides to change his life by getting rid of their unruly dog. When he comes home to his frantic family, he realizes his mistake and tries desperately to rectify the situation. "Are These Actual Miles?" is about a man out of work whose wife sells their car and he doesn't get home until dawn, dropped off by the guy who bought it. "Will You Please be Quiet Please?" is about two teachers who claim they are happy with two kids but suddenly talk about a drunken party two years ago when the wife kissed or maybe more with a friend. Her husband gets suddenly and inexplicably crazy about it, goes out and gets drunk, and realizes how his life must change now. This is my favorite one, even though it is desperately crazy and unhappy, like watching a slow motion car crash.

The point in most of these stories is that most of these people will now change, and not usually for the better. The stories are, however, unsentimentally compassionate about the screw-ups that the people almost always are. They are sad but masterful stories in a minimalist way.

I am very happy that finally this year I completed the small challenge that I chose for myself.

And I had a great sense of happiness during this short period together with the books.

I hope that next year will be much better for me than this year and the previous years.

The snowflakes are gently falling, and the Christmas tree is shining brightly.

This year has been full of challenges and growth, and I look forward to an even more wonderful year ahead.

May all my dreams come true in the new year, and may I continue to pursue my passions with enthusiasm and determination.

Karver has almost completely changed my attitude towards short stories by 180 degrees. This collection is just as rich as What we talk about(...). However, the stories (which is not a negative thing) do not escalate as much as in that collection. Instead, they are mainly nested in the rather sad reality of the medieval years of almost all the protagonists of these stories. These protagonists are seeking any kind of resolution, but they cannot even find it.

Each story in this collection seems to unfold like a small, yet profound drama. The characters are vividly portrayed, and their struggles and desires are palpable. The author's writing style is engaging and draws the reader in, making it difficult to put the book down.

Overall, this collection of short stories is a must-read for anyone who enjoys exploring the human condition and the power of storytelling. It offers a unique perspective on life in the medieval years and the challenges that people faced during that time.

Original Article: This is a simple article. It needs to be rewritten and expanded.

Rewritten and Expanded Article:

This is a rather simple article. It lacks the necessary details and elaboration that could make it more engaging and interesting. The task at hand is to rewrite it and expand it to a length of approximately 300 words. By doing so, we can enhance its content and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the topic.

To achieve this, we will need to add more specific examples, explanations, and perhaps even some personal insights or opinions. This will not only make the article more informative but also more relatable to the readers. Additionally, we can use a more diverse vocabulary and sentence structure to add variety and flow to the text.

Overall, the rewritten and expanded article will be a significant improvement over the original, offering a more in-depth exploration of the subject matter and a more enjoyable reading experience for the audience.

Due back to the library today, they only have one copy. It's a big library system with many branches. I once read that Carver is one of the authors whose books are most stolen. Maybe that's why they only have one.

The librarian wouldn't give the address or even a name of the person who requested it. I can't fathom why. All I would do was contact whoever it was and say to them, "You read Carver and so do I. What's your most favorite one and hey let's get coffee, cause us readers have to stick together because there is so few of us left, especially people who read books made of paper."

5 stars for the stories that I read before it was due to someone else's hands other than mine, someone I'll never know the identity of.

Why did Raymond Carver have to die so young? Each book got better. Just think if he was still alive.

Got this book back from the library the other day, getting to the stories I didn't get to the first time. In one story, a cat brings a dead mouse into a house as two couples smoke weed out of a bong. They think the cat is high! It's such an interesting and strange scene that makes you wonder about the various interpretations and meanings that could be drawn from it. The simplicity of Carver's writing style often belies the depth of the emotions and themes he explores. It's truly a joy to read his works, even if it's just for a short while before returning the book to the library.

Thanks to Maya and Sofia for the BR.

This is a truly tricky collection of stories that manages to captivate readers with its unique charm. Each story within this collection is very subtle and simple, yet they possess an underlying depth that makes them truly engaging.

The simplicity of the stories allows for easy comprehension, while the subtlety adds an element of mystery and intrigue that keeps the reader hooked from start to finish.

I found myself completely immersed in this collection, unable to put it down until I had finished reading every single story.

It is a testament to the skill of the author that they were able to create such a wonderful collection of stories that are both accessible and thought-provoking.

Overall, I loved this collection and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great read.

Raymond Carver is truly a remarkable discovery!

The 22 short stories compiled in "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?" prove that short stories can have the same power as a novel and impact you in the same way. If this book had fallen into my hands a couple of years ago, it would have shattered all my absurd beliefs about them at once.

The author's ability to see a story in the daily events that we tend to overlook has amazed me. That conversation of your neighbors that you overhear through the wall, that anecdote that your partner tells you when they come home from work and that you don't find significant... they become the triggers of stories with which you can easily identify. Because Carver makes ordinary people like you or me the protagonists of his stories. And although many things seem to have changed since the 1960s until now, our "miseries" don't seem to have changed that much.

Personal dissatisfaction, uncertainty, infidelity, envy, loneliness, boredom, insecurity, especially insecurity, are the themes on which these stories are built. Universal themes, just like the stories that are told.

But beyond the stories, if there is something I have liked about this collection of stories, it is the forms. Carver presents you with a situation in each story, makes you an accomplice of it, but does not give it a closed ending or what we understand by a closed ending. Imagine that you are in the middle of a conversation with someone and that someone leaves you with the word in your mouth and walks away. It is inevitable that you will stay thinking, ruminating, about what has happened. That's exactly what Carver does with you. At the end of the first story, I admit that I thought: What the hell is this? However, at the end of the second, I was already hooked on that game.

Does my enthusiasm for this book show? Well, in addition to what has already been mentioned, it turns out that Carver writes for everyone and that the dialogues in each of his stories are a wonder.

I'm looking forward to discovering other titles by the author.

Where had this been hidden? Why did it come to me so late? Let's say it arrived at the right moment!

After Lezama Lima's collection of short stories, the only one she has, this one by Carver is BRUTAL!!

I loved each story, each unexpected ending, each character, each scene... each image!

It's ordinary, close, and heart-wrenching...

It made me laugh, it made me blush, it made me cry!!

Not everyone can achieve that!

Carver's stories have a unique charm. They are filled with real-life situations and emotions that we can all relate to. The way he builds his characters and the unexpected twists in the plots keep the reader engaged from start to finish. Each story is like a small window into a different world, allowing us to experience a range of emotions in a short amount of time. Whether it's the humor that makes us laugh out loud, the moments of embarrassment that make us blush, or the heartbreak that brings tears to our eyes, Carver's writing has the power to move us deeply. It's no wonder that his works are so highly regarded and continue to be loved by readers around the world.

It was truly a wonderful experience to approach this book with a fresh perspective, having very limited knowledge about Carver or his reputation and life story. I'm not entirely sure why I had never delved into any of his stories before, but I'm extremely glad that I have now embarked on this literary journey.

From the twenty-two stories in this collection, two initial impressions stood out vividly. Firstly, regarding the period - I had the distinct feeling that they transcended a particular era. As a result, it was rather challenging for me to precisely place them within a specific age. Despite being first published in the 1970s, they could just as easily date back to the 1950s. This also implies that they are now over forty years old, yet they do not feel the slightest bit dated. The second impression, which I felt with great intensity, was the power of restraint in not saying too much. The power lies in an ending that is left open, where things are not neatly wrapped up and explained. After reading some of the stories, I was left in a state of uncertainty, not knowing where they would reach their natural conclusion. I had forgotten just how powerful this can be. The best example of this is perhaps the title story, when Ralph discovers the whole truth about his wife's one night of indiscretion. Will their marriage survive? Can they both bear to live with the whole truth? We will never know. It's truly brilliant.

This may be related to the period, but as I read the stories, I could envision a number of Edward Hopper paintings, especially those featuring a lone figure looking out of a window or away from the painter, looking into the distance, waiting for something to happen. And since I have a great love for Hopper, I thoroughly enjoyed this effect.

I don't intend to go on a long-winded rant about the stories. Instead, I will simply pick out some elements that I adored, so that I can return and read them again, relishing the impact.

"Are you a Doctor?" is one of those outstanding lonely Hopper-like stories. A late-night phone call to an unlisted number. A man answers, expecting it to be his wife who is frequently away. Instead, it is another woman. She is lonely and pleads with him to visit. She claims it is urgent. Against his better judgment, he complies. However, nothing seems to occur during the visit. The only urgency is her loneliness and the brief connection over the phone line. If one doesn't read carefully enough, it would be possible to miss the one crucial line of the story: "Her eyes were pale green, set deep in her pale face and surrounded by what he had at first thought was dark makeup. Appalled at himself, knowing he would despise himself for it, he stood and put his arms clumsily around her waist. She let herself be kissed, fluttering and closing her eyelids briefly." As the man hurries to leave the house, feeling uncomfortable even being there, and as you rush to read, it would be quite easy to overlook that line and that kiss.

In the story "Are these actual miles?" Toni readies herself to go out and sell the big convertible they purchased when times were more prosperous. Now facing bankruptcy, they have no choice but to sell the car for cash or have it repossessed.

The addition of that pimple on Leo's neck is a masterstroke. All this time, we have been hearing about how Toni is dressed, the meticulous preparation to go out looking good and sell the car. The only mention of Leo is about the pimple.

Then we are provided with some backstory, taking us back to when times were better:

So there it is. All the backstory one needs,描绘出了曾经奢华的生活、肆意的浪费, and now the poverty, desperately needing the six hundred they might obtain for the car, and having to go to court on Monday.

And one final quote from "Will you please be quiet, please?" the title story. The story of Ralph and Marian. Their college days, their love, success, and their marriage. And within the story of their honeymoon in Mexico, there is a small hint of disquiet. My favorite piece of description:

I love that hint of disquiet, foreshadowing something yet to come.

There will definitely be more Carver in my future reading.