For reasons that become increasingly clear to me as I age, Raymond Carver will always be my short story God.

Having just put down Cathedral, I think I can put my finger on it a bit better than usual. So grab a beer, put your feet up—here’s the ashtray. I’m gonna do a little bit of testifying.

As much as I’d like to be Rocketman or Ishmael, the fact of the matter is that I’m nothing more or less than a character in a Carver story. I’m an ordinary person, unexceptional in almost every way, both good and bad, just trying to get through today and maybe start worrying about tomorrow. I come from the working class. My childhood memories are filled with pop-top Coors and Camel non-filters, horseshoe pits, and sunwrecked lawn chairs. Alcohol played a significant role in my early life, and my behaviors resembled those of the generation before me. As the saying goes, the child is the father of the man.

But this isn’t just my life story; it’s the life story of almost everyone I know. And for us, the unsupervised children of suburban violence and chaos, Carver is our Poet Laureate and Patron Saint. He understood that, more often than not, life doesn’t revolve around a single decisive moment. Instead, it’s a series of minor tragedies that we endure and internalize, eventually using them to shape ourselves into a vaguely human form. It’s that non-fatal decision to have one more nightcap, to blow off a piece of a fingertip with a bunch of fireworks, to believe that there’s something sacred about drinking in parks with your friends as a form of communion.

In other words, Raymond Carver was the chronicler of the essence of my parents' generation and my own in 20th-century America: people making mistakes in an unremarkable way within the chain link fences of our own private Shangri-La’s. You won’t find another like us.

Raymond Carver's "Catedral" is a masterpiece of short narrative that offers a penetrating look into daily life and the complexities of human relationships.

One of the most moving stories in the collection is the one that shares the same name as the book, "Catedral". In this story, Carver explores human connection through the relationship between a blind man and a skeptical narrator. The story unfolds in an apparently simple way, but as it progresses, it reveals emotional layers and a depth that touches the reader. Carver manages to convey the importance of empathy and understanding through the narration of this unique experience.

Another standout story in the collection is "Plumas". In this story, Carver examines the complexities of interpersonal relationships, highlighting the tensions and nuances that exist between the characters. Carver's concise and precise prose becomes a powerful tool for capturing the essence of ordinary life, highlighting the extraordinary in the common. Through seemingly simple situations, the author reveals the complexity of human emotions and the fragility of the connections we share.

In this collection of stories, Carver not only manages to portray the reality of daily life but also explores the depths of the human psyche. His minimalist style and his ability to say a lot with few words make each story impactful and memorable. The work as a whole is a testament to Carver's mastery in exploring the human condition through the lens of short prose.