By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘Fat’ is a short story by the American writer Raymond Carver. In just a few pages, Carver’s narrator recounts the day she served a very large man who came into the diner where she works as a waitress. Seeing this man inspires a number of feelings in the narrator, although their significance requires careful analysis in order to be fully understood.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘Where I’m Calling From’ is a short story by the American writer Raymond Carver, originally published in the New Yorker in 1982. The story is about a man trying to give up alcohol dependency in a rehabilitation centre, and his attempts to call his estranged wife and current girlfriend, hence the story’s title, ‘Where I’m Calling From’. The story takes in the themes of loneliness, alienation, and the need for human connection and friendship.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘Are These Actual Miles?’ is a short story by the American writer Raymond Carver (1938-88), which appeared in his debut collection, Would You Please Be Quiet, Please? (1976). The story is about a married couple who live beyond their means and rack up debt, so they are forced to sell their convertible. While the wife goes into town to find a buyer, the husband stays home and starts to fret about what his wife is really doing.