Carver thematisiert in seinen ersten und letzten Geschichten die Verlierer der amerikanischen Gesellschaft und deren kleine Tragödien. Mit meisterhafter Kürze und Präzision schildert er das Leben der unteren Mittelschicht und zeigt sich als Meister der psychologischen Erzählung, inspiriert von Faulkner und Tschechow.
It was morning in America when Raymond Carver's <i>Cathedral</i> came out in 1983, but the characters in this dry collection of short stories from the forgotten corners of land of opportunity didn't receive much sunlight. Nothing much happens to the subjects of Carver's fiction, which is precisely why they are so harrowing: nothingness is a daunting presence to overcome. And rarely do they prevail, but the loneliness and quiet struggle the characters endure provide fertile ground for literary triumph, particularly in the hands of Carver, who was perhaps in his best form with this effort.