Raymond Carver

Usually I would be turned off by the anticlimactic outcomes of Raymond Carver's stories, for some reason, though, I really enjoy reading them.  While they are easy to follow, they address the complexities of everyday life.  "Jerry and Molly and Sam" was sort of disturbing to me.  Although there are no really life changing or devastating events, the fact that the main character is almost trapped in his life is unsettling.  For part of the story I was waiting for some kind of big action to take place, but as I read further, the story just didn't seem to need a plot twist.  I am really interested in Raymond Carver for this reason.  I think it's amazing that he can take such mundane aspects of life and turn them into captivating stories, there's some detail that just draws you in. The story revolves around a lost dog but extends further into the life of an unfaithful family man, the commonalities within the story allow readers to relate to the characters in a strange way. Also, the fact that the title of the story, "Jerry and Molly and Sam" comes from very briefly mentioned characters adds to the oddness.  "A Small Good Thing" has the same ability to draw you in without any extreme drama.  Although this story has a more grim outcome, the lack of action throughout the entire story is very similar to that of "Jerry and Molly and Sam".  From reading the two stories I can assume that Carver felt a need to address the depressing events of everyday life. It seems that Raymond Carver was very interested in characters that have become nothing more than victims of circumstance. Carver's ability to translate monotony into a successful story is really amazing to me.  I am looking forward to "Shortcuts" and seeing how Carver's stories are adapted to film.