Hands down, one of the funniest and oddly touching collections I have ever read. The titular story is one I think about often and recommend frequently.
This is the one that pulled me into Carver’s world for good.
As much about death as about love. “Why Don’t You Dance?” and the title story are sublime.
For grown ups.
Carver’s prose is almost more akin to a painting than most stories. Reading this collection felt like peeking through a series of windows I wasn't meant to peek through, an act of eavesdropping on an intimate moment between strangers. He captures snippets of humanity in a way that makes his characters so familiar, despite often knowing nothing about them outside what is happening in that moment. Each story is an illustration of a relationship between people, the way a great painting can be. It’s how I imagine being on the New Jersey Turnpike would be if I could hear the conversations inside the other cars.
