First published 1988
A down-on-their-luck couple moves into a cheap motel, desperate to get their lives back on track. An aging man reflects on his failed marriage and the ghosts of past mistakes. A woman grapples with her mother's impending death. These are the raw, honest snapshots that make up Raymond Carver's final masterwork, a poignant, unsentimental portrait of ordinary lives. Carver's trademark spare prose and keen eye for detail elevate the mundane into the profound, reminding us that even in our loneliest moments, we're all just searching for human connection.
Genres: short-stories, literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, adult-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-driven, found-family
393 pages · Hardcover · Atlantic Monthly Press