A concise sentence, powerful economy of words, intensity in depiction of social reality, subtle evocation of human relationships is the best part of American short story writing.

“I love the swift leap of a good story, the excitement that often commences in the first sentence, the sense of beauty and mystery found in the best of them; and the fact – so crucially important to me back at the beginning and now still a consideration – that the story can be written and read in one sitting. Like poems!”

From foreword in Where I’m Calling From,1998.

Without any doubt, Raymond Carver is one of the leading short story writers of the 20th century even if he didn’t like the label himself. Pushing the limits of short-stories genre towards poetry, Carver explores human dilemmas in such a way that his characters are neither one thing nor the other. Stories are about men and women at a turning point in their life when the smallest details can have a huge impact on it. The power and strength of Carver’s writing comes from the way he tells us stories about disbelief, resignation, submission to those  constant and hard battles ordinary life forces us to face... or not. Characters moods are depicted in concrete things like behaviours or actions and never fall into unbreathable atmospheric descriptions or psychological and pathetic interior monologues in that way forcing the reader to hold in mind details that are meaningful for the story. The poetry of Carver’s writing comes from a refusal to tie up loose ends even if he leaves his characters in terrible situations. Things opened at the beginning, still remain at the end. In a word, Carver’s art is powerful because it is a subtle metaphor of life…

Raymond Carver died in August 1988 but his contribution to short-story writing is still visible in the work of American writers. The Wonders of the Invisible World by David Gates teases out the deteriorating binary logic of couples interaction, Fascination by William Boyd is at the same time funny, absurd and poignant, In Rock Springs by Richard Ford, characters confront their fates with hard-won optimism, humour and flashes of insight, Trailerpark by Russell Banks is mesmeric and shows how terrific, mordant and affectionate the author’s look can be on the American dream. Great Dream of Heaven is as sweet as it is irreverent. You Are Not a Stranger Here carries its readers into the hearts and minds of people facing life’s most profound dilemmas...

“The humanity of the people sings off the page. They are no characters in a book, but rather living beings with all hopes, dreams, fears, loves, hates, illusions and rationalizations that are part of the human dilemma. This book is a real joy to read and experience... and it is an experience, a wonderfully human experience. A book that still resonates in my heart”
Hubert Selby Jr.

Well by Matthew McIntosh is the last book Hubert Selby Jr read before dying. The naked prose of the author wavers between the ordinary and the sublime.

What We Talk About When We Talk About American short-stories writers is not only about literature but about the cruel beauty of life which tests our will, shows our failures and brings to light some precious and rare moments we might have been lucky to live by our own or share with others...