Cathedral. Stories.

CARVER, Raymond [Thom Jones].

$1,100.00

Item Number: 146006

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983.

First edition of Carver’s award-winning collection of stories. Octavo, original half cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “For Thom Jones with good wishes Ray Carver May 4, 1984.” The recipient, Thom Jones was an esteemed short story writer. His first book, published in 1993, was the short-story collection The Pugilist at Rest. The stories deal with common themes of mortality and pain, with characters who often find a kind of solace in the rather pessimistic philosophy of Schopenhauer. Boxing, absent or mentally ill fathers, physical trauma, and the Vietnam War are also recurring motifs. The collection was a National Book Award finalist. Jones published two other collections of short stories, Cold Snap and Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine. See List of Thom Jones Stories. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Sara Eisenman. An excellent association copy, linking these two great short story writers.

Cathedral was a landmark in Carver's career; shortly after its publication, he said that it was his favorite collection. Cathedral won high critical praise as summoning "remembrances of Hemingway… written with a dry intensity, and moving, at the climaxes, from the commonplace to the unnerving" (New York Times). Nominated for a national Book Critics Circle Award,, Cathedral includes "A Small, Good Thing," first-place winner in 1983 of the prestigious O. Henry Award, as well as "Where I'm Calling From" and the title story.