WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LOVE by Raymond Carver

Love Can Turn You Nuts

  What do we really know about love exactly? None. Each of our definitions will remain debatable… significant, but still debatable. If love is truly absolute –can not be diminished in any way and non-relative- then all arguments are null and heartbreaks are non-existent.

“…it ought to make us feel ashamed when we talk like we know what we’re talking about when we talk about love.”

Raymond Carver happened to write a collection of short stories imitating harsh truths of daily lives using a simple language and thinly dispersed prose. Better acquainted readers call it Dirty Realism.

As the collection progresses, the stories tend to be heavier in context. Revolving around the theme of relationships, the lack of communication, and alcohol, each story raises varieties of complex philosophical and moral questions. It was an extreme exercise to comprehend the ambiguity of the stories, to give them meaning, and find cohesiveness through the perspective of love.

Each reader will glean something different from each story. No two readers will have the same conclusion or understanding of the same story since we all love differently. And, I guess, that is the hallmark of this book.

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Photo courtesy of Maria Ella 

TFG’s F2F26 was held in Café Adriatico, Manila, last February 22. The event was a ruckus. Missing each other so much, and the book subject itself ignited that. The condition was perfectly understandable, but the people of Café Adriatico seemed not too happy about it. We'll probably not see them in a very long while (LOL).

And look at what I got from these bookish people during the Valentine’s Token exchange. I love it!

Book details:

Title:  What We Talk About When We Talk About Love 

Author:  Raymond Carver

Publisher:  Vintage

Publication:  June 18, 1989 

Genre:  Fiction

Rating: ★★★★