SOURCE: Campbell, Ewing. “Breakthrough: What We Talk about When We Talk about Love.” In Raymond Carver: A Study of the Short Fiction, pp. 31–3, 45–7. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1992.

In the following excerpt, Campbell lauds the complexity and accomplishment of “What We Talk about When We Talk about Love.”

When What We Talk about When We Talk about Love appeared in 1981, its spare style and unity of method caught the attention of reviewers and readers alike. Suddenly Raymond Carver, working consistently in a minimalist idiom, had people talking about the renaissance of the short story and about his new collection as the masterpiece of minimalism. After he had labored for almost two decades in relative obscurity, its impact created a breakthrough for him and opened up new opportunities. His sudden fame also left him with a feeling of wonder and elevated confidence: “It's a continual amazement to me, this attention...