By the time of his early death in 1988, Raymond Carver had established himself as one of the great practitioners of the American short story, a writer who had not only found his own voice but imprinted it in the imagination of thousands of readers.

The Philadelphia Inquirer calls Raymond Carver "one of the great short story writers of our time—of any time" and The New York Times Book Review says his stories "can already be counted among the masterpieces of American fiction." Where I’m Calling From contains thirty-seven of his best works and reflects Carver’s development as a writer over a period of more than two decades.

In his introduction to this selection, Carver noted V. S. Pritchett’s definition of a short story as "something glimpsed from the corner of the eye, in passing." Carver elaborated: "First the glimpse. The glimpse given life, turned into something that will illuminate the moment and just maybe lock it indelibly into the reader’s consciousness. Make it a part of the reader’s own experience, as Hemingway so nicely put it. Forever, the writer hopes. Forever." This essential work shows beyond all doubt that Carver’s hope has been triumphantly fulfilled.

Contents:

• Nobody Said Anything
• Bicycles, Muscles, Cigarettes
• The Student's Wif
• They're Not Your Husband
• What Do You do in San Francisco?
• Fat
• What's in Alaska?
• Neighbors
• Put Yourself in My Shoes
• Collectors
• Why, Honey?
• Are These Actual Miles?
• Gazebo
• One More Thing
• Little Things [Popular Mechanics]
• Why Don't You Dance?
• A Serious Talk
• What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
• Distance
• The Third Thing That Killed My Father Off
• So Much Water So Close to Home
• The Calm
• Vitamins
• Careful
• Where I'm Calling From
• Chef's House
• Fever
• Feathers
• Cathedral
• A Small, Good Thing
• Boxes
• Whoever Was Using This Bed
• Intimacy
• Menudo
• Elephant
• Blackbird Pie
• Errand