CathedralCathedral
Score Classic
What it's about
Twelve stories about working people in small towns and cheap apartments: couples who drink too much, marriages coming apart, a baker who keeps calling parents whose son has been hit by a car, and, in the title story, a husband who resents the blind man visiting his wife until the two of them try to draw a cathedral together.
Why it's worth reading
It was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and it's Carver at his best. His stories are plain on the surface and devastating underneath, and they changed the American short story.
You'll love it if you liked
The Stories of John Cheever
A Manual for Cleaning Women
Interpreter of MaladiesGood to know
It's short. Start with Cathedral and A Small, Good Thing, two of the most famous short stories of the century.
By the numbers
- Readers84 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics49 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller16 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
Why it made the list
Reads as
Thought-provoking
More by Raymond Carver
If you like this, read next
The Color Purple
The Caine Mutiny
East of Eden
I, Claudius
A Room of One's Own
Angle of ReposeExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is Cathedral worth reading?
Yes. It was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and it's Carver at his best. It ranks #572 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 77.5 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Cathedral about?
Twelve stories about working people in small towns and cheap apartments: couples who drink too much, marriages coming apart, a baker who keeps calling parents whose son has been hit by a car, and, in the title story, a husband who resents the blind man visiting his wife until the two of them try to draw a cathedral together.
How long does it take to read Cathedral?
About 6 hours (240 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Cathedral?
If you liked it, try The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever, A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin or Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri.