A passage in chapter three describes him as a lonely man that is isolated from the world around him. ... In chapter three, ironically titled, "[T]he Searcher", Patrick is searching for Ambrose Small but that is merely a metaphor for his vocation. ...
The material is divided into three books, each with three chapters. Fitzgerald sticks to prose narrative and dialogue for the most part, and he keeps a consistent tone and point of view throughout the novel. ... As part of his decline, Anthony courts and marries the beautiful, vain, selfish and stupid Gloria Gilbert, who "took all the things of life as though she were continually picking out presents for herself from an inexhaustible counter." ...
The first publication of the short story "Cathedral" was in the March, 1981, issue of Atlantic Monthly. It was selected to appear in "The Best American Short Stories, 1982," and became the title story in the 1983 collection, Cathedral. This volume was very well-received by critics and readers alike, receiving nominations for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Many critics note a shift in Carver's work between the publication of What We Talk About When We Talk About Love and Cathedral, and many believe that Carver reached the zenith of his career with this co...
