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Situational Irony
Style
Explanation and Analysis:
Carver’s writing style in “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” features a mix of unadorned, minimalist narration (from the perspective of the character Nick) and conversational dialogue between characters. The following passage—which comes near the beginning of the story after Terri shares about her abusive ex-boyfriend Ed—shows the way that Carver weaves narration and dialogue together:
"I still feel sorry for him," Terri said.
"It sounds like a nightmare" Laura said. "But what exactly happened after he shot himself?"
Laura is a legal secretary. We'd met in a professional capacity. Before we knew it, it was a courtship. She's thirty-five, three years younger than I am. In addition to being in love, we like each other and enjoy one another's company. She's easy to be with.
"What happened?" Laura said.
Here, Terri finishes her story about Ed, Laura asks for more information, Nick offers some background on Laura in an expository aside to readers, and Laura repeats her question. This is representative of Carver’s style—he primarily lets characters speak for themselves, filling in necessary details via short paragraphs from Nick’s point-of-view without pausing the dialogue or scene for very long. The dialogue between characters here is meant to sound realistic—Terri and Laura speak in a conversational style, and Laura even repeats herself when she doesn’t get a response. (Throughout the story, characters repeat themselves, go on tangents, get lost in thought, and become less coherent as they get drunker and the evening goes on.)
Carver’s writing style when it comes to Nick’s narration is also notable. Nick uses a series of simple declarative sentences, such as “Laura is a legal secretary” and “She’s easy to be with,” which are characteristic of Carver’s minimalist style. By limiting his use of narration—and keeping the language simple and unadorned when he does use it—Carver lets the characters speak for themselves, encouraging readers to come to their own conclusions about the characters’ complex and contradictory thoughts on love.
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