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George, yes, I found this link when searching for the differences, after you replied. That link to Beginners still exists, but the link to the Lish edits at The New Yorker no longer works. It's easy enough to search the original story, though, and compare. Here's Lish's version: learning.hccs.edu/facul…
I DID like Lish's edits on this, al…
George, yes, I found this link when searching for the differences, after you replied. That link to Beginners still exists, but the link to the Lish edits at The New Yorker no longer works. It's easy enough to search the original story, though, and compare. Here's Lish's version: https://learning.hccs.edu/faculty/adam.castaneda2/engl1301-2/course-readings/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-love-raymond-carver/view
I DID like Lish's edits on this, although I wish he would have kept just a smidgen of the man talking wistfully about his wife...perhaps the dancing...or their reunion. Lish's version definitely gives more room for the reader to surmise all sorts of things, but the whole point of the story is to show true love, that ache, that kindness, that need to be with someone. Ha! What do I know? My sneaking suspicion is that we're all so different, as readers. Thank you for providing that link, and mentioning this story. I just reread both this morning. I love these comparisons, and then trying to apply them to my own writing, and you're SO great at explaining WHY we do what we do! xo